Question

Duke Ellington is known as one of the most important composers of his time, and his work has been enjoyed for more than 80 years by music lovers all over the world. During his lifetime Ellington turned musical sounds into many compositions, mostly in the style known as jazz.

The Early Years

Duke Ellington was born in 1899 in Washington D.C. It wasn’t until Ellington was a teenager that his interest in music grew. He taught himself to play the piano by listening to local piano players. Sometime around 1916 Ellington began playing the piano at high school parties. Ellington realized that he enjoyed entertaining people with his music. He soon became a very popular musician playing at parties and other events in the Washington area. Young adults seemed especially to love the modern pieces he composed.

Success in New York

In 1923, when Ellington was almost 24 years old, he joined The Washingtonians, a five-piece group of musicians in Washington, and became the group’s leader in early 1924. In 1927 Ellington and his orchestra (管弦樂(lè)隊(duì)) won an engagement (雇傭期) at Harlem’s famous Cotton Club. For the next three years, his orchestra played at the Cotton Club nearly every night.

The Influence of the Cotton Club

Working at the Cotton Club encouraged Ellington’s creativity. Since the shows changed every six months, he was challenged by the need to develop new material. He had to compose lots of music for the Cotton Club shows.

By 1928 the club began to cover the shows live on the radio. From the live shows, Ellington and his orchestra gained a national reputation (名聲).

On the Road

As Ellington’s popularity increased, he realized that his orchestra could do well on concert tours. They left the Cotton Club in 1931 and toured America and Europe almost continually for the next 43 years. During his trip, Ellington made recordings and continued to compose music.

Duke Ellington played the piano, composed music, and led his famous orchestra for more than 50 years, until his death in 1974. Music lovers all over the world agree that his music will be enjoyed for many years to come.

1.What do we know about Ellington from the first two paragraphs?

A.He preferred young adults to elder audience.

B.He could sing as well as he played the piano.

C.He had a natural gift for composing music.

D.He learnt to play musical instruments from a very young age.

2.Which of the following can show us Ellington’s leadership ability?

A.Ellington was very popular at parties in the Washington area.

B.Ellington did live radio shows at the Cotton Club in Washington.

C.Ellington made the orchestra popular and successful for a long time.

D.Ellington continually developed new material and composed more music.

3.What can we infer (推斷) from the passage?

A.Ellington loved traveling around the world.

B.Ellington could compose a large number of songs.

C.Ellington’s career became successful just in one night.

D.Ellington made a great difference to the world of music.

4.Which of the following shows the order in which the events happened in the passage?

a. Ellington joined a five-piece group of musicians in Washington.

b. Ellington’s orchestra played at the Cotton Club.

c. Ellington’s orchestra went on concert tours.

d. Ellington began playing the piano at high school parties.

A.d-a-b-c B.d-c-a-b C.a-d-b-c D.d-b-a-c

Answer 1