1 . Mozart was one of the greatest composers who ever lived. He was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756. Even when he was very young, Mozart loved music. His father, who was the leader of an orchestra, was very happy that his son was so interested in music. When Mozart was three years old, he learned to play the harpsichord, which is a kind of piano. Mozart began to compose music at the age of five, and his father took him to play in front of the kings and queens of Europe.
At one concert, one of the violinists was missing from the orchestra. Mozart picked up a violin and played the music without a mistake. Mozart’s father and the other players in the orchestra were surprised. Mozart had never been taught to play the violin! Mozart continued traveling around Europe with his father, who was his teacher in everything. He composed many pieces for the piano, the violin, and later for full orchestra.
Mozart could write down a piece of music even if he had heard it only once. One day, he went to hear a group of people singing in a big church in Rome. The song was very special. The church leader said that people could sing the song only once a year, and only in his church. No one else was allowed to have the music. Mozart listened to the song. Although it was very difficult and long, Mozart went back home and wrote down the whole piece from memory. The head of the church heard about this, and instead of being angry with Mozart, he gave him a prize. When Mozart grew up, people were not so interested in him. He worked as a teacher and pianist, but he did not make much money. In 1791, at the age of 35, he died. He was so poor that there was not enough money for him to have a proper grave. No one knows where he is buried.
1. The story is mainly about ________．| A．Mozart and his music |
| B．a leader of an orchestra |
| C．the life of a great composer |
| D．the head of a church in Rome |
| A．teaching him about music |
| B．giving him a violin to play with |
| C．sending him to a music school |
| D．giving him a lot of money |
| A．went to Rome | B．began to sing |
| C．began to compose music | D．played the harpsichord |
| A．he died poorly |
| B．he did not teach anyone |
| C．he did not know many famous people |
| D．he couldn’t play the piano or violin |
An American musician, singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen is one of the world’s most popular artists, with a career that covers 40 years. He is known for his poetic songs that deal with social and political issues, as well as personal subjects. His energetic live performances are also famous.
Springsteen’s childhood in a New Jersey working class family was a major influence on his music. He has never been shy about writing about the social and political issues. These issues were included in his album called Darkness on the Edge of Town. His music grew even darker in the 1982 album Nebraska. Those songs showed people pushed to the edge of poverty and criminal activity. Thirteen years later Springsteen released The Ghost of Tom Joad. The album was a direct discussion of issues like immigration, hunger and poverty. Then in 2012, in the album Wrecking Ball, Springsteen found people to blame for some of those social problems.
Springsteen also wrote about personal relationships. Brilliant Disguise is from the 1987 album Tunnel of Love. It’s basically a couple who are putting on disguises for each other because they don’t reveal their true selves.
Springsteen’s album company was thinking of terminating business with him after poor sales of his first two albums. But then Born to Run hit the stores and airwaves in 1975. It saved Springsteen’s career. The lyrics leave us the idea that maybe we never can actually get free from our pasts, from our home towns, and the like, but we have to give it a shot, and take our chance. It cost a lot of money to produce. Had it failed, we might not be talking about Bruce Springsteen today.
But we are talking about him, and listening to him. The musician’s ability to stay true to himself and to express the concerns of ordinary people is what has made him a living legend(传奇人物).
1. What is Bruce Springsteen famous for? (no more than 8 words)2. Which of Springsteen’s album is about immigration? (no more than 6 words)
3. What does the underlined word “terminating” in Paragraph 4 mean?(one word)
4. What made Springsteen a living legend?(no more than 12 words)
5. In your opinion, what qualities should be possessed to be a successful person? (no more than 15 words)
3 . Claude Monet spent the winters of 1899, 1900 and 1901 freezing on a balcony of London’s Savoy Hotel, painting a series of famous images of Waterloo Bridge and Charing Cross Bridge.
Now, scientists at Birmingham University have used solar geometry and historical weather data to figure out exactly which balcony Monet was standing on, and what time of day he was likely working.
“We know that Monet, in the mornings, used to work on the sun rising over Waterloo Bridge,” John Thornes says. “By midday, the sun would be shining directly along the Thames, and Monet usually moved on to Charing Cross Bridge, before finishing the day watching the sun set over the Houses of Parliament.”
The sun occupies the same position in the sky today as it did in 1900 and 1901, which helped Thornes figure out the time of day. Monet also included another London landmark, the obelisk (方尖纪念碑) known as Cleopatra’s Needle, in some of his paintings of Charing Cross Bridge. Thornes says that examining the position of the needle relative to the bridge helped him determine that Monet stayed in rooms 610 and 611 at the Savoy during the winter of 1899, and one floor down at 510 and 511 a year later.
“The Savoy Hotel actually advertises theMonet Suite, which they sell to the public,” Thornes says. “And they in fact use the suite farther down from where Monet actually was.”
But the hotel is upgrading, and when it reopens, it will have the correct rooms as the Monet Suite —thanks in part to his research.
Monet’s images of London aren’t just great art. Thornes says they also provide an accurate record of the city’s fogs, which were common in the days before clean-air law was passed in the 1950s.
“That’s one of the things we’re very interested in,” he says, “Maybe, the visibility (能见度) in Monet’s painting will help me to study how the air quality has improved since those days.”
1. What has helped the researchers to determine Monet’s rooms?| A．The hotel’s historical documents. | B．The weather records about London. |
| C．The signatures in some of the paintings. | D．The visibility in Claude Monet’s paintings. |
| A．Waterloo Bridge. | B．Cleopatra’s Needle. |
| C．Charing Cross Bridge. | D．the Houses of Parliament. |
| A．It is open for the public now. |
| B．Claude Monet didn’t stay in it. |
| C．It consists of more than four rooms. |
| D．It should be on the sixth or fifth floor. |
| A．To help the Savoy Hotel redesign the Monet Suite. |
| B．To study the effects of the clean-air law passed in the 1950s. |
| C．To find out when and where Claude Monet worked on some of his paintings. |
| D．To analyze if Claude Monet honestly recorded the air quality in London. |
4 . Fu Yiyao, one of China's leading ink wash painters, released her new book on December 6 in Shanghai. Fu was born in Nan jing, Jiangsu province. Her father, Fu Baoshi, who was the representative landscape painter of his time, had a great influence on her. Fu studied Chinese language in Nanjing Normal College. After graduation, she was engaged in education and took up painting. She set foot in painting circles due to. her strong passion for the art and thus became an outstanding painter worldwide. As a matter of fact, Fu's original dream was to become an actress but her father thought that literature plays an important role in one's growth, through which one can know the real meaning of life and can develop a love for what he pursues and literature is also qualification (资格) to start painting She followed the words of her father, which turned out to be a success. Fu gradually understood her father's deep love for her.
In 1979, Fu became one of the first batch of overseas students sent to Japan after the country carried out its reform and opening-up policy. She was famous for large-scale ink wash painting, and has created more works conveying Chinese traditional culture and held many exhibitions in Chin, Japan, America, Swaziland and the United Nations, helping promote Chinese painting worldwide.
After living in Japan for 40 years, Fu said she truly understands the superiority (优越性) of her motherland's culture and she will constantly promote go on to promote the art of ink wash painting. She believes that she has obeyed her father's wishes.
Speaking of her original purpose of creating her book, intention of creating her book, Fu said, "It is not a pure autobiography (自传) for I have shared my reflections on life and art in a new form. " Meanwhile, the book has three types of vision to meet the needs of different readers.
"I have got what I wanted in the process of study and creation. My love for Chinese culture can last thousands of years. I really hope to help spread Chinese traditional culture, " Fu concluded.
1. Why did Fu Yiyao want to become a painter?
| A．Because her father was a painter. | B．Because she listened to her father. |
| C．Because she was crazy about art. | D．Because she studied painting in college. |
| A．To earn more money by her paintings. |
| B．To prove she is an outstanding ink wash painter. |
| C．To show her large-scale ink wash paintings. |
| D．To make people all over the world know Chinese painting. |
| A．Fu is satisfied with her book. |
| B．Her book is only an autobiography. |
| C．Fu loves Chinese culture very much. |
| D．There are three sections in the book. |
| A．Science and Technology. | B．Culture &Art. |
| C．Great literature. | D．Campus life. |
5 . Tod Morgan was born blind, mentally challenged, and autistic. So he couldn't see, he could not learn like other children, and he didn't interact with people very much. He did not seem to have much of a chance. Then, when he was two years old, he began to play little songs on his tiny toy piano. He could play perfectly some of the children's tunes he had heard.
Today, Tod works as a professional pianist. He plays jazz, Broadway songs, and classical pieces. After hearing a tune, he can imitate it almost perfectly the first time he plays it. He doesn't only imitate; Tod is creative too. He can change a classical piece to a jazz, a jazz to a polka, and a polka to a waltz. In addition to the p1ano, Tod plays 13 other instruments and also sings. Tod's list of musical heroes includes Louis Armstrong, Mozart, and Beethoven. How can this be? How can such a severely challenged person be so musically talented?
Tod has what is called “savant syndrome'' — a condition in which a mentally challenged person has a tightly developed talent of a specific kind. Savant syndrome is a mystery to medical researchers. One person who is studying savant syndrome is Dr. David Brighton. He says that he has never seen a musical savant like Tod. Most musical savants are limited to simply repeating tunes they hear. Dr. Brighton points out that Tod's ability to come up with his own tunes is a giant step beyond memorization.
As for Tod, after studying jazz piano at the Music School at Rivers in Massachusetts, he attended and graduated from the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston. Tod is encouraged by his parents as he performs all over the world, appearing on TV and radio shows.
1. What does the author mean by saying that Tod “did not seem to have much of a chance"?| A．Tod was not likely to be completely cured. |
| B．Tod's chances of success in life were small. |
| C．Tod's ability to learn music was very limited. |
| D．Tod would have few opportunities to meet others. |
| A．mentally disabled but specially gifted |
| B．socially inactive but musically talented |
| C．physically disabled but highly intelligent |
| D．psychologically challenged but physically gifted |
| A．His memory. | B．His creativity. |
| C．His sociability. | D．His learning speed. |
| A．Tod is a typical case of a serious disease. |
| B．Family support is vital to Tod's recovery. |
| C．Music connects Tod to the world around him. |
| D．Music education is a cure to the mentally disabled. |
6 . You may have heard of Dude Perfect. They are 5 guys who make crazy trick (技巧) shots and have fun for a living! They are so good at what they do. They have one of the top 10 channels (频道) on YouTube. It all sounds good. But their real story is much deeper and better. It is a story of trust, friendship, hard work, passion and giving back.
Dude Perfect is made up of 5 best friends who met while at college at Texas A&M University. Their names are Coby, Cory Cotton, Garrett Hilbert, Cody Jones, and Tyler Toney. At college, they became friends through their love of sports. They enjoyed spending time with each other so much that they all became roommates.
One day, in their backyard, they said they could make a trick basketball shot. They started to take video of their crazy shots. Within one week, the video received over 200,000 views! Soon, they received a call from the TV show Good Morning America who wanted to interview them. That was their first interview, the one that started everything! As Dude Perfect started to catch on, they started to attract star athletes to shoot videos with them.
Despite all their success, they have never taken their eyes off their bigger goal to spread good worldwide. Their message of the power of faith and friendship is at the heart of what they do.
Their videos show the history of Dude Perfect and the values that drive them. There is a great example of how they use their fame (名声) to spread good. They also show how they invite children from the Make a Wish Foundation to be a “Dude for a Day”!
Dude Perfects tricks are so good that some people question whether they are real. Well, they are. The secret is simply hard work and persistence (坚持). Their videos show how they do what they do!
1. What is the key to setting up Dude Perfect?| A．The star athletes’ love for it, |
| B．The members’ common interest. |
| C．The popularity of social media. |
| D．The trust between different people. |
| A．Strong but shy. | B．Humorous but crazy. |
| C．Kind and hard-working. | D．Handsome and easy-going. |
| A．It is never too old to learn. | B．Never forget why you started. |
| C．You can’t judge a book by its cover. | D．Be prepared for danger in times of peace. |
| A．Dude Perfect, an amazing team | B．Dude Perfect’s tricks are real |
| C．Dude Perfect built on friendship | D．Dude Perfect achieved their goal |
7 . Musicians born after the year 2000 kicked off the Project Spring Bird music season at the Blackstone Music Plus, showcasing the passion and creativity of Generation Z.
The small orchestras were among the biggest surprises in the festival. Each of the pieces in their repertoire (全部剧目)was performed for the first time. Homewood Symphony Orchestra directors and audience alike marveled at the talent of the young performers.
The small orchestras and musicians are the products of a nurturing program aimed at developing the skills and artistic creativity of young talent. It is strongly supported by Mellon Swift, music director of the Homewood Symphony Orchestra. “For young musicians, growth not only takes time, but also a starting point to bigger stages,Mellon said. “We want to help them cross the barriers and explore their artistic passion.”
Young musicians at the beginning of their careers usually emerge from well-known competitions, but Mellon said he wants to see opportunities become more expansive. “We insist on giving them as much freedom and support as possible, so that they don’t get sidetracked by concerns about some practical elements at the beginning of their careers,” he explained. “All they are required to do is to grow artistically and explore their creative potential and ideas, ” he added.
“If a voice tells us:Just do whatever you want, and we will support you all the way, just imagine what kind of potential could emerge?” wrote conductor Karajan, who is only 21, “The future belongs to us, and it can belong to us now! ”
1. What can we learn about the small orchestras in the festival?| A．Their songs were considered as classics. | B．Their performances amazed the audience. |
| C．They have got chances to be world known. | D．They are faced with few developing problems. |
| A．They rose to fame from fashion shows. |
| B．It was they who spread the popular pieces. |
| C．They are budding talents in the music world. |
| D．It takes them little time to peak in their career. |
| A．Young talents need help and improvement. |
| B．It is a long shot to explore music potential. |
| C．Big stages have been set for the music lovers. |
| D．Freedom is the only source of music inspiration. |
| A．A Big Success: the Project Spring Bird | B．Music Directors: Passion and Creativity |
| C．Generation Z:A Group of Musical Talents | D．Young Musicians: “The future belongs to us” |
8 . Women Who Made History
Raymonde de Laroche
Raymonde de Laroche was born in Paris in 1882. As a former actress, Raymonde de Laroche decided to take up flying after seeing the Wright Brothers’ flight performances in 1907 in France. Though she wasn’t the first woman pilot, Raymonde de Laroche was the first woman to earn a pilot’s license(执照) in 1910.
Arlene Francis
Arlene Francis, born Arlene Francis Kazanjian in 1907, always wanted to be a serious actress. Instead, she became a serious radio and television person. She was the first woman to host a television game show, Your Big Moment. That was in 1949, and Arlene Francis continued that job until 1952. She also served as a member on CBS’s What’s My Line for the show’s entire 25-year television run.
Francesca Caccini
Francesca Caccini was born in 1587 in Italy. She was 38 years old when La Liberazione di Ruggiero, the opera she composed(作曲), was performed for the first time in Florence. The year was 1625, and Francesca Caccini was not only an excellent composer, but also a lute player, poet, and music teacher. She wrote or co-wrote 15 more opera works before her death in the 1640s.
Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton was born in 1862. She became a “first woman” in 1921 when she won the Pulitzer Prize for The Age of Innocence. Edith Wharton was the first woman ever to win this prize, and the book was a critique(评论) of society.
1. Why did Raymonde de Laroche want to be a pilot?| A．Her brothers were great pilots. |
| B．She wanted to be the first woman pilot. |
| C．She was encouraged by Wright Brothers. |
| D．She fell in love with it when acting in a play. |
| A．She was a great actress. | B．She was good at playing games. |
| C．She worked as a host for 25 years. | D．She didn’t want to be a host at first. |
| A．Raymonde de Laroche. | B．Arlene Francis. |
| C．Francesca Caccini. | D．Edith Wharton. |
9 . In August 2018, Yo-Yo Ma began a two-year journey to perform solo cello(大提琴) in 36 locations around the world. The project is motivated not only by his six-decade relationship with Bach’s music, but also by Bach’s ability to speak to our shared humanity at a time when our civil conversation is so often focused on culture division.
Bach’s 300-hundred-year-old music is one extraordinary example of how culture connects us and can help us to imagine and build a better future. For Ma, culture includes not just the arts, but everything that helps us to understand our environment, each other, and ourselves, from music and literature to science and food. The Bach Project explores and celebrates all the ways that culture makes us stronger as individuals, as communities, as a society, and as a planet.
“Bach’s music has been my constant musical companions. For almost six decades, they have given me support, comfort, and joy during times of stress, celebration, and loss. What power does this music possess that even today, after three hundred years? Does it continue to help us navigate through troubled times?” Ma said in a conference. He is more convinced than ever of the Bach’s music has the ability to create shared meaning that extends far beyond the here and now. “Over the years,” writes Ma, “I came to believe that, in creating these works, Bach played the part of a musician-scientist, expressing precise observations about nature and human nature.”
In the next few years, Ma will play cello across six continents, in familiar and unlikely locations. Accompanying each performance will be events that seek to put culture in action by bringing people and organizations together to address present social issues.
1. Why did Yo-Yo Ma want to release the project?| A．To convey his appreciation to Bach. |
| B．To focus more on civil conversations. |
| C．To perform in different locations around the world. |
| D．To celebrate the 300-anniversary of Bach’s birthday. |
| A．Its significance. | B．Its long history. |
| C．Its wide popularity. | D．Its target audience. |
| A．They were composed six decades ago. |
| B．Bach worked with some scientists to write them. |
| C．They concern not only nature but also human nature. |
| D．They have been used to treat mental illness like stress or loss. |
| A．History. | B．Art. |
| C．Travel. | D．Sport. |
10 . An exhibition celebrates 100-year-old artist Zhou Lingzhao’s contribution to New China, Lin Qi reports.
Zhou, who turned 100 earlier this year, is an artist whose contribution is legendary. His portrait of China’s late chairman Mao Zedong hung on the outer wall of the Tian’anmen rostrum in Beijing during the founding ceremony of the PRC on Oct 1,1949. Zhou was the chief designer of banknotes for the 2—4 series of the renminbi. And he designed postal stamps for the Year of the Dog in 1982 and 2018.
“He always kept a low profile,” Zhou’s friend says. “He could have bragged about working on such major projects, but he didn’t.” Despite his successful career, Zhou remains modest.
Zhou, then 30, was selected to paint Mao’s portrait some 20 days before the founding ceremony. He recalls that, because the portrait was 6 meters high and 4.6 meters wide, Zhou, and his wife, Chen Ruoju, who’s also an artist, worked with the help of a scaffold and climbed up and down and walked far away to monitor the work’s progress.
The portrait was based on a well-known black-and-white photo taken by Zheng Jingkang that shows Mao smiling while wearing a hat, with his head slightly turned to one side.
Zhou recalls being asked to add the words “wei renmin fuwu” (serve the people) at the bottom of the portrait. The couple completed the painting the day before the ceremony and returned home late. When they were about to go to bed, officials in charge of the ceremony visited and told them that, after seeing the portrait, then-premier Zhou Enlai and some other leaders suggested removing the words.
“We rushed back to Tian’anmen Gate. With the help of spotlights, I climbed a long ladder, erased the characters and added new layers of paint to it,” he recalls. “I climbed up to repeat the revision many times. I finally finished the corrections. It was only few hours before the ceremony.”
Zhou was among the crowd of people who attended the founding ceremony. “I saw the portrait from afar. It looked OK. Then I heard other people saying the painting was good. At that moment, I felt relieved and happy. I may never forget that my entire life.”
1. Which of the following is NOT Zhou Lingzhao’s contribution?| A．He ever designed the banknotes for the renminbi. |
| B．He ever designed the postal stamps for the year of Dog twice. |
| C．He ever did the portrait for China’s late chairman Mao Zedong. |
| D．He ever took a famous black-and white photo for Chairman Mao. |
| A．Humorous and honest. | B．Responsible and hardworking. |
| C．Fearless and open-minded | D．Knowledgeable and modest. |
| A．He improved greatly in his painting skills. |
| B．He successfully attended the founding ceremony. |
| C．He and his wife worked together to complete the portrait. |
| D．He devoted great efforts to the work with professional spirit. |
