17．My father's family is not a musical family．They are a family of words．My brother has my father's dark hair，his love of a good argument．I take after my mother．From her I inherited a curious nature，a sense of adventure，bright red hair．I did not，contrary to her hopes，inherit a talent for the piano．That fact was established beyond doubt after unsuccessful attempts to draw music from me．
The piano lessons began when I was four．My mother was convinced that I would be a child Mozart．She found the ideal teacher--Madame Oblenka，a strict Russian woman，whose pursed lips were enough to frighten a wild horse into submission．Madame Oblenka，who expected a little Mozart，was not very delighted to find a little girl banging her fists （拳头） on the keys．
I tried to please her．"Feel the music，"she urged．I"felt"it and winced （退避） my ear--for what is more unpleasant than a series of wrong notes played continuously？She"felt"my music，too，which is why she always left with an angrier expression than when she came．
Once，when I was ten，I managed to record one of my own rehearsals （练习）．In order to escape my practice sessions，I would close myself behind the door of the piano room，put on the tape recording，and read until the tape had finished．That method worked for a week，until my mother began to wonder why I always missed the same B-sharp．She knocked on the door，and，receiving no answer，came in to check on me and found that I had fallen asleep while the tape of my performance played on and on．
I was twelve when my parents finally acknowledged that my hidden talent was not about to emerge any time soon．My mother，refusing to admit defeat，told me to pick another instrument．"Choose anything you want，Honey，"she said，assuming that freedom of choice would inspire devotion．I thought long and hard and chose the drums．My parents，sensitive to noise，would be less than overjoyed by a daily bombardment of playing．I imagined my father in his study，cotton wads in his ears．
I worked my way through several other instruments before my mother hit on another idea．Maybe I wasn't meant to be an instrumentalist．Realizing that drama might be more suited to my talents，Mom took me to a drama teacher．However，he put me backstage，painting scenery．Once I recovered from my sense of injury，I realized the wisdom of his choice．I loved the active，practical backstage world，and I discovered that I had a knack for constructing and painting．I loved the challenge of taking our scanty （贫乏） supplies and using them to make something beautiful．Imagining a scene and then seeing it emerge before me--this，to me，was close to magic．
I'm a sculptor now，and every day I experience afresh the joy of being fully absorbed in the act of artistic creation．It's a wonderful，blissful （乐而忘忧） feeling．I realize that my parents，in their misguided attempts to interest me in music，were trying to give me this feeling．And now I feel grateful．Perhaps they went about it in the wrong way，but their hearts were in the right place．
55．Madame Oblenka always felt angry becauseD．
A．the author was too young to play the piano well
B．the author often pointed out the wrong notes of her
C．the author kept banging on the keys unconsciously
D．the author's performance was far from satisfactory
56．The underlined word"emerge"in the fifth paragraph can be replaced byB．
A．disappear
B．show
C．turn
D．fail
57．Which of the following best reveals the author's attitude towards piano practice？C
A．She tried to make the piano teacher pleased．
B．She recorded her performance for improvement．
C．She played the recording instead of practicing．
D．She repeated the same mistake in practicing．
58．Why did the author choose the drums as a musical instrument？B
A．She was eager to free herself from piano lessons．
B．She was reluctant to play an instrument．
C．She was confident of handling them．
D．She was fond of beating drums．
59．The author's mother can be best described asA．
A．devoted and stubborn
B．encouraging and independent
C．helpful and considerate
D．hardworking and generous
60．We can learn from the passageD．
A．parents should encourage their children to create art
B．the ordinary backstage work can help one succeed
C．you can only get better at something if you practice
D．art should be treated as a joy rather than a burden．
分析 本文属于记叙文阅读，作者通过这篇文章主要向我们讲述了作者小时候被热爱音乐的父母要求学自己并不感兴趣的钢琴，但在最后也通过自己的努力找到了自己的兴趣，也告诫父母要让孩子自己去寻找兴趣，不要让艺术成为孩子的负担．
解答 55．D．细节理解题．根据文章第二段"was not very delighted to find a little girl banging her fists on the keys．"Madame Oblenka，期待看到一个少年莫扎特，对于一个用拳头敲钢琴键的女孩是不高兴的和第三段中"I"felt"it and winced my ears-for what is more unpleasant than a series of wrong notes played continuously"可看出Madame Oblenka 生气是因为作者的表现差强人意．故选D．
56．B．词义推断题．根据文章第五段"I was twelve when my parents finally acknowledged that my hidden talent was not about to emerge any time soon"我十二岁的时候，我的父母终于承认我隐藏的人才不会出现任何时间；可知词义为显示；故选B．
57．C．细节理解题．根据文章第四段"In order to escape my practice sessions，I would close myself behind the door of the piano room，put on the tape recording，and read until the tape had finished．"可看出作者不详练习而是放录音，可见作者对钢琴的态度是不喜欢的．故选C．
58．B．推理判断题．根据文章第六段"I worked my way through several other instruments before my mother hit on another idea"在母亲决定前我还学过很多种乐器，可了解到作者并不喜欢乐器，在钢琴课上的表现和作者对待练习的态度也可看出来，故选B．
59．A．词义理解题．"devoted and stubborn"投入与固执．"encouraging and independent"鼓励与独立．"helpful and considerate"乐于助人与体贴．"hardworking and generous"努力与慷慨．根据文章大意可知道作者母亲不断地让作者学习乐器即使他并不喜欢和擅长乐器，可知她有点固执．故选A．
60．D．主旨大意题．通读全文可了解到本文主要讲述了作者小时候被热爱音乐的父母要求学自己并不感兴趣的钢琴，但在最后也通过自己的努力找到了自己的兴趣，作者想告诉大家，要让艺术以兴趣的方式存在而不是负担．故选D．
点评 考察学生的细节理解和推理判断能力，做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句，和题干进行比较，再做出正确的选择．在做推理判断题不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．
