1 . Often people receive a guitar, mandolin, or some other musical instrument as a birthday or Christmas gift. There’s joy everywhere. The giver of the gift knows how much the receiver wants to learn this instrument and the receiver is actually holding it in his hands instead of longing for it through the shop window.

Finding an instructor that fits into a busy work schedule is hard enough, but once you decide on a lesson plan, then you must consider the practice time, how to practice, what to practice — and let’s face it — not all people learn something the same way. So in order to learn a musical instrument, how much practice time is enough and what kind of practice is right for you?

There is no set amount of time that anyone should practice a musical instrument. When I was in programming classes, I could have studied nightly for 5 hours each night. It would have taken me years to learn the art of computer programming. Though I’m attracted by the systematic logic of it, my talent is towards another thing. However, on the other hand, if I spent an hour every couple days with a passionate (充满热情的) hobby like playing the violin, not only would the time fly quickly, I’d also be learning at a much greater speed since the built-in passion is the motivation for advancement.

So as much as it’s important to practice, a step back is to first find the harmonious instrument that fits you as a person as development of your personality. If you’re learning the guitar because it’s cool — obviously that’s the modern-day mindset, however, you might not be actually linking your talent for musical satisfaction with your most creative advantages you have to offer.

It’s been my experience that every person has a certain level of musical talent. My enjoyable challenge has been to assist them in this adventure and actually locate their best abilities as quickly as possible. Then and only then can we match learners with instruments and truly begin a fun and exciting walk down the road of happiness and contentment, where music, ability, personality and soul all meet. Once this piece of the mystery puzzle is in place, I’ve never had to work at motivating a learner to practice.

1. In the author’s opinion, which of the following is the most important when learning a music instrument?

A．The amount of time for practice.	B．A scientific learning method.
C．A good music instructor.	D．The strong fondness for music.

2. According to the author, a learner should choose to learn a music instrument which ________.

A．is received as a birthday or Christmas gift

B．follows a modern fashion in music training

C．is easy to learn and fits the learner very much

D．contributes to developing the learner’s character

3. What do we know about the author?

A．She writes pop music.	B．She’s a music instructor.
C．She advertises for music lesson.	D．She’s a music instrument collector.

4. Which of these questions does the passage answer?

A．Does practice make perfect?	B．Does talent make a difference?
C．Does a lesson plan really fit you?	D．Does hard work make up for lack of talent?

2 . 读后续写

Emily White was born seventeen years ago with so many birth problems in her body. Some of her organs, bones and muscles were out of shape. No one expected her to survive. She did make it but with her strange body figure, everyone could recognize her, even from a distance.

In Emily White’s hometown, there was a yearly outdoor performance in the school auditorium (大礼堂). It had been performed for so many years and actually had become one of the most important events of the Christmas season for many of the town’s people.

Many people tried out each year for it, but so many were turned away. It can only include the most excellent people in the field.

Emily had a beautiful singing voice. Last year she went to Mrs. Owens — her music teacher to ask to join in the performance. Without letting her sing, Mrs. Owens took a look at Amy’s body and said, “Child, you just don’t fit. Everyone would stare at you and that would make you uncomfortable. It would make them uncomfortable, too.”

Without singing a single note, Emily was sent back through the door of the choral room. Hurt and upset, she decided never to try out again. But Mrs. Owens then retired.

This year, there came a new music teacher, Mr. Buttler. He heard about Emily and suggested that she have a try.

Emily didn’t want to be rejected again, so she hesitated a little about it. As Emily struggled, the door was pushed open and Mr. Buttler called, “Emily, you’re next.” Although kind of nervous, Emily did as Mr. Buttler told her to do. Mr. Buttler sat by the piano to keep Emily company. When Emily finished her testing performance, she thanked Mr. Buttler and knew the result would be posted on the door of the choral room the next day.

Emily couldn’t sleep that night. She was suffering from the feelings that she didn’t fit and the great need to be accepted. By the next morning, her stomach was even in pain because of stress.

注意：续写词数应为150左右

Paragraph 1: The next day, Emily nervously glanced at the list on the door of the choral room.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2: Finally, the day of performance came.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . 假如你是李华，你校正在组织“Music and Me”为主题的英语演讲比赛。请你准备一篇演讲稿，内容包括：
1.音乐的地位及作用：
1).在生活中扮演重要角色；
2).使人在身体上和精神上感到放松，给予能量；
3).遇到困难时，激励我克服困难；
2.你喜爱的音乐类型及原因。
注意：
1.词数 80 左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头结尾已经给出。
Good morning, everyone!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for listening.

6 . 假如你是李华，在上周举办的主题为“Music Star”的校音乐节上，你演唱了一首歌并且赢得了一等奖。请你写邮件给你的英国笔友Carl，分享你的经历和感受。内容包括：
1.歌名和选择这首歌的原因；
2.这首歌带给你的感受或影响。
注意：
1.词数80左右；
2.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Carl,

How is everything going?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

7 . 假设你是李华，你的新任外籍教师Peter刚刚来到中国，作为音乐爱好者的你，打算给他送一 张你最爱的唱片给他，帮助他了解中国音乐和中国文化，请给他一封邮件，向他介绍礼物及原因，内容包括：
1.介绍礼物；
2.告知赠送的原因；
3.表达祝愿。
注意：
1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3.请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear Peter,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours, Li Hua

8 . 音乐在我们的生活中起着重要的作用，生活中不能缺少音乐。音乐可以帮助我们调节情绪：紧张的时候音乐可以使我们轻松，忧伤的时候音乐可以使我们快乐。请根据以上提示用英语写一篇主题为“the power of music”的演讲稿，谈谈音乐的重要性，可适当增加细节。
注意：1.词数80左右。
2.开头已给出，不计入总词数。

Good morning! My name is Li Hua.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I took a trip to visit New York with my dad after graduating from high school. One of the places on his list for us to visit was a “rare violin shop” since I played the violin all four years and participated in the honor orchestra as well. We made our way down the crowded streets and eventually stopped in front of a tall building.

This building was not what I pictured when I heard “rare violin shop”. I’d been imagining a street-level shop, open to the public, with some interesting and old violins on display, maybe with a luthier (制琴师) in the back. As we walked inside, took the elevator to the sixth floor, and stood in front of an apartment, I knew something felt off. I voiced my concern to my dad as he rang the doorbell but was ignored. My dad had never been great at interpreting social standards.

We were greeted by a receptionist who asked if we had an appointment, since they were by appointment only. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole and I was instantly aware of the sweaty, summer tourist clothes we had on. My dad eagerly told them that no, we didn’t but, “my daughter plays the violin with her high school orchestra and isn’t that great? And we would love to just go inside and browse! Don’t mind us!”

The receptionist gave him a strange look but took it in stride (泰然处之) and excused herself to talk to someone behind a door. She came back with the owner, a well-dressed man, who told us that since he had no other appointments right now, he would love to give us a tour!

The starting price for a violin here, we found out, was very high. He showed us around a very private-feeling and swanky (时髦且豪华的)-looking apartment, pointed out a room where he casually mentioned he would chat with Joshua Bell when he came by, and opened the most interesting two-person safe I’ve ever seen to show me several multi-million-dollar violins.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

He asked me questions about my orchestra and what pieces I liked to play as well.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I don’t remember his name at this point, but I am very grateful to him.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________