Fans often only see the good side of fame. They see the happy smiles and great success of famous people. But it’s difficult for them to understand everything that comes before then. They can’t see the hard work or the hours of practice.
Li Yundi, the Chinese piano prodigy(天才), recently released his first concert recording. He talked with Teens about his art and his job.
“Of course, the job is hard work,” Li, 25, said. “You need to work hard to be a professional. But you also have to play hundreds of concerts, meet fans, and listen to critics(评论) of your music.”
In 2000, when Li was 18, he won the top prize at the International Chopin(肖邦) Competition in Warsaw, Poland. This was the first time the top prize had been given in 15 years. Li was also the youngest, and the first Chinese to win the prize. Since then, Li became famous and his list of honors goes on and on.
Born in Chongqing, Li began to play piano when he was seven. His parents spent all their money and bought a piano for him--- a luxury in 1980s China.
He worked hard. Every day, Li played for eight hours or more at a piano school. He often played even after the school had closed.
Today, Li still can’ t play a beautiful tune without careful preparation.
“ You need to be ready on stage.” Li said. “People are waiting for you. Nobody knows whether you have slept enough, or whether you have another problem in your life. But you need to play great music for your audience. That’s what they want to hear.”
1.What is Li Yundi? ______.
A. A music-critic B. A music fan C. A pianist
2.What does the underlined word “luxury” mean in Chinese? ______.
A. 奢侈品 B. 流行品 C.豪华
3.How long did it take Li to get the prize of Chopin Competition and became famous? ______.
A. 7 years B. 11 years C. 15 years
4.What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean? ______.
A. You need to sleep well the night before the performance
B. You should prepare carefully before the performance.
C. You need to know your audience.
5.What does the passage mainly tell us? ______.
A. You need to be a prodigy to be successful.
B. You need to be happy to be successful.
C. You need to work hard to be successful.
Chess Club Do you like to play chess? Do you want to play chess well? Mr. Wang can teach you. You can come here every Friday from 13:00 to 16:00. Tel: 623-1904 Room 102. |
Swimmers Wanted Can you swim? Do you like kids? Can you help teach to swim on weekends? Come and join us. Call Jane at 330-9785 for more information. |
Musicians Wanted Boys and girls, are you music lovers? Can you sing or dance? Can you play instruments? Welcome to our Star Rock Band. Please call Victor at 891-3453 or send an e-mail to music@yahoo.com. |
For Sale A washing machine, only used for 6 months, the owner going abroad, $ 275 Call Mike Green at 776-8623 E-mail: mikegreen@sina.com |
1.If you want to help teach the kids swimming, you can call at ______.
A. 330-9785 B. 623-1904 C. 891-3453 D. 776-8623
2.You can learn to play chess ______.
A. every day B. every Friday afternoon
C. on weekend D. every Friday morning
3.If you can play the guitar very well, you can join ______.
A. the swimming club B. the chess club
C. Star Rock Band D. the Mike Green Family
4.Mike Green has to sell his washing machine because ______.
A. it doesn’t work B. he will go abroad
C. his friend asks him to do that
5.Where may you find the above information? ______.
A. A history book B. A traveling notebook
C. The advertising part of a newspaper
In real life, robots are mainly used in factories. They do many different jobs. Usually these jobs are too 43 , difficult or boring for humans.
Robots also help disabled people and people who cannot look after 44 . For example, scientists are making a robot to help blind people. Now many of them have a dog to help them. The dog is called a guide dog. In the future, guide dogs might be robot dogs.
One robot dog is called Meldog. It has wheels. It usually “walks” in front of its owner. It is very clever. It knows the speed of its owner’s walk. Meldog talks to its owner by 45 . The owner wears a special belt. This belt 46 instructions to the owner from Meldog such as “Stop here”, “Turn left” and “Turn right”.
In the United States, another 47 of robot helps disabled workers. This robot, called Kilroy, helps disabled computer operators. The robot 48 the sound of its owner’s voice. It follows instructions such as “Turn the page” and “Make a cup of coffee”.
Robots are also used in American 49 . They can do simple jobs. For example, they shave (刮脸) patients and brush their teeth and take meals from the kitchen to patients’ rooms. It never gets lost 50 this robot has a map of the hospital in its computer memory.
1.A. interesting B. strange C. dangerous D. safe
2.A. others B. another C. them D. themselves
3.A. television B. radio C. loudspeaker D. mobile telephone
4.A. posts B. writes C. reads D. sends
5.A. type B. size C. set D. double
6.A. guesses B. thinks C. hears D. sees
7.A. cinema B. hospitals C. museum D. theatre
8.A. until B. before C. because D. whether
One summer evening, a 10-year-old boy was trying to hit a bottle with a slingshot(弹弓). The bottle was about 7 to 8 meters __36__. The boy tried many times but still couldn’t hit it. His mother just kept passing him small stones.
A girl walked by. She __37__ the boy for some time and said to the mother, “Let me show him how to shoot.”
“No, thank you,” said the __38__, “he is blind.”
The girl was surprised and asked, “How can he hit the bottle then?” “I tell him he can do it,” said the mother, “__39__ he tries hard enough.”
The little boy tried again and again. The mother always told him that he was doing __40__. The boy became more confident. After a long time, it __41__ dark. The girl said goodbye to the mother and son. When she turned to leave, she heard a stone hit the __42_! The little boy finally made it!
With confidence and patience, nothing is impossible.
1.A. long B. tall C. away
2.A. said B. watched C. wondered
3.A. mother B. boy C. girl
4.A. before B. after C. if
5.A. good B. better C. well
6.A. went B. become C. got
7.A. bottle B. slingshot C. stone
–Let’s go to Tom’s birthday party.
-I’d like to , but I ________ yesterday.
A. am not invited B. wasn’t invited C. didn’t invite
–Will they go boating if it _________ tomorrow?
–Of course.
A. won’t rain B. doesn’t rain C. will rain