1 . The music world lost a rock and roll superstar this week when guitarist Eddie Van Halen passed away. He was only 65 years old.

Eddie Van Halen was a founding member of the band Van Halen. He formed the group in 1974 with his brother Alex, who played the drums. Van Halen released (发行) its most popular single, the song Jump, in 1983. Jump rose to the top of Billboard Magazine’s list of Hot 100 songs and stayed there for five weeks. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio lists Jump among its “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll”. Eddie Van Halen released at least 15 record albums with his band over the years, selling more than 80 million around the world. In 2007, Van Halen entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Van Halen brothers were born in the Netherlands. Their father was a professional musician. Their mother was from Indonesia. In the 1950s, some Netherlanders did not support the mixed-race (混种族) marriage, so the family moved to the United States. They settled in southern California. Eddie and Alex Van Halen had to learn English in their new land. Both brothers studied piano for years before getting interested in rock and roll.

As a child, Eddie was considered musically gifted. Eddie told a reporter he did not learn to read music. He said he would watch his teacher play and memorize his moves. He also said that he never took a class on playing the guitar, although he studied under Eric Clapton for a time. His father was among the first to recognize Eddie’s guitar skill. “You’ve got it, kid,” Eddie’s father said to him early on.

Eddie’s guitar playing was hard and fast. He was energetic while performing, often jumping like an acrobat (杂技演员) as he played. He was known for the way he tapped on the guitar strings with both hands. It influenced many musicians that followed.

1. What’s paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．Eddie’s band.	B．Eddie’s Jump.
C．Eddie’s life story.	D．Eddie’s achievements.

2. Why did the Van Halen family move to the USA?

A．To make a good living.	B．To escape racial prejudice.
C．To receive better education.	D．To experience different cultures.

3. What’s the author’s purpose of writing the text?

A．To remember a famous musician.

B．To express sadness for a superstar’s death.

C．To praise Eddie Van Halen for his contributions.

D．To show the excellence of Eddie Van Halen.

2 . The studio of the Lyon-based artist known as Ememem received an urgent call from an architectural firm close to Place Sathonay last year. Someone was in the process of removing a mosaic (马赛克) he had fixed on the road in front of their offices. By the time he arrived, the man was gone.

Part of that artwork may have disappeared, but many of Ememem’s creations remain dotted (分散的) throughout the city streets...about 350 and counting.

Ememem calls himself “the road’s surgeon”. He has written that the works are “a memory notebook of the city”. His works have been drawing more and more attention. “He’s a star of local street art,” says Lisa Mambre, the mayor of Lyon.“His work is so noticeable. Everyone you ask seems to know about it.”

Yet while Ememem’s works may be visible, he prefers to remain unknown to the Public. He refuses to be photographed and doesn’t give either phone or face-to-face interviews. Ememem’s agent, Guillaume Abou, who has known him for 15 years, can offer some insight. “He’s someone with a great urge to give,” says Abou. “He’s quite laid-back.“

Whoever he is and whatever his growing popularity brings, one thing is for sure: Ememem will continue to go out at night to beautify Lyon’s damaged roads. He sees his interventions not only as a service to the community, but also as a means of bringing beauty to daily life. “The goal,” he writes, “is to spread a touch of poetry under our shoes, to generate a moment of amazement, a smile.”

1. What did Ememem do after he received the call?

A．He called the police immediately.

B．He went to have a check himself.

C．He began repairing the artwork.

D．He set off to search for the thief.

2. Which of the following best describes Ememem’s artworks?

A．Priceless.

B．Puzzling.

C．Inspiring.

D．Impressive.

3. What do we know about Ememem?

A．He considers fame to be insignificant.

B．Many of his artworks have disappeared.

C．He is called the city’s memory notebook.

D．Street art becomes noticeable thanks to him.

4. Why does Ememem beautify Lyon’s damaged roads?

A．To make his daily life colorful.

B．To share his understanding of art.

C．To fill people with surprise and delight.

D．To raise public awareness of community service.

3 . Will Smith jumped into a live volcano and kayaked (划皮艇) down an Icelandic whitewater river for his latest project. But he wasn’t making an action movie. It was personal.

Smith, a Hollywood leading man who admits that he’s far from enjoying outdoor activities, has put himself in danger while filming Welcome to Earth, a Disney original series from National Geographic. He was afraid at that time, but he says “It’s really difficult to enjoy things if you’re scared. I think the ability to see how beautiful things are is directly connected to your openness to them and fear closes you down.”

Smith says he was once scared of everything and hated water, but he learns to read the rapids (急流) while whitewater kayaking, rescues turtles near the Great Barrier Reef and goes 3,000 feet below the sea in a deep-water submarine.

Dr. Albert Lin, an engineer and explorer who has uncovered lost cities previously for National Geographic, was astonished to find that Smith was able to control his fears even in the face of real danger. While diving in the underground lake in Namibia, Smith got into trouble and Lin watched him “dropping at a rate that felt like maybe we wouldn’t see him again.” But Smith was able to control his mind and deal with the situation. “I respected Will Smith, the actor, before, but now I definitely have grown to truly respect Will Smith, the human being,” says Lin.

Produced by famous filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, the series carries on the tradition of National Geographic pushing the exploring envelope (极限) and employing the latest technology to help us understand our world. “I hope this can help people out there get a sense of how absolutely incredible our planet is,” says Lin.

The experts Smith has paired with teach him about speed, smell and sound and the colors out there he might miss. “You can’t really want to protect something that you don’t understand. And you can’t want to protect something that you can’t recognize as beautiful,” Smith says.

1. What enables you to enjoy beautiful things according to Smith?

A．Spirit of adventure.	B．Ability to find beauty.
C．Respect for nature.	D．Openness to change.

2. What happened to Smith in Namibia?

A．He found a lost city.	B．He nearly lost his life in a lake.
C．He entered a diving competition.	D．He went deep under the sea in a submarine.

3. What can be learned about “Welcome to Earth” from paragraph 5?

A．It explains the origin of our planet.	B．It targets potential explorers.
C．It won important film awards.	D．It applied advanced technology.

4. Where is the text probably from?

A．A guidebook.

B．A book review.

C．A magazine.

D．A diary.

4 . Born in a musical family in 1925 in New Orleans, Renald Richard spent his childhood filled with music. At the age of 13, he went to see a band perform at a church where he fell in love with trumpet. So he started lessons on it, and later played it in the high school band. After high school, he was sent into military service and played his trumpet in the United States Navy Band. After ending up studying music at Xavier University of Louisiana, he played clubs on the famous Bourbon Street and also toured with many bands.

In 1954, Richard was approached by Jeff Brown, the manager of musician Ray Charles. He invited Richard to join Ray Charles’ new band. “To be selected by Ray Charles was an honor to me. Ray Charles was exacting.” said Richard, “He was a perfectionist and was rather demanding about his music.”

Renald Richard toured all over the South and West with Ray Charles. Sitting in the back seat of the car on the way to a concert, Richard wrote the song “I Got a Woman” for Charles, which became Ray Charles’ first number one radio hit. In 1954,Renald Richard left Ray Charles’ band. However, he stayed friendly with Ray Charles over the years. He became the high school’s band director in his hometown until 1962. Four years later, he moved again to New York City. Over the years, Richard has written many other songs that have been recorded by artists including Joe Turner, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley to name a few. Living now in Southern Florida, Richard is still active at the age of 92. As you can see, Renald Richard’s musical days are by no means near an end.

That is today’s Celebrity Introduction. Any comments? Please write to us in the Comments Section on this page.

1. How is the text organized?

A．In order of time.	B．In order of frequency.
C．In order of preference.	D．In order of importance.

2. The underlined word “exacting” (Paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to___________.

A．devoted

B．careful

C．strict

D．enthusiastic

3. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．A Life Filled with Music	B．Active at an Advanced Age
C．The Influence of a Musician	D．Renald Richard and Ray Charles

4. Where would you be most likely to find this text?

A．In a textbook.

B．In a brochure.

C．In a newspaper.

D．On a website.

8 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Lang Lang is a Chinese piano superstar who has sold millions of albums worldwide. He has also used his fame and fortune to help schools     1     lack musical instruments and equipment. Now he     2     (bring) music to British state schools in an     3     (inspire) project that will set up “piano labs” across the nation.

Before this project, he has set up piano labs in 86 schools in the US, giving 70,000 kids access     4     keyboards. In China, he has put them in 104 schools,     5     (enable) 110,000 children to make music. This is     6     (chief) for pupils aged 7 to 12.

The first UK school to benefit is the Winns primary school, London’s 12th most disadvantaged town, where 53% of residents are from a minority ethnic background. It will receive 30 keyboards within the next few weeks. Every lab is accompanied by a course     7     (create) by the Toronto-based Royal Conservatory of Music and Lang Lang.

Lang Lang said: “When I visit our partner schools and see     8     joy on the students’ faces or hear from our teachers about the progress students are making, I     9    (remind) of why We created this programme — to give children an opportunity to discover     10     they are able to achieve and to lift up their voices through music.”