Question

    If you want to make music but never had lessons as a kid, don’t lose hope. Music teachers say it’s never too late. And as it turns out, the most difficult things are not stiff (不灵活的) hands or an aging brain.

Scot Hawkins, a piano teacher in Silver Spring, says that ability is low on the list of what’s required for adult students. Instead, attitude — especially patience — is everything. “Adults come in with unreasonable goals about what they can achieve, and how quickly,” he says. They want to skip (跳过) steps one through five, and get to step six. And unlike children, no one forces adults to practice, so they may never spare time for it.

But adults have advantages, too. They can see and hear things in the music that completely escape children. David Conrad is one of Hawkins’ students. He started learning the piano with his son Simon when Simon was 8. When learning a new piece, Conrad spends hours studying the music before he sits down to play it. He wants to understand how the notes are organized to figure out what the music is trying to show.

David and Simon Conrad have had their musical difficulties over the years but they haven’t given up. Simon, who is now 16, still takes lessons. A few months ago, he started teaching himself the saxophone. His dad learned some Jazz music, so now, when Simon needs a break from his homework, they play duets (二重奏).

It may be hard but playing music with someone you love or working towards a lifelong goal can be very enjoyable and useful.

1.What is the most important when it comes to learning music?

A.Age. B.Attitude.

C.Teachers. D.Brain.

2.What is an advantage for adults to learn music?

A.They have reasonable goals.

B.They are able to learn quickly.

C.They can teach their children by themselves.

D.They can work out what the music is trying to express.

3.What can we learn from David and Simon?

A.They always give in to difficulties.

B.They have great desire to learn music.

C.They are both good at teaching themselves.

D.They really want to become great musicians.

4.In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?

A.Sports. B.Science.

C.History. D.Music.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.B

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。文章讲述了钢琴老师霍金斯说成年人在学习音乐的时候态度和耐心不足，但在理解音乐方面比儿童更有优势，通过描述大卫和他的儿子一起学习音乐，非常努力，最后取得了好的结果，告诉我们朝着目标或者和爱的人一起学习音乐非常有用，学习音乐永远不晚。

1.

细节理解题。根据第二段第一句的 “ability is low on the list of what’s required for adult students. Instead, attitude — especially patience — is everything.”可以看出，关于学习音乐，对于成年人学习者来说，能力并不是排在前列的要求，相反地，对音乐态度就是一切，everything这个词点出态度也就是最重要的，并且这句话尤其点出耐心的重要性。所以我们可以推断出，态度对于学习音乐来说是最重要的因素。故选B。

2.

细节理解题。根据第三段第一句 “But adults have advantages, too.”可知，成年人也有优势。并且根据后面一句的 “They can see and hear things in the music that completely escape children. ”可以看出，成年人能够看到并且听到孩子不能（看到和听到）的东西，由此我们可以推出，成年学习者由于年龄优势，相比儿童来说，他们会自己努力理解音乐的涵义（这些儿童却往往不能做到），也就是他们会努力理解音乐表达的是什么。故选D。

3.

细节理解题。根据第三段的 “When learning a new piece, Conrad spends hours studying the music before he sits down to play it. He wants to understand how the notes are organized to figure out what the music is trying to show.”可知，在学习一首新曲子时，康拉德会在坐下演奏之前花上几个小时研究音乐。他想了解音符是如何组织起来的，以找出音乐想要表现的是什么。以及第四段的 “David and Simon Conrad have had their musical difficulties over the years but they haven’t given up.”可以看出，大卫和西蒙·康拉德多年来一直在音乐上遇到困难，但他们没有放弃。所以可以看出，康德拉和儿子一起学习音乐的时候都非常的努力，学习音乐非常地热情。由此可以推出他们对于学习音乐有极大的渴望。故选B。

4.

推理判断题。文章一开头的 “If you want to make music but never had lessons as a kid, don’t lose hope.”就已经点出从来不要因为小时候没有上过课而失去学习音乐的希望。并且最后一段的“It may be hard but playing music with someone you love or working towards a lifelong goal can be very enjoyable and useful.”可以看出，你和你爱的人一起演奏音乐或者朝着一个终生的目标努力可能是非常愉快和有用的。都可以找出关键词 music，从而判断出此文章可能出现在报纸的音乐版面。故选D。