8．
Starting from my second year of primary school，there was one event I hated every year：the piano concert．I didn't want to practice a boring piece of music and was scared to perform in front of strangers．Each year I would ask my father if I could miss the concert"just this once"．And he would say something about building self-confidence and working towards a goal．
So I was very proud when I stood in church（教堂） and watched my father play the piano during his very fist concert．My father wanted to play music when he was small．But his mother couldn't afford lessons．
Three years ago，when he retired（退休），he asked the church music director，Charles，to take him as a student．Just before the concert，Charles told me my dad was playing"the best I've ever seen him．"For a moment after my father sat down at the keyboard，he simply stared down at his fingers．I wondered whether he would even begin．
But then Aram Khachaturian's Melody（交响乐） began．It seemed that my father took the music so seriously that he didn't realize we were there．My dad made it through Melody and then through another song．Although he didn't have much skill，he made up for it in feeling．
My 11-year-old son Jeff was there．"So what did you think about your grandfather？"I asked Jeff later．"He was great，"Jeff replied．
My father may not have reached his top musically，but in his grandson's eyes，he's at the top of the mountain．
24．From the first paragraph，we know the writerB．
A．was always working towards his goal
B．didn't like to play the piano at all
C．was confident at piano concerts
D．practiced the piano every day
25．While watching his father pay the piano，the writer feltD．
A．worrid B．sad C．happy D．proud
26．Why did people like the performance of the writer's father？A
A．Because he played with his feelings．
B．Because he communicated with people．
C．Because he was an old learner．
D．Because he practiced hard．
27．What does the story tell us？C
A．Learning an instrument is easy for old people．
B．Skills for playing an instrument aren't very important．
C．Never give up your dreams no matter how old you are．
D．Children should follow parents'decisions．
