1 . Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer. In his twenties, he had been very famous for his skills on the piano, but then he began to lose his hearing. Beethoven thought about giving up, but in the end he continued to write music. He carried on with the composition until his death in 1827. He composed more than 130 musical works, including his Ninth Symphony (交响曲) .
One day in February 1824, his Ninth Symphony was finally completed. Writing the piece had taken several years. A she proudly signed his name at the bottom of the page, Beethoven tried to imagine how people would respond when they heard it for the first time. Before the performance, the backstage atmosphere at a very famous theatre in Austria was anxious. Beethoven was afraid that the performance would be a disaster. After all, what use is a conductor who could not hear his orchestra (管弦乐) — even if he has a talent for music?
The audience didn’t hesitate to applaud (鼓掌) loudly as the famous composer walked out on to the stage. The theatre’s musical director, Michael Umlauf, joined him and together the two men took charge of the orchestra. For more than an hour, Beethoven jumped about in front of the orchestra, waving his arms wildly in the air, and madly turning the pages of his score (乐谱).
As the symphony came to an end, the audience jumped to their feet, clapping, cheering and waving their hats. But Beethoven continued conducting, his head buried in the score. It was not until Caroline Unger, one of the singers, took his arm and turned him to face the audience that the great man realized his symphony was a victory.
Later, Caroline remembered that Beethoven was not the only one who got a surprise. “The audience was shocked as well,” she said with abroad smile. “Most of them had no idea that he lost his hearing. The one person in the room who didn’t hear the symphony — and never would — was the very man who composed it.”
1. What challenge did Beethoven face in his twenties?| A．His skills were poorly recognized. |
| B．He gradually became deaf. |
| C．He used up the inspiration for music. |
| D．He lost some musical works. |
| A．It was held in an Australian theatre. |
| B．It turned out to be a disaster. |
| C．It was in the charge of Caroline Unger. |
| D．It was well received by the audience. |
| A．Beethoven’s mad behavior. | B．Beethoven’s hearing problem. |
| C．Beethoven’s great symphony. | D．Caroline’s broad smile. |
| A．Persistent. | B．Confident. | C．Generous. | D．Reliable. |
