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Norah wins big at Grammy Awards

Norah Jones had a sleepless night on February 23. The 23-year-old American jazz singer, who found her voice in the small clubs of New York, dominated(统治)the 45th annual Grammy Awards—the music industry’s most prestigious(赫赫有名的)award ceremony.

She seemed as surprised as everyone else that her first album, “Come Away With Me”, was such a big success. It won her the most wanted awards, including Album of the Year(年度最佳专辑), Song of the Year and Best New Artist.

“I can’t believe this, I feel really blessed and really lucky to have this year, ”said the wide-eyed girl at the ceremony.

Jones grew up in Texas, US, with her mother. Her parents separated before she was born. She began singing in church choirs(唱诗班)at the age of five and started piano lessons two years later.

At the age of 15, Jones entered the High School for the Performing Arts in Washington. She won Best Jazz Singer and Best Original Composition(最佳原创作品)at the 1996 and 1997 Student Music Awards.

She had always enjoyed singing, but felt the piano would be a more solid foundation in life. So Jones chose to study jazz piano music at the University of North Texas for two years before taking a trip to New York City.

The trip started out as a summer vacation. But Jones soon realized she wanted to stay for a while, “The music scene in New York is so huge and exciting. Everything opened up for me. I couldn’t leave, ”she said.

Jones became friends with local songwriters and was inspired(激励)to write her own songs. She began to sing and play the piano in a band. She got her break in 2001 and released “Come Away With Me”the following year.

The album is a blend(融合)of jazz, country and folk-pop. It has now sold more than 6 million copies around the world and has won much praise from the music industry. “She makes an album that people will remember in 20 years. ”said American country singer Faith Hill.

What is jazz?

Jazz is generally thought to have begun in New Orleans, US. It developed in the latter part of the 19th century from African work songs, songs of sorrow and hymns(赞美诗). The character of jazz is spontaneous(自然的)and emotional. It is usually played by small bands made up of a cornet(短号), clarinet(单簧管), trombone(长号)and guitar.

1. Norah Jones had a sleepless night on February 23. From this sentence, we can see she was ________________that night.

A. tired　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. having difficulties going to sleep

C. excited　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. too busy to sleep

2. What does the writer mean by saying“…who found her voice in the small clubs of New York” in the first paragraph?

A. She once lost her voice and after some medical treatment in New York, she found her voice.

B. Her experiences in those clubs helped her realized she was a good singer.

C. She started to sing in those clubs.

D. Her experiences in those clubs helped her develop her singing style.

3. At the end of Paragraph 3, the writer uses the description “wide-eyed” to show Norah was________________.

A. a girl with big eyes　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. very surprised

C. inexperienced　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. opening her eyes wide

4. Put the events listed below in the correct order.

a. Norah started learning the piano. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

b. She won Student Music Awards.

c. She studied jazz piano music. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

d. She sang in church choirs.

e. She took a trip to New York.

A. abcde　　　　　　　　　　 B. dabce　　　　　　　　　　 C. dcabe　　　　　　　　 v; D. abdce

5. At the end of the last paragraph but two(倒数第二段), the writer mentions that “she got her break in 2001”. What does it mean?

A. She got a rest that year.

B. She made some changes that year.

C. She reached a high point that year.

D. A lucky chance appeared and she made some achievement that year.

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