Ole Bull was a very famous violinist from Norway. He really liked to play the violin. But his father thought that playing the violin was not useful. So his father sent him to university to study. However, playing the violin was his dream. He didn’t want to give up his dream. So he left university before he finished his studies and spent all his time and energy practicing the violin. Unfortunately, his violin teacher was not very good. So when it was time for him to start his concert tour, he still couldn’t play the violin very well.

Therefore, a Milan newspaper critic¹ criticized him and said that he was an untrained violinist. The critic said, “If he is gold, he is not ready to shine² yet.”

When facing this kind of problem, some people may become very angry and some people try to learn from it. Fortunately, Ole Bull belonged to the second group. He went to the newspaper office and found the critic. Instead of being angry, he talked about his mistakes with the man and listened to the man’s advice.

After he met the critic, he gave up the rest of his concerts. Then he went back to practice the violin with the help of good teachers. In the end, he got great success when he was only 26. He also became one of the most famous violinists in the world.

1.Why didn't Ole Bull's father like him to play the piano?

 A. Because he thought playing the violin was useless.

 B. Because his father thought playing the violin would cost lots of money.

 C. Because his father thought he couldn't play the violin well.

 D. Because his father thought he couldn't make his dream come true.

2.What does the underlined part "If he is gold, he is not ready to shine yet." mean?

 A. Gold always shines no matter where it is.

 B. He is an excellent violinist.

 C. He doesn't play the violin very well.

 D. If he sells gold, he will make a lot of money.

3.What was Ole Bull's attitude towards the critic's article?

 A. Angry.      B. Excited.     C. Modest.     D. Worried.

4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

 A. Without a good teacher, one can't succeed.

 B. The critic's advice helped Ole Bull a lot.

 C. Ole Bull got success after many years' hard practice at last.

 D. The critic helped Ole Bull find a famous teacher.

5.What can we learn from the passage?

 A. Becoming a violinist can make a lot of money.

 B. When we meet problems, we should learn to face them.

 C. Old Bull was a famous American pianist.

 D. You can be famous easily if you play the violin.

Andi Davise, 49, regularly crossed the trail through the Phoenix Mountains Preserve with a few other hikers before sunrise. This morning, however, she met nobody and heard only the sounds of animals.
Some time later, Andi got to the steep slope(陡坡), she climbed up to the top by using her hands. When she finally reached the top, she noticed a dark shape several inches from her left foot. She was frightened and then looked carefully. "It's a dog and it's dead." she said to herself. It took her a few seconds to realize that the dog's eyes were open. A thin, dirty bull dog was looking at her.
She greeted in a low and soft voice to show she was friendly. The bull dog shook when he heard her voice.
Andi inched closer and dropped some water into the dog's mouth. He tried to stand up but failed. Something was wrong with his left front leg. Andi pulled out her phone to contact her husband, Jason, but he didn't respond. She knew that if she didn't carry the dog down the mountain, he would die.
She carefully put her arms under the dog's body. He was so weak that he fell into her chest.
Andi had great trouble going down the steep, rocky mountainside with the 50-pound animal in her arms. Even her arms and back started aching, she didn't give up. The trip up had taken 30 minutes while going back down took twice that.
Andi's husband received her messages at last. He and their son, Justin, jumped into the car and drove to pick up Andi.
Later that morning, an X-ray showed that the bull dog was badly hurt, he was likely to lose his left leg.
A few days later, the Davises returned to the animal hospital. "The first thing he did was to give me a kiss, then he went right to my son." Andi said. They named the dog Elijah and brought him home that day.
【小题1】How did Andi get to the top of the mountain?

The elephant is the biggest four-legged animal in the world. It’s also, perhaps, the gentlest ,   1 not always.

Elephants are like us in some ways. They   2  for a long time—fifty or sixty years. They can  3  things very well. They never forget great sadness or happiness. A female elephant   4 , her daughters and her granddaughters are sad for many months. They stay with the dead   5 . Then they carry a bit of it away with them. They never forget a  6 friend.

Elephants are like us, but they’re also  7 .They live in families; families or females. There will be a few young males-a few “baby boy”. But they will soon be   8 away by their mothers or sisters. An elephant family   9  only its daughters, mothers and grandmothers and its great grandmothers.

The females stay together for fifty, sixty or a hundred years.The older animals   10 the young ones. The mothers teach their daughters and set a good example.And   11  happens to male elephant? Well, the young males stay with their mothers for a time. Then they must   12 the family. The females just send them away. A bull elephant does not often have a friend ,He lives  13 ,away from the family, and away from other bulls.

Sometimes the females call a bull. He can   14 _them then, and they stay for a time. But soon his “wives” and “sisters” send him away again. The females have a very   15   

family life. What do the bulls think about it? We don’t know.

1.                A．and            B．but            C．so   D．yet

2.                A．play           B．work           C．live  D．sleep

3.                A．remember      B．practice        C．talk D．change

4.                A．is hurt          B．is caught        C．loses D．dies

5.                A．head           B．legs            C．body D．feet

6.                A．terrible         B．dad            C．young    D．dear

7.                A．different        B．same           C．special   D．popular

8.                A．thrown         B．sent           C．kicked    D．posted

9.                A．hopes          B．keeps          C．Allows    D．frightens

10.               A．look at         B．carry out       C．look after  D．take away

11.               A．how           B．who           C．which D．what

12.               A．leave          B．stay           C．hear  D．walk

13.               A．sadly          B．hard           C．alone D．noisily

14.               A．visit           B．beat           C．hide  D．receive

15.               A．dangerous      B．happy          C．beautiful  D．clever

The elephant is the biggest four-legged animal in the world. It’s also, perhaps, the gentlest ,   1 not always.
Elephants are like us in some ways. They   2  for a long time—fifty or sixty years. They can  3  things very well. They never forget great sadness or happiness. A female elephant   4 , her daughters and her granddaughters are sad for many months. They stay with the dead   5 . Then they carry a bit of it away with them. They never forget a  6 friend.
Elephants are like us, but they’re also  7 .They live in families; families or females. There will be a few young males-a few “baby boy”. But they will soon be   8 away by their mothers or sisters. An elephant family   9  only its daughters, mothers and grandmothers and its great grandmothers.
The females stay together for fifty, sixty or a hundred years.The older animals   10 the young ones. The mothers teach their daughters and set a good example.And   11  happens to male elephant? Well, the young males stay with their mothers for a time. Then they must   12 the family. The females just send them away. A bull elephant does not often have a friend ,He lives  13 ,away from the family, and away from other bulls.
Sometimes the females call a bull. He can   14 _them then, and they stay for a time. But soon his “wives” and “sisters” send him away again. The females have a very   15   
family life. What do the bulls think about it? We don’t know.