The Secret Behind a Great Person
A long time ago I watched a video of Josh Groban singing Vincent. It was a beautiful song and I loved it. I got interested in what the song is about.
The song is about a 19thcentury Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh. 1. Unfortunately, he didn’t enjoy all the fame and wealth that his paintings should have brought him. He died when he was only 37 years old.
At that time only a few people knew his work and even fewer appreciated it. 2. For years he had mental illness. He only sold one painting in his lifetime and badly needed financial support.
Even so, he still managed to create lots of great paintings. What was it that made it possible? The answer is that he had a strong supporter, his younger brother Theo. Theo supported Vincent financially, but more importantly, he continued to believe in his brother no matter what happened. 3. I think it’s safe to say that Vincent was able to become a great artist because of this unfailing support from his brother.
There is an important lesson here: never underestimate (低估) the value of a supporter. Having someone who believes in you through the difficulties makes a big difference. 4. You might not realize it, but much of what you have achieved is most likely because of your supporters.
A. If you have such a supporter, express thanks to him.
B. Moreover, he went through many difficulties in his life.
C. His letters to Vincent were full of praise and encouragement.
D. His paintings are among the most famous and expensive in the world.
My father’s playing the violin lights up any room. To him, it is an instrument of faith, hope and charity. My mother used to joke, “Your papa would play his violin if the world was about to blow up.”
Once_Dad_came_about_as_close_to_that_as_could_ever_be_possible.
In the early years of the 20th century, the boll weevil (棉铃象鼻虫) began destroying the cotton farms in the southern USA.
In May 1910, folks all over the nation were talking about Halley’s Comet (哈雷彗星). There were all sorts of frightening stories about it, the main one being that the world would pass through its tail, said to be millions of miles long.
Between the threats of the comet and weevils, the farmers were running low on optimism. One night, they gathered at our farm to discuss what to do. Will Bowen, a local man, suggested, “Charley, how about giving us a little music?”
“I don’t think anybody’d want to hear me tonight,” Dad replied.
“Come on, Mr. Nordyke,” one of the younger women urged. “Play for us!”
Dad got the hang of getting people in the mood for his music. He played church songs, and then switched to war songs. By the time he had finished performing, people were stamping their feet, clapping their hands and yelling.
All of our neighbors went home whistling. Very few remembered to look to see whether the comet was still around.
Another evening, Will Bowen called Dad on the telephone and said, “Charley, I'm downhearted and blue. Could you play a tune or two for me through the phone?”
Dad handed the receiver to me and then set about playing the songs he had performed that night. I could hear Mr. Bowen whistling and yelling.
By the time the tune was finished there were half a dozen neighbors on the line. They talked about how wonderful the music sounded over the telephone. They made numerous requests; I relayed them to Dad and he played.
Our broadcasts became regular features of community life. When the weather was bad in winter and farmers were forced to remain in the house, someone would ring us and ask Dad to play. Usually it developed into a network affair. Our phone kept ringing with requests for music until radio came into fashion.
1. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that the author’s mother ________.
A. believed that her husband had the ability to save the world by playing the violin.
B. complained that her husband loved the violin more than her.
C. thought that her husband could always get strength from his violin.
D. showed that she loved music as much as her husband
2.The underlined sentence “Once Dad came about as close to that as could ever be possible.” functions as ________.
A. a conclusion of the first paragraph
B. an introduction of a story
C. an example of my father's love of music
D. the topic sentence of this passage
3. From the last three paragraphs, we could see that Mr. Nordyke was ______.
A. generous and optimistic B. popular and creative
C. sensitive and determined D. energetic and humorous
4.All the following statements are FALSE except ________.
A. The neighbors often dropped in to hear Mr. Nordyke’s performance.
B. Mr. Nordyke’s music entertained and comforted people in the community.
C. The farmers knew listening to music would help them avoid being destroyed by Halley’s Comet.
D. At that time people loved all sorts of music deeply.
Some people make art with paint, and others use pencil or clay. But Italian artist Maurizio Savini prefers to use bright pink gum—after it has been chewed.
Savini makes huge sculptures of bears and even people out of used chewing gum. Each sculpture requires thousands of pieces of gum.
“I like to use chewing gum because it seemed to me a material that can be used in many ways compared with those used by the conventional arts such as painting,” Savini says.
How does he do it? The process is a lot like working with clay. “I work the chewing gum when it is warm and shape it with a knife,” says Savini. Then, he puts a chemical onto each gum sculpture to make the gum stay in place.
Savini’s sticky art has been shown in cities like London, Paris, and Rome, where he lives today.
Savini isn’t the only artist to work with gum. His pink sculptures have inspired artists all over the world to get creative with the sticky matter.
London artist Ben Wilson paints small paintings onto flat pieces of chewed gum he finds stuck to streets and sidewalks. In Canada, Jason Kronenwald uses different colored gum to make portraits of famous people.
Kronenwald seldom chews gum himself. Instead, his friends help chew gum for him while he’s working. “At times it can make me disgusted, but I just pay attention to the colors I need and get the sculpture going,” he says.
In America, Jamie Marraccini’s art depends on color, so he tests different kinds of gum before using them. To find out what color the chewed gum will become once hardened, he lets it age for up to six months.
“I’ve created 30 works totaling more than 35,000 pieces of gum,” says Marraccini. That’s a lot of gum!
So think twice the next time you throw away a wad of gum. Maybe what seems like trash could actually be the beginning of a great piece of art.
1.The underlined word “disgusted” in the eighth paragraph probably means ________.
A. excited B. feel tired and sick
C. unhappy D. energetic
2.Marraccini stores the gum for six months in order to ______.
A. judge how hard it will be
B. know whether it is still sweet
C. examine what chemicals it contains
D. see what color it will become
3. The best title for the passage is ________.
A. Sticky sculptures B. Creative artists
C. A new form of art D. Chewing gum
4.Savini’s works of art can be seen in all the cities EXCEPT _______.
A. London B. Rome C. New York D. Paris
This is an excerpt(节选)from a speech by Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, delivered to graduates of Stanford University on June 12, 2005.
I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents’ garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired.
How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions(远见) of the future began to diverge(to be different) and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was destructive.
I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs(企业家)down. I even thought about running away from the valley(硅谷). But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar. Pixar went on to create the world’s first computer animated(动画) feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance.
I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.
1.Which of the following is TRUE about Apple?
A. It rejected one of its founders when he turned 30.
B. It once fell apart due to different visions of the future.
C. NeXT became its parent company and made a great comeback.
D. It has survived after it had a destructive blow.
2.The underlined phrase could be replaced by ______.
A. a complete change B. a huge debt
C. a quarrel D. a race
3. Steve Jobs probably values _____ most according to his speech.
A. patience B. faith C. inspiration D. luck
Waiting eagerly for the airplane to take off, I was happy to get a seat by the window. Just then, a flight stewardess me and asked, “Would you mind your seat with the woman over there？They are a couple and would like to sit together.” The only other seat was next to a woman with both arms in casts(石膏), a blackandblue face, and a depressed emotion.“ am I going to sit there.” was my immediate . But then a deeper, quieter voice spoke, “Opportunity.” Eventually I took my new seat and after a short conversation, I that Kathy had been in a car crash, and she was on her way for .
When the snack of nuts and juice arrived， did not take me long to realize that Kathy would not be able to help herself. I offering to feed her but hesitated，as it seemed close a service to offer to a stranger. At last I decided that Kathy’s need was more important than my . I offered to help her eat，and although she too felt uncomfortable about accepting it，she . The flight turned out and she and I close in a short period of time. By the end of the fivehour trip, my heart was full of , and the time was definitely better spent than if I had just sat by myself.
I was very glad I had reached beyond my comfort zone to sit next to Kathy and offer to feed her. Love sometimes beyond human borders and overcomes the fears that keep us . When we reach out our hands to serve another, we grow to live in a larger and more world.
Help me move beyond the small self so I can with the hearts of others.
When I give to another, I feed my own soul.
1.A. reached B. deserved C. approached D. greeted
2.A. sharing B. exchanging C. giving D. quitting
3.A. acceptable B. comfortable C. bearable D. available
4.A. In no way B. In a way C. In one way D. By no way
5.A. reply B. reaction C. choice D. faith
6.A. discovered B. found C. informed D. saw
7.A. holidays B. sightseeing C. interview D. treatment
8.A. that B. which C. it D. what
9.A. suggested B. considered C. advocated D. teased
10.A. too B. so C. much D. still
11.A. guilt B. discomfort C. inconvenience D. ambition
12.A. refused B. laughed C. did D. made
13.A. embarrassing B. desperate C. ridiculous D. agreeable
14.A. kept B. grew C. remained D. developed
15.A. warmth B. sorrow C. pleasure D. fun
16.A. pushes B. touches C. goes D. fits
17.A. close B. allergic C. tough D. separate
18.A. rewarding B. demanding C. encouraging D. inspiring
19.A. help B. connect C. affect D. withdraw
20.A. care B. sympathy C. love D. kindness
Little Jerry was interested in stories about outer space exploration, so he gave all his pocket money to his brother ________ the novel based on such a story.
A. in favor of B. in exchange for
C. in return for D. in place of
