Question

    I was 11 years old when asked my mom for piano lessons in 2010. We were in the fallout of the recession(经济衰退). She said a polite "no".

That didn't stop me. I Googled the measurements for a keyboard, drew the keys on a piece of paper and stuck it on my desk. I would click notes on an online keyboard and “play” them back on my paper one - keeping the sound they made on the computer in my head. I spent six months playing without touching a real piano. Once my mom saw that I was serious, she borrowed money and bought me 10 lessons.

I still remember the first one. I was struck by how real the sound of the piano was. I sat my grade one after eight lessons. Once I started secondary school, we couldn't afford lessons again. I passed grade three, then grade five, practicing only on my piece of paper.

One evening, When I was about 13, my mom said she had a surprise for me; it was an electronic keyboard, bought with more borrowed money. It was the first time I'd played for her. She was in shock.

My school didn't offer music A-level. I found the Purcell School for young musicians. The tryouts(选拔) were difficult. Some of the questions involved an estimation (评价) of the composer(作曲家) or when it was written. I felt overwhelmed. To my amazement I was offered a place.

At Purcell, I spent two years working as hard as I could. I performed to raise money and saved enough to buy my first piano.

When I left Purcell, I was awarded the senior piano prize and senior academic music prize. I am now at the Guildhall School in London. I feel proud: it's been 10 years since I drew my paper piano, and I'm at one of the world's leading music schools.

The irony is that I continue to do a lot of my practice away from the piano: What we call mental practice. The paper piano helped spark my curiosity about how music works, the building blocks that form the pieces.

1.Why did the author's mom buy him lessons at last?

A.She suddenly made a fortune.

B.She realized he meant what he said,

C.She had no doubt of his talent for piano.

D.She was shocked by his first performance.

2.Which of the following can best describe the author?

A.Honest. B.Humorous.

C.Determined. D.Rebellious.

3.The word “irony” in the last paragraph shows that the author was      .

A.surprised B.proud

C.satisfied D.curious

4.What's the author's main purpose of writing this article?

A.To introduce the method of mental practice.

B.To encourage people to stick to their dreams.

C.To describe how costly it is to learn an instrument.

D.To share how he convinced his mom to buy a piano.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.A

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文，讲述了作者小时候想学习钢琴，家里却负担不起学习钢琴的费用，但这并没有阻止他坚持自己的音乐梦想——他按照键盘的尺寸在纸上画出键，然后贴在桌子上练习，经过多年的练习与坚持，作者现在在世界上最顶尖的音乐学校之一工作。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中的“Once my mom saw that I was serious, she borrowed money and bought me 10 lessons.”可知，妈妈一看到作者是认真的，就借钱给他付了十节钢琴课的费用，故B项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段中的“That didn't stop me. I Googled the measurements for a keyboard, drew the keys on a piece of paper and stuck it on my desk. I would click notes on an online keyboard and “play” them back on my paper one - keeping the sound they made on the computer in my head. I spent six months playing without touching a real piano.”可知，这（妈妈的拒绝）并没有阻止作者学习钢琴，他按照键盘的尺寸在纸上画出键，然后贴在桌子上练习，这样练习了六个月的“假钢琴”，这表明作者很有决心，故C项正确。

3.推理判断题。根据画线词后的“I continue to do a lot of my practice away from the piano: What we call mental practice. The paper piano helped spark my curiosity about how music works, the building blocks that form the pieces.”可知，作者继续做了很多钢琴以外的练习：我们称之为心理练习，这架纸钢琴（竟然）激发了作者对音乐如何运作的好奇心，言外之意，作者没有想到这架纸钢琴竟然给自己带来这么大的影响，因此画线词突出了作者的惊讶之情，故A项正确。

4.推理判断题。通读全文可知，本文主要讲述了作者小时候想学习钢琴，家里却负担不起学习钢琴的费用，但这并没有阻止他坚持自己的音乐梦想——他按照键盘的尺寸在纸上画出键，然后贴在桌子上练习，经过多年的练习与坚持，作者现在在世界上最顶尖的音乐学校之一工作，因此作者写这篇文章是为了鼓励人们（像他一样）坚持自己的梦想，故B项正确。