The 47-year-old singer talks about the new album Symphony（交响乐） that came out of a “very dark time”, including her decision to give up trying to have children. “People have suggested I could adopt,” Brightman says. “But work is central to my life now. And so I am going to put it to one side. After a while not having children becomes the norm and perhaps that might sound alarming, to parents especially, but I have never known anything different. I’m not hurt by not having children. My life and career are incredibly rich.”
Talking about growing up in a large family in Berkhamsted (father a property developer who later committed suicide), she says: “I was gifted as a child, and very musical. I seemed to be good at anything to do with the arts. At 5，I understood the music I was dancing to and had an eye for costume.” She first appeared in a West End musical at 11 and hated boarding school.
Brightman led the saucy dance troupe（辣妹三人舞） Hot Gossip and had her first hit with I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper in 1978. At 18 she married a music manager called Andrew Graham Stewart. “I was probably in love but I can’t remember. Girls change such a lot between 18 and 22. It didn’t really work out.” In 1981 she was spotted by Lloyd Webber. She became his leading lady in Song and Dance, Requiem and Phantom of the Opera. They married in 1984.
Brightman says she felt hostility(敌意) “from the beginning. I haven’t tried to understand it. I’ve done very well everywhere else, especially the US, where I now live, I just accept it for what it is. The more you are away from Britain, the more you appreciate it. But I don’t miss it, although I miss my family. Our profession can be uncomfortable but I enjoy what I do. I get on with it.”
1.The first paragraph tells us that _____.
A. Brightman is very popular around the world except in America
B. Brightman’s musical style is a mixture of opera, pop and jazz
C. the British people don’t like her for her style of music
D. Brightman is much older than Andrew Lloyd Webber
2.Brightman decided to give up having children because _____.
A. she could adopt one
B. her life and career were unbelievably rich without children
C. she felt it normal not to have children
D. she was too busy
3.The following statements are true except ______.
A. Brightman first appeared in a West End musical at 5
B. Brightman disliked life on the campus
C. Brightman was very gifted when she was young
D.The saucy dance troupe made Brightman famous
4. The underlined word in the fourth paragraph probably means _____.
A. located B. admired C. followed D. found
5. What does the author try to say in the last paragraph by quoting Brightman’s words?
A. Brightman has to accept the fact that she is not liked in Britain
B. Brightman lives in America but she loves her own country
C. The British coldness towards Brightman led to her hatred to her homeland
D. Brightman was at a loss why she was not welcome in Britain
As Christmas is coming, there are presents to be bought, cards to be sent, and rooms to be cleaned. Parents are ___36___ with difficult jobs of hiding presents from curious young children. If the gifts are large, this is sometimes a real ___37___. On Christmas Eve, young children find the excitement almost unbearable. They are torn between the wish to go to bed early so that Father Christmas will bring their presents quickly and the wish to ___38___ up late so that they will not ___39____ the fun. The wish for gifts usually proves stronger. But though children go to bed early, they often lie ___40___ for a long time, hoping to get a short ___41___ at Father Christmas.
Last Christmas, my wife and I ___42___ hid a few large presents in the storeroom. I ___43___ the moment when my son, Jimmy, would ___44___ me where that new bike had come from, but ___45___ he did not see it.
On Christmas Eve, ___46___ took the children hours to go to sleep. It must have been nearly___47___ when my wife and I went quietly into their room and began ___48___ stockings. Then I pushed in the ___49____ I bought for Jimmy and left it beside the Christmas tree. We knew we would not get much sleep that night, for the children were ___50___ to get up early. At about five o’clock the next morning, we were ___51___ by loud sounds coming from the children’s room — they were shouting excitedly! ___52_____ I had time to get out of bed, young Jimmy came riding into the room on his new bike, and his sister, Mary, followed close behind pushing her new baby carriage. ____53_____ the baby arrived. He moved ___54____ the hands and knees into the room dragging a large balloon behind him. Suddenly it burst. That woke us up ___55___. The day had really begun with a band(巨响) !
1.A. faced B. met C. filled D. pleased
2. A. question B. matter C. Problem D. business
3.A. get B. stay C. stand D. wake
4.A. lose B. break C. miss D. leave
5.A. awake B. wake C. asleep D. sleep
6.A. look B. stare C. glare D. watch
7.A. hopefully B. busily C. gladly D. successfully
8.A. liked B. feared C. surprised D. hated
9.A. answer B. tell C. ask D. search
10.A. sadly B. unluckily C. possibly D. fortunately
11.A. it B. they C. I D. we
12.A. morning B. midnight C. evening D. daybreak
13.A. filling B. sewing C. mending D. preparing
14.A. present B. stocking C. bike D. tree
15.A. going B. sure C. glad D. excited
16.A. troubled B. frightened C. woken D. shocked
17.A. Before B. After C. Until D. Since
18.A. Even B. And C. Soon D. Then
19.A. with B. on C. over D. by
20.A. all B. nearly C. happily D. completely
Well _____ remember the day I ______ a wild tigar.
A. I did; saw B. did I; have seen C. do I; am seeing D. do I; saw
After the meeting, she invited us to dinner at her home and treated us _____ many exotic foods we _____ before. It was really a wonderful treat.
A. with; had never tasted B. to; have never tasted
C. with; have never tasted D. to; had never tasted
_______not to be late for the meeting, we arrived forty minutes _______ the required time, but after _____seemed hours of waiting, we were informed the meeting had been canceled.
A. So as; ahead of; what B. In order; ahead of; what
C. So as; in advance of; it D. In order; ahead of; it
The victims of the accident demanded that the case _____ into at once and they _____ a reasonable explanation and a just treatment.
A. would be looked; would be given B. should look; give
C. be looked; be given D. be looked; give
