When my sister Diane began playing the violin, she was seven. How did she sound? Terrible. But she didn’t ____. At twelve, she asked our parents if she could ____ a fulltime music school.They said no. Actually, everyone agreed that my sister ____ talent.
I was better at my ____. My teacher had told my parents that I had great ____. So my parents found the best piano teacher in the area to ____ me. But the only time he was ____ was Saturday afternoons at 3 p.m.. Back then, I was ____ about the British TV show The Avengers, which was ____ every Saturday at 3 p.m.. I let nothing take up my The Avengers hour. So I ____ this amazing opportunity.Today, I don’t even have a ____ in my house.
My sister became an engineer, but she ____ stopped making music. When she was in her 40s, she switched her ____. She went back to college, got a(n) ____ in music education, and became a music teacher. She started kids off on their first instrument and gave them all the encouragement and support she never ____.
Recently, she and a pianist pal (朋友) put on a recital. A big crowd of friends and family ____ for her. As she played, I looked around at the ____. Everyone was ____ enjoying the music. It occurred to me that I was the only person that remembered that a 7 year-old kid making those perfectly ____sounds and knew how far she had come, despite ____.
Talent is important. But enthusiasm is even more important.
1.A. advance B. quit C. reflect D. listen
2.A. inspect B. open C. attend D. visit
3.A. lacked B. spotted C. possessed D. admired
4.A. major B. project C. composition D. instrument
5.A. patience B. enthusiasm C. potential D. ambition
6.A. train B. examine C. correct D. challenge
7.A. punctual B. skillful C. occupied D. available
8.A. sensitive B. crazy C. serious D. particular
9.A. filmed B. designed C. aired D. commented
10.A. jumped at B. turned down C. waited for D. opened up
11.A. tutor B. violin C. musician D. piano
12.A. never B. once C. already D. even
13.A. attitude B. career C. plan D. position
14.A. scholarship B. sponsor C. degree D. assistant
15.A. provided B. imagined C. received D. expected
16.A. voted B. feared C. stayed up D. turned up
17.A. students B. audience C. spotlights D. platform
18.A. obviously B. desperately C. appropriately D. anxiously
19.A. booming B. pleasing C. awful D. powerful
20.A. everything B. something C. everybody D. somebody
Theater is one of the oldest and most important art forms in world culture, it is also one of the richest art forms. Many people work together to bring a play to life. There are playwrights, directors, set designers, costumers, lighting technicians, and, of course, actors. If the performance is a musical, the skills of a songwriter, a choreographer, and musicians are also required. The excitement of opening night can be felt by the people waiting to watch a performance and by the performers and workers backstage waiting for the curtain to go up. Live theater is thrilling because no one really knows how well the play will go until it is performed.
The word theater comes from the Greek theatron, which means “a place for seeing.” One concept from Greek theater that is still seen in some plays today is the “Greek Chorus”. This consists of several actors or characters watching the action of the play(almost like the audience) and then commenting on what whey just saw with either reactions or dialogue.
Although most people think of the theater in terms of a play performed on the stage, theater has taken on a much broader meaning in the modern world. You may find yourself walking into a theater with no seats in the rows. Instead, you are seated among the set pieces, which makes you part of the setting. Sometimes theater may come to life on a street corner, or in a classroom. The excitement of theater is in its very nature----it is an art form that changes as it is interpreted(诠释) in different ways by different people. That is probably why the works of the greatest playwright of all time, William Shakespeare, are still performed and enjoyed today, both in classic and new interpretations.
1.What does the word “richest” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
A. diverse. B. wealthy. C. terrifying. D. entertaining.
2.Why is live theater so exciting according to the text?
A. Plays are usually well written. B. It is often interpreted by skilled actors.
C. No one can predict its success or failure. D. There are so many people working on it.
3.What is suggested about the plays of Shakespeare in the text?
A. They are more often given new interpretations today than in the past.
B. They are more popular today than during Shakespeare’ s time.
C. They will always be considered the world’s greatest.
D. They have been performed in a variety of ways.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. A vital part of theater: Greek Chorus B. Modern theater: adventures in acting
C. Shakespeare: our greatest playwright D. Theater: an exciting art form
Louise Blanchard Bethune showed early promise in math. But Louise did not go to school. Instead, her father taught her at home until she was 11 years old. She also discovered a skill for planning houses. It developed into a lifelong interest in architecture and a place in history as the first professional female architect in the United States.
After graduating from high school in 1874, Louise traveled and studied. She hoped to prepare herself to attend the new architecture school at Cornell University. But then Buffalo’s leading architectural firm of Richard A. Waite and F.W. Caulkins offered her a job. She knew that architects gained their training from practical experience, not from school. She took the job.
Louise worked there as an assistant, 10 hours a day for five years. She learned ----and mastered----drawing and architectural design. She also met her husband, Robert A. Bethune. Their new firm, R.A. and L.Bethune, opened in October 1881.
Bethune appeared to be the strength of the business. At the turn of the 20th century, the city of Buffalo was rapidly expanding to meet the demands of growing industry. The firm received tasks to build hundreds of structures throughout western New York. The firm designed lots of schools, apartment buildings, department stores, churches and factories.
Bethune believed that being an architect meant being an artist, a scientist and a business person. She made a point of advocating for women in the profession. She became a member of the Western Association of Architects(WAA) in 1885. In 1888, she was the first woman to join the American Institute of Architects(AIA). Besides, Bethune took a firm stand on equal treatment for women architects. She insisted on equal pay for equal work.
Bethune left almost no papers or letters, and few people recognize her name today. But her legacy remains in the foothold she established for women in the field of architecture. She started her own firm and enjoyed a successful career.
1.When Louise Bethune was a girl, she liked to .
A. design buildings
B. read picture books of buildings
C. play with toy houses
D. make models of buildings
2.Why did Louise Bethune give up going to university?
A. She got married.
B. She lacked money.
C. She started her own business.
D. She wanted to learn through work.
3.What does the fourth paragraph show?
A. Bethune’ s business was a success.
B. Bethune’ s city developed quickly.
C. An architect should be an artist first.
D. Women can be professional architects.
4.What contribution did Louise Bethune make to society?
A. She educated a lot of women architects.
B. She wrote a lot of letters and papers.
C. She founded the AIA and WAA.
D. She fought for women’ s rights.
Recordings of angry bees are enough to send big, tough African elephants running away, a new study says. Beehives (蜂窝)—either recorded or real—may even prevent elephants from damaging farmer’s crops.
In 2002, scientist Lucy King and her team found that elephants avoid certain trees with bees living in them. Today, Lucy wants to see if African honeybees might discourage elephants from eating crops. But before she asked farmer to go to the trouble of setting up beehives on their farms, she needed to find out if the bees would scare elephants away.
Lucy found a wild beehive inside a tree in northern Kenya and set up a recorder. Then she threw a stone into the beehive, which burst into life. Lucy and her assistant hid in their car until the angry bees had calmed down. Next，Lucy searched out elephant families in Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya and put a speaker in a tree close to each family.
From a distance, Lucy switched on the pre-recorded sound of angry bees while at the same time recording the elephants with a video camera. Half the elephant groups left the area within ten seconds. Out of a total of 17 groups, only one group ignored the sound of the angry bees. Lucy reported that all the young elephants immediately ran to their mothers to hide under them. When Lucy played the sound of a waterfall (瀑布) instead of the angry bees to many of the same elephant families, the animals were undisturbed. Even after four minutes, most of the groups stayed in one place.
Lucy is now studying whether the elephants will continue to avoid the sound of angry bees after hearing it several times. She hasn’t tested enough groups yet to know, but her initial (最初的) results were promising enough to begin trials with farmers. She has now begun placing speakers in the fields to see if elephants are frightened away.
1.We know from the passage that elephants may be frightened of .
A. loud noises B. some crops
C. video cameras D. angry bees
2.As mentioned in the passage, Lucy .
A. works by herself in Africa
B. needs to test more elephant groups
C. has stopped elephants eating crops
D. has got farmers to set up beehives on their farms
3.Why did Lucy throw a stone into a wild beehive?
A. To record the sound of bees.
B. To make a video of elephants.
C. To see if elephants would run away.
D. To find out more about the behavior of bees.
4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Young elephants ignore African honeybees.
B. Waterfalls can make elephants stay in one place.
C. Elephants do not go near trees with bees living in them.
D. Farmers do not allow Lucy to conduct tests in their fields.
Festivals in Wales this spring
There’s lots to see, do and experience in Wales this spring. And now it’s time to embrace all things new and get ready to be entertained in the spring, come rain or shine.
Wrexham, 10-12 May
The annual festival showcases over 200 acts consisting of music, comedy, film and more. Since its opening event in 2011, Focus Wales has done a lot for emerging（新兴的）musicians across the country, and 2018 sees Welsh Music Prize winner The Gentle Good and Y Selar Best Band winners. Candelas, take the stage.
Aberystwyth, 19-29 May
Whether you prefer Hill Climbs or Sportives, the AberCycle Festival allows you to take all of it in from the saddle（鞍）of a bike, enjoying the world’s most beautiful scenery. However, all work and no play makes us all dull boys and girls, so while you’re in town be sure to pop in to one or two of the plenty of pubs in Aber（as the locals call it）for a nice, cold pint of Brains beer. You’ll need it after all that cycling!
Hay on Wye, 25-28 May
The world’s biggest music and philosophy festival returns in 2018 with its unique mix of tunes, talks and trapeze（吊杠）（yes, there are even circus performers!） Based in the magical surroundings of Hay on Wye, this four day festival takes place at the end of May and is perfect for everyone who likes a side of intellectualism（理智主义）with their traditional festival experience.
Lawrenny, 25-28 May
In late May in the heart of the Pembrokeshire National Park, the Big Retreat Wales takes place. Essentially the festival is about wellness, but it’s also so much more than that. Join in this May for four days of “fed good”, leaving your usual routine behind and diving into a delightful mix of workshops, activities, music and sustainable food produce.
1.The festivals in Wales are held annually .
A. in early May B. inside and outside of Wales
C. in rainy or sunny weather D. for locals only
2.What is special about Aberystwyth, 19-29 May?
A. You can find a place to relax after the activity.
B. You can meet your favorite band winners.
C. It has an atmosphere of natural beauty and tradition.
D. It doesn’t last long enough.
3.Jane is an office worker and fitness enthusiast and wants to experience something unusual. Which festival do you suggest she go to?
A. Wrexham, 10-12 May B. Aberystwyth, 19-29 May
C. Hay on Wye, 25-28 May D. Lawrenny, 25-28 May
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.Where does the speaker come from?
A. Australia. B. Ireland. C. Spain.
2.What made Tasmania a good prison?
A. Its size. B. Its weather. C. Its position.
3.What is the leading industry of Tasmania now?
A. Tourism. B. Farming. C. Food production.
4.What is Tasmania like?
A. Modern. B. Natural. C. Poor.
