Matt Haimovitz is 42 and a renowned cellist (大提琴手) in the world. He rushed into the classical music scene at the age of 12 after Itzhak Perlman, the famed violinist, heard him play.
But nothing in his family history explains where Haimovitz got his extraordinary talent. And that’s typical, Ellen Winner, a professor says.
“People are fascinated by these children because they don’t understand where their talent came from. You will see parents who say, ‘I wasn’t like this, and my husband wasn’t like this.’ It seems to sometimes just come out of the blue,” Winner says.
It’s not clear whether a prodigy’s (天才)brain is any different from the brains of other children, in part because there have been no study comparing the brains of prodigies to those of average people.
“But I believe that anything that shows up so early, without training, has got to be either a genetic or some other biological basis,” Winner says. “If a child suddenly at the age of 3 goes to the piano and picks out a tune and does it beautifully, that has to be because that child has a different brain.”
Children who are extremely gifted tend to be socially different, too, Winner says. “They feel like they can’t find other kids like themselves, so they feel strange, maybe even like a freak, and feel like they don’t have anybody to connect with. On the other hand, they also long to connect with other kids, and they can’t find other kids like themselves.”
As Haimovitz got older, he became frustrated. He wanted to play other kinds of music but felt constricted by the image and the expectations of the boy prodigy who played classical music and filled concert halls.
“When you start that early, you suddenly start to grow up in public, and I wanted to experiment,” Haimovitz says.
So he took his cello into punk rock clubs and coffee houses. He played Bach, Haydn and Hendrix. “My teacher was Leonard Rose, and we never played any 20th-century music. He didn’t like it. But once I was exposed to James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix, Miles Dewey Davis El and others, I couldn’t really turn back. I wanted to know more,” he says.
【小題1】According to some parents, prodigies’ extraordinary talent .
A.comes unexpectedly | B.is inherited from parents |
C.results from hard work | D.is trained in early times |
A.a(chǎn)verage people have their particular brains |
B.biology is the base of a different brain |
C.a(chǎn) prodigy’s brain is superior to those of others |
D.genes play an important role in a prodigy |
A.lonely | B.easy-going | C.innocent | D.social |
A.build up his friendship | B.play different kinds of music |
C.set up the image of a prodigy | D.perform classical music creatively |
【小題1】A
【小題2】D
【小題3】A
【小題4】B
解析試題分析:文章大意:馬特·海默維茨是著名的大提琴手。人們都認為他是天才,但他的這種“天才”卻不是遺傳。然而,天才的童年也有自己的煩惱,他們無法找到自己的玩伴所以有時候會很孤獨。
【小題1】A細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第三段…because they don’t understand where their talent came from….just come out of the blue(出乎意料), 可知答案選A。
【小題2】D 細節(jié)理解題。 根據(jù)第五段..I believe that …without training, has got to be either a genetic or some other biological basis可知,Winner相信天才要是沒有訓(xùn)練要么是遺傳要么是其它生物基礎(chǔ),所以正確答案為D、基因在天才身上起著重要作用。
【小題3】A 細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第四段…so they feel strange, maybe even like a freak, and feel like they don’t have anybody to connect with…可知,天才兒童沒人跟他們玩,感覺自己很奇怪,像個畸形人,所以會很孤獨。因此答案選A。
【小題4】B 細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)最后一段…I couldn’t really turn back. I wanted to know more可知,Haimovitz接觸了別的音樂時就不想再回到原先的音樂上,而是想對新的音樂知道更多。所以答案選B。
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Louis Armstrong had two famous nicknames(綽號). Some people called him Bagamo. They said his mouth looked like a large bag. Musicians often called him Pops, as a sign of respect for his influence(影響)on the world of music.
Born in 1901 in New Orleans, be grew up poor, but lived among great musicians. Jazz was invented in the city a few years before his birth. Armstrong often said, “Jazz and I grew up together.”
Armstrong showed a great talent for music when he was taught to play the cornet (短號) at a boy’s home. In his late teens, Armstrong began to live the life of a musician. He played in parades, clubs, and on the steamboats that traveled on the Mississippi River. At that time, New Orleans was famous for the new music of jazz and was home to many great musicians. Armstrong learned from the older musicians and soon became respected as their equal.
In 1922 he went to Chicago. There, the tale of Louis Armstrong begins. From then until the end of his life, Armstrong was celebrated and loved wherever he went. Armstrong had no equal when it came to playing the American popular song.
His cornet playing had a deep humanity (仁愛) and warmth that caused many listeners to say, “Listening to Pops just makes you feel good all over. ”He was the father of the jazz style and also one of the best-known and most-admired people in the world. His death, on July 6, 1971, was headline news around the world.
【小題1】Armstrong was called Pops because he .
A.looked like a musician |
B.was a musician of much influence |
C.showed an interest in music |
D.traveled to play modern music |
A.He meant he had a brother named Jazz. |
B.He meant he was very good at Jazz. |
C.He meant he couldn’t afford to learn Jazz. |
D.He meant he was very lucky to live among great musicians. |
A.by space | B.by examples | C.by time | D.by comparison |
A.His tale begins in New Orleans. |
B.He was born before jazz was invented. |
C.His music was popular with his listeners. |
D.He learned popular music at a boy’s home. |
A.The Invention of the Jazz Music |
B.The Father of the Jazz Style |
C.The Making of a Musician |
D.The Spread of Popular Music |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Henry Ford grew up on an un-electrified farm, and as a young man he followed Edison's career as the inventor became a national role model.Ford took a job at the Edison Illuminating Company working his way up to chief engineer.
In 1896 Ford was thirty-three and, though still working for Edison Co.,he had created his first experimental automobile the Ford Quadricycle2 during his off-time. At an Edison company party in New York, Ford had his first chance to meet his hero Edison and was able to explain his new automobile to the great inventor. Edison was impressed. Edison is said to have slammed his fist downand shouted ¨Young man, that's the thing! You have it! Your car is self-contained and carries its own power plant." Edison himself had been working on the idea, but had only been considering electricity as the power source, so the idea of a gas engine was a somewhat new one.
The words comforted Ford greatly, who immediately set out building a second car which was to become the Model-T.6.The two men became f'ast friends and would go on camping trips together.When Edison later became limited to a wheelchair, Ford brought an extra one to his house so they could race.At the 50th anniversary of the invention of light-bulb, Ford honored Edison.When Edison spoke, he ended his speech directed at Ford:“ As to Henry Ford, words fail to express my feelings.I can only say that he is my friend." Therefore it is no surprise that Ford wanted something to remember Edison by after he passed away in 1931.
Once, Ford asked Thomas Edison's son Charles to sit by the dying inventor's bedside and hold a test tube next to his father's mouth to catch his final breath. Ford was a man with many strange behaviors( as was Edison)including some interest in reanimation and spiritualism(夏活通靈術(shù))and some say that he was attempting to catch Edison's soul as it escaped his body in hopes of later bringing the inventor back to life.
The test tube itself didn't turn up until 1950 when it was listed in the Ford possessions after Clara Ford's passing away, and then lost again until 1978 when it was discovered in an exhibit Entitled “Henry Ford-A Personal History" in the Henry Ford Museum.It would then be discovered that the tube was labeled “Edison's Last Breath".
There is a further mystery of this “l(fā)ast breath" test tube. It would seem as if Edison had quite a last breath indeed, as the Edison Estate holds a collection of 42 test tubes all supposedly containing Edison's last breath.
Regardless of the excitement over the last breath, the test tube is quite touching in its meaning.Although both men were known for all sorts of poor behavior towards .their loved ones and mistreatment of employees, between them at least, there was clearly a deep respect and admiration.
【小題1】The passage can be sorted as a .
A.science research | B.short story | C.news report | D.self-introduction |
A.Edison envied what Ford had achieved |
B.Edison was annoyed that Ford did better him |
C.Edison was angry because Ford stole his idea |
D.Edison was extremely amazed at Ford's new idea |
A.to remind Edison was Ford's role model |
B.to suggest Ford was a man of strange behavior |
C.to tell us the importance of a creative idea then |
D.to show the close friendship between Henry Ford and Edison |
A.a(chǎn) symbol of a friendship and memory |
B.a(chǎn) witness to a scientific breakthrough |
C.a(chǎn) failure to bring Edison back to life |
D.a(chǎn) sign of the two inventors' poor behavior |
A.Great minds think alike |
B.Nobody is perfect |
C.Two heads are better than one |
D.A friend in need is a friend indeed |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
It’s such a happy-looking library, painted yellow, decorated with palm-tree stickers and sheltered from the Florida sun by its own roof. About the size of a microwave oven, it’s pedestrian-friendly(對行人友善的), too, waiting for book lovers next to a sidewalk in Palm Beach country Estates, along the northern boundary of Palm Beach Gardens.
It’s a library built with love.
A year ago, shortly after Janey Henriksen saw a Brian Williams report about the Little Free Library organization, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit organization that aims to promote literacy(讀書識字) and build a sense of community in a neighborhood by making books freely available, she announced to her family of four, “That’s what we’re going to do for our spring break!”
Son Austin, now a 10th-grader, didn’t see the point of building a library that resembles(類似) a mailbox. But Janey insisted, and husband Peter unwillingly got to work. The 51-year-old owner of a ship supply company modified(修飾) a small wooden house that he’d built years earlier for daughter Abbie’s toy horses, and made a door of glass.
After adding the library’s final touches (裝點), the family hung a signboard on the front, instructing users to “take a book, return a book,” and making the Henriksen library, now one of several hundred like it nationwide and among more than 2,500 in the world, the only Little Free Library in Palm Beach County.
They stocked it with 20 or so books they’d already read, a mix of science fiction, reference titles, novels and kids’ favorites. “I told them, keep in mind that you might not see it again,” said Janey, a stay-at-home mom.
Since then, the collection keeps replenishing (補充) itself, thanks to ongoing donations from borrowers. The library now gets an average of five visits a day.
The project’s best payoff, says Peter, are the thank-you notes left behind. “We had no idea in the beginning that it would be so popular.”
【小題1】In what way is the library “pedestrian-friendly”?
A.It owns a yellow roof. |
B.It protects book lovers from the sun. |
C.It stands near a sidewalk. |
D.It uses palm-tree stickers as decorations. |
A.a(chǎn) report on a Wisconsin-based organization |
B.a(chǎn) spring break with her family |
C.a(chǎn) book sent by one of her neighbors |
D.a(chǎn) visit to Brian Williams |
A.by a ship supply company | B.on the basis of toy horses |
C.with glass | D.like a mailbox |
A.get paid to collect books for the library |
B.receive thank-you notes for using the library |
C.donate books to the library |
D.visit the library over 5 times on average daily |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
It had been three months since Ms Miller had started teaching. She was gradually being able to understand all her students, except one, Bob. Bob was the only boy who came to school dressed untidily and sat in the class completely lost in his own world. His performance had been deteriorating gradually with every single day.
Ms Miller searched through the progress reports of Bob and was shocked to see Bob used to be the topper in his class. Bob's performance began to slowly decline when his mother fell ill. He was doing badly in each and every subject when his mother died leaving him alone with his father, who was a businessman and had to travel always. Apart from his performance worsening gradually, Bob's nature too began to change. He had forgotten to laugh and showed no interest in any activity. All his friends had abandoned him.
One day, Bob was asked to stay back.Ms Miller asked him if he had any problem understanding his lessons. Gradually she began to give him a comfort zone so that he could talk and share. After three weeks, she found Bob gradually improving. He was being able to answer the questions he previously failed. Every day after all the students went away, Ms Miller gave personal attention to Bob and began to spend time with him. Bob improved a lot over the next semester, showing definite signs of progress in his performance.
On a Friday, Bob came up to Ms Miller, handed her a box and requested her to open the box on Sunday. On Sunday morning, curious, she opened it and saw a bottle of perfume, half filled. Together with it was a small letter, saying that this bottle of perfume used to be his mother's and he wished Ms Miller to wear it so that every time she was around, he could feel his Mom near him. He thanked her for everything. Ms Miller took the bottle of perfume in her hand and saw a new tag attached to it; it said "Happy Mother's Day”!
Ms Miller suddenly realized that it was not she who had made a difference to Bob's life but it was Bob who made her realize what true humanity is!
【小題1】According to the text, Bob________.
A.wore clean clothes all the time |
B.was taller than any other one in his class |
C.lost all of his friends after his mother's death |
D.could always have his father for company at home |
A.worsening | B.changing | C.thrilling | D.Improving |
A.why Ms Miller would like to help Bob. |
B.what Ms Miller did to help Bob. |
C.how Bob attracted Ms Miller’s attention. |
D.where Bob could sit comfortably |
A.showed Bob was thankful for Ms Miller’s help |
B.was given on Mother’s Day |
C.made Bob a different student |
D.was new and never used before |
A.a(chǎn) teacher can totally change a student’s life |
B.family is the most important place for kids |
C.children don’t have to solve problems by themselves |
D.one should have sympathy for another’s suffering and offer help |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Some people succeed in unbelievable ways.
Roussel was orphaned at the age of eight and went to live with his grandfather. He built on the music he had learned from his mother, entertaining himself by reading through the family music collection and playing his favorite songs on the piano.
Three years later, Roussel’s grandfather died, and his aunt adopted him. Her husband arranged for young Albert to take regular piano lessons. Summer vacations at a Belgian seaside resort added a second love to his life -- the sea. He studied to be a naval cadet (海軍學員), but still made time to study music.
In the French Navy, while he served on a warship based at Cherbourg, he and two friends found the time to play the music of Beethoven and other composes (作曲家). Roussel also began composing. At the Church of the Trinity in Cherbourg on Christmas Day 1892, he had his first performance as a composer.
That success encouraged Roussel to write a wedding march, and one of his fellow offices offered to show it to a well-known conductor (指揮家), Edouard Colonne. When Roussel’s friend returned with the manuscript (手稿), he reported that Colonne had advised Roussel to give up his naval career and devote his life to music.
Not long afterwards, at the age of 25, Roussel did just that. He applied characters that he had developed in the navy to his composing and became a major force in twentieth century French music. As for Eduoard Colonne’s inspiring advice that Roussel devote his life to music, Roussel's navy friend later admitted that he had made it up and that he had never even shown Roussel's manuscript to the conductor.
【小題1】Which of the following shows the right order of the story?
a. Roussel gave up his naval career.
b. Roussel was adopted by his aunt.
c. Roussel read through the family music collection.
d. Roussel had his first performance as a composer in Cherbourg.
A.c, b, d, a | B.b. c, d, a | C.b, c, a. d | D.c, b, a, d |
A.his mother | B.the husband of his aunt |
C.his navy friend | D.Edouard Colonne |
A.Roussel's aunt adopted him after his grandfather died. |
B.Roussel read through the family music collection in his grandfather's. |
C.Colonne advised Roussel to give up his naval career and devote his life to music. |
D.If Roussel hadn't joined the navy, he might not have achieved so much. |
A.A clever musician | B.A white lie |
C.A helpful conductor | D.A great manuscript |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Lightning flashed through the darkness over Donald Lubeck’s bedroom skylight.The 80-year-old retired worker was shaken by a blast of thunder.It was 11 p.m.The storm had moved directly over his two-story wood home in the rural town of Belchertown, Massachusetts.Then he heard the smoke alarm beeping.Lubeck padded down the stairs barefoot and opened the door to the basement, and flames exploded out.
Lubeck fled back upstairs to call 119 from his bedroom ,but the phone didn’t work.Lubeck realized he was trapped.“I started panicking,” he says.
His daughter and young granddaughters ,who lived with him ,were away for the night.No one will even know I’m home, he thought.His house was three miles off the main road and so well hidden by pines that Lubeck knew calling for help would be fruitless.
Up a hill about a third of a mile away lived Lubeck’s closest neighbors, Jeremie Wentworth and his wife.Wentworth had been lying down, listening to the radio when it occurred to him that the sound was more like a smoke detector.He jumped out of bed ,grabbed a cordless phone and a flashlight, and headed down the hillside toward the noise.
He dialed 119“Is anyone there?” he called out as he approached the house.Wentworth knew that Lubeck lived in the house.
Then he heard ,“Help me! I’m trapped!” coming from the balcony off Lubeck’s bedroom.
“I ran in and yelled, ‘Don, where are you ?’Then I had to run outside to catch my breath.”
After one more attempt inside the house, he gave up and circled around back.But there was no way to get to him.“I shined the flashlight into the woods next to an old shed and noticed a adder,” says Wentworth.He dragged it over to the balcony and pulled Lubeck down just as the second floor of the house collapsed.
Wentworth and Lubeck don’t run into each other regularly, but Lubeck now knows that if he ever needs help ,Wentworth will be there.
Lubeck still chokes up when he tells the story.“I was alone,”he says.“Then I heard the most beautiful sound in my life.It was Jeremie.”
【小題1】According to the text ,Lubeck .
A.stayed calm in the fire | B.couldn’t find a safe way out |
C.lived on the first floor | D.called for help in the fire |
A.He called 911. |
B.He went upstairs and took Lubeck out. |
C.He put out the fire |
D.He used a ladder and pulled lubeck down. |
A.He was living in his wood home alone that night. |
B.The storm was too heavy and the fire was too fierce. |
C.He lived far from the main road and was surrounded by pines. |
D.He was too frightened to escape from the danger. |
A.A near neighbour is better than a distant cousin. |
B.A good way to get a narrow escape. |
C.God helps those who help themselves. |
D.Blood is thicker than water. |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?
Jane Addams (1860 - 1935)
Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She created shelters, education opportunities and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964)
Rachel Carson was born in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania in America. The popular 1962 book “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson made people realize the dangers and the harmful effects (影響) of pollution on humans and on the world’s lakes and oceans.
Angela Merkel (1954 - )
In 2005, Germans chose Angela Merkel as their first woman head of the country. She had been a scientist in the past. As Germany’s leader, she has had an effect on the whole world.
Sandra Day O’Connor (1930 - )
When Sandra Day O’Connor finished her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work because she was a woman. However, she became the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court (最高法院) in 1981 after years of hard work.
Margaret Thatcher (1925 - 2013 )
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first woman Prime Minister (首相). She served until 1990, which made her the first British leader to serve three terms in a row. Because of her high standards and strong will, people called her Britain’s Iron Lady.
Marie Curie (1867-1934)
Polish-born scientist Marie Curie discovered that some types of metal give off energy called radiation (輻射能). Her research led to new medical treatments and arms. She received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911.
【小題1】Who once won the Nobel Prize?
A.Jane Addams and Marie Curie. |
B.Jane Addams and Margaret Thatcher. |
C.Marie Curie and Angela Merkel. |
D.Marie Curie and Rachel Carson. |
A.help the poor |
B.spread geographic knowledge |
C.protect the environment |
D.protect the rights of women |
A.Both of them were scientists before coming to power. |
B.Both of them are the first woman head of their country. |
C.Both of them are famous for being strict. |
D.Both of them have worked for three terms. |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
A ship was damaged during a storm at sea and only two of the men aboard were able to swim to a small island. Not knowing what else to do, the two survivors decided that they should pray to God.
However, to find out whose prayers were more powerful, they agreed to divide(分割開)the land between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a tree on his side of the island, and he was able to eat its fruit. But the other man’s side of land remained barren.
After a week, the first man became lonely and decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was damaged and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the island. But on the other side of the island, there was nothing.
Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes and more food. The next day, like magic, all of these things were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship so that he and his wife could leave the island, and in the morning he found a ship stopped at his side of the island.
The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from Heaven, “Why are you leaving your partner on the island?”
“My blessings are mine alone since I was the one who prayed for them.” The first man answered. “ His prayers were all unanswered so he doesn’t deserve anything.”
“You are mistaken!” the voice said. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. He prayed that all your prayers would be answered.”
【小題1】Why didn’t the two men stay together on the island?
A.Because they both wanted to live a quiet life |
B.Because they couldn’t get along well with each other |
C.Because they wanted to test the power of their prayers |
D.Because they wanted to keep their own life secret from others |
A.noisy | B.empty | C.dangerous | D.calm |
A.Hard-working | B.Lucky | C.Selfish | D.Dishonest |
A.God helps those who help themselves |
B.A life without a friend is a life without a sun |
C.A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds |
D.What we do for others is more important than what we do for ourselves |
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