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My name is Sara. When I was little, I played the drums. I also had a guitar. In fourth grade, I started playing the trombone (长号). I practised about four hours a week. All of this might not seem like a big deal for a lot of kids, but there's something about me that makes me a bit different from others. I was born without hands. Since I was about one year old, I’ve worn prosthetics (假肢).
This year, I got an invitation to join the high school marching band (行进管乐队). I told my mom I wanted to do it. But I had an instructor who thought I would not be able to march in the band — not because it was a high school band and I was only in seventh grade, but probably because my body was different. All I wanted was to show that I could do it, so I joined the band. And it paid off!
Music gives me energy. That happens sometimes. One time I was so down, I didn’t even want to get out of bed. Then I hit my MP3 player by accident. A song came on, and I got up and started dancing. It helped me say to myself, “OK, I can get through today.”
Around my musician friends, we all share the same problems, like working out how many beats there are in a measure (小节). I have a hard time counting the beats, but so do a lot of the other kids. It’s a normal problem that we musicians share. When I’m with the band, I don’t feel as different as I do in other situations. It’s just another way that music makes me want to go on, and not to just sit down by myself and not care about life.
1.In what way is Sara different from other kids?
A.There’s something wrong with her body. B.She knows how to play many instruments.
C.She learned to play the drums at a very early age. D.She kept playing the trombone for the longest hours.
2.When invited to join the marching band, Sara________.
A.said no at first B.had no idea what to do
C.followed the instructor’s advice D.believed that she would make it
3.How does Sara probably feel when she’s with the band?
A.Bored. B.Relaxed.
C.Successful. D.Afraid.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A.A High School Band B.A Young Drummer
C.My Love for Music D.My Magic Hands
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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There are many useful suggestions and pieces of advice that can help one to improve English. Here are some useful suggestions and new tips to increase one’s English language vocabulary.
Learning English vocabulary is about much more than just learning the right words. A broad grasp of vocabulary in the English language is based on understanding important expressions.
Learning a word will not help very much if you quickly forget it. Research shows that it takes from 10 to 20 repetitions to really make a word part of your vocabulary. Since most words are learned from how they are used in context, the more words one is shown, the better vocabulary one will have. Keep a piece of paper close to you. When you read, pay more attention to the word you do not know, write the word down and try to figure out its meaning from the context. Then look up the word in a dictionary.
Remember that if you do not use English words that you have just learned in conversation or writing, you will forget them very quickly. So the best way to learn new words effectively is just by trying to use them in conversation and writing. Remember also that practice is the key to fluent spoken English.
Building vocabulary is a life-long task. Remember, “In the beginning was the word.” Your future could depend on how rich your vocabulary is. It will also determine the quality of your communication.
1.We can learn from the passage that learning English vocabulary .
A.is just about learning the right words
B.is about remembering more and more words
C.doesn’t require one to learn expressions
D.requires one to understand important expressions
2.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A.It doesn’t take long to build one’s vocabulary
B.If you remember a word, you are still able to forget it if you don’t use it.
C.To master a word, you need to repeat it 10-20 times.
D.Practice is very important in fluent spoken English.
3.The best way to learn new words is .
A.reading them loudly over and over again
B.writing them down over and over again
C.trying to use them while speaking and writing
D.always looking them up in the dictionary
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A.How to have a good conversation in English
B.How to enrich your English vocabulary
C.Why context is important in learning English
D.How to improve the quality of communication
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? Strangely enough, the answer to both these questions is yes. To some extent our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no amount of special education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a person's intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways.
It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random (随机地) from the population, it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical (完全相同的) twins they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.
1.Which of these sentences best describes the writer's point in Para. 1?
A.To some extent, intelligence is given at birth.
B.Intelligence is developed by the environment.
C.Some people are born clever and others born stupid.
D.Intelligence is fixed at birth, but is developed by the environment.
2.It is suggested in this passage that _________.
A.unrelated people are not likely to have different intelligence
B.close relations usually have similar intelligence
C.the closer the blood relationship between people, the more different they are likely to be in intelligence
D.people who live in close contact with each other are not likely to have similar degrees of intelligence
3.In Para. 1, the word "surroundings" means ________.
A.intelligence B.life
C.environments D.housing
4.The best title for this article would be________.
A.On Intelligence
B.What Intelligence Means
C.We are Born with Intelligence
D.Environment Plays a Part in Developing Intelligence
难度: 中等查看答案及解析