1 . Sasha Masakowski remembers being six years old, seated at the piano next to her father — the well-known jazz guitarist, Steve Masakowski.
“He’d play harmonies in the background on the guitar, and he’d encourage me to improvise (即兴演奏),” Sasha recalls. “He’d tell me to play something using just the white keys or just the black keys, and I’d make up music.” She says she was a little composer playing along with her dad in their New Orleans home. “I love those memories,” she adds.
As Sasha got older, though, her interest in jazz began to flag. Sasha went to a local arts high school and focused on musical theater. Steve admits to hoping his daughter would develop a love for jazz.
The father’s expectation was eventually met when the daughter rediscovered jazz music. Sasha says she admired a guy in the jazz department and on the day they met, the first thing he said was, “I’m such a big fan of your dad’s!” She says the experience helped her realize that her father and his music were, in fact, cool. Finally, Sasha decided to study jazz instead of musical theater at the University of New Orleans, where her father headed the Jazz Studies Program.
Now, Sasha and Steve love playing together and they treasure the common language jazz gives them. Both compose music, but while her father is more focused on traditional jazz and teaching, Sasha likes to produce music with more electronic trends than Steve’s. Despite different interests, Steve’s pride in his daughter is clear. Today, Sasha is known for her musicality and her ability to improvise. “Improvising scares a lot of singers, but for me I feel like a little composer again at the piano next to my dad. I love it in large part because of him,” Sasha says.
1. What do we know about young Sasha?| A．She was well-known as a jazz guitarist. |
| B．She learned to compose when she’s little. |
| C．She was good at improvising on a piano. |
| D．She performed with her father worldwide. |
| A．Her preparation for a university. |
| B．Her admiration for a jazz student. |
| C．Her going back to jazz and her father. |
| D．Her studying at a local arts high school. |
| A．The style of her music. |
| B．Her preference for the piano. |
| C．Her opinion about improvising. |
| D．The teaching method she sticks to. |
| A．Love of music leads to a career of uncertainty. |
| B．Jazz deepens the bond between father and daughter. |
| C．A daughter’s musical choice is made by her father. |
| D．A musical family brings joy to millions of people. |
I was lacking in everything needed to start a new friendship in a new town.
My parents had moved to the town when they decided to look for new jobs, but they didn't realize I was really hurt when I had to say goodbye to my old friends. It felt frightful to be a new student in my new school. When my classmates were chatting, I felt left out. I was not good at math or history, nor was I good at drawing or dancing. I was shy and timid (羞怯的). I had a few friends back at my hometown and it seemed that they were the only ones with whom I could be friends for my whole life. I felt there was no room for anyone else on my friends list. I was ashamed of myself, and believed I deserved no notice from others. That is, until Emily came to my world.
Emily was fearless, frank and easy to be around. She was everything I was not and I was too shy to come out of my shell. I met Emily in school almost every day but I never talked to her, even though we were in the same class. How I wished I could be like her, or at least be a friend of hers.
It was another ordinary day. I wandered to the bus stop in the morning and waited for the school bus. Birds were singing with their friends, but who could I sing with? I got on the bus and went straight to my usual seat, complaining in a low voice about getting up early and going to school like every other day, and about how things were going to be the same all over again. Little did I realize something different would happen that day.
注意：1.续写词数应为80到100词；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
When I got up to get off the bus, my schoolbag was stuck on the armrest (扶手).
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