Violin prodigies (神童), I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s greatest violinists the reason for this phenomenon. “It is very clear,” he told me. “They were all Jews and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill-treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage.” As a result, every Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.

Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays, the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. “In Japan, a most competitive society, with stronger discipline than ours,” says Isaac Stern, children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World War II, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well. The Koreans and Chinese as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.

That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work, biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.

   Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school because ________.

A. it would allow them access to a better life in the West

B. Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent

C. they wanted their children to enter into the professional field

D. it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country（A）

   Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ________.

A. are highly motivated in the education of music

B. treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development

C. encourage people to compete with each other

D. promise talented children high positions（B）

Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?

A. a natural gift.                      B. extensive knowledge of music.

C. very early training.                 D. a prejudice-free society.（A）

   Which of the following titles best summarizes the main idea of the passage?

A. Jewish Contribution to Music    B. Training of Musicians in the World

C. Music and Society                    D. The Making of Music Prodigies

Violin prodigies (神童), I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s greatest violinists the reason for this phenomenon. “It is very clear,” he told me. “They were all Jews and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill-treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage.” As a result, every Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.

Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays, the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. “In Japan, a most competitive society, with stronger discipline than ours,” says Isaac Stern, children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World War II, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well. The Koreans and Chinese as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.

That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work, biological inheritance（遗传） plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.

1.     Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school because ________.

A．it would allow them access to a better life in the West

B．Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent

C．they wanted their children to enter into the professional field

D．it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country

2.     Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ________.

A．are highly motivated in the education of music

B．treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development

C．encourage people to compete with each other

D．promise talented children high positions

3.     Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?

A．a natural gift.	B．extensive knowledge of music.
C．very early training.	D．a prejudice-free society.

4.     Which of the following titles best summarizes the main idea of the passage?

A．Jewish Contribution to Music	B．Training of Musicians in the World
C．Music and Society	D．The Making of Music Prodigies

 

Violin prodigies (神童), I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s greatest violinists the reason for this phenomenon. “It is very clear,” he told me. “They were all Jews and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill-treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage.” As a result, every Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.
Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays, the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. “In Japan, a most competitive society, with stronger discipline than ours,” says Isaac Stern, children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World War II, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well. The Koreans and Chinese as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.
That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work, biological inheritance（遗传） plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.
【小题1】     Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school because ________.

A．it would allow them access to a better life in the West

B．Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent

C．they wanted their children to enter into the professional field

D．it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country

【小题2】     Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ________.

A．are highly motivated in the education of music

B．treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development

C．encourage people to compete with each other

D．promise talented children high positions

【小题3】     Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?

A．a natural gift.	B．extensive knowledge of music.
C．very early training.	D．a prejudice-free society.

【小题4】     Which of the following titles best summarizes the main idea of the passage?

A．Jewish Contribution to Music	B．Training of Musicians in the World
C．Music and Society	D．The Making of Music Prodigies

Violin prodigies (神童), I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s greatest violinists the reason for this phenomenon. “It is very clear,” he told me. “They were all Jews and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill-treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage.” As a result, every Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.

Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays, the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. “In Japan, a most competitive society, with stronger discipline than ours,” says Isaac Stern, children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World War II, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well. The Koreans and Chinese as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.

That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work, biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.

1.  Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school because ________.

A. it would allow them access to a better life in the West

B. Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent

C. they wanted their children to enter into the professional field

D. it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country

2.  Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ________.

A. are highly motivated in the education of music

B. treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development

C. encourage people to compete with each other

D. promise talented children high positions

3.Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?

A. a natural gift.                        B. extensive knowledge of music.

C. very early training.                   D. a prejudice-free society.

4.  Which of the following titles best summarizes the main idea of the passage?

A. Jewish Contribution to Music       B. Training of Musicians in the World

C. Music and Society                  D. The Making of Music Prodigies

 

 

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意：每空格1个单词。

Ban Ki-moon was made the 8^th Secretary-General of the United Nations. In his speech at the ceremony of his taking office, he thanked all the Member States for placing confidence in him, and also expressed his deepest respect and appreciation to all the leaders and people of the Member States for their strong support.

His remark about the former Secretary-General, who he said had guided their Organization into the 21^st century and had made the UN truly vital to peace, prosperity and human dignity around the world, was particularly impressive. Mr Ban Ki-moon stated in his speech that he had already made up his mind to build upon the already-made achievements of the UN.

The new Secretary-General thinks the UN is needed now more than ever before. The UN’s major task in the previous century was to keep countries from fighting each other. In the new century, it is very clear that the UN’s most important task is to strengthen the inter-state system so that humanity may be better served. We need competent and responsible states to meet the needs of “we the peoples” for whom the UN was created. And the world’s peoples will not be fully served unless peace, development and human rights, the three pillars of the UN, are advanced together with great efforts and equal determination.

As the new Secretary-General, he is not as proud as people thought he might be. He said he was far from perfect and he would need the support, cooperation and trust from all the Member States. And he faithfully promised to serve them well, with all of his heart and to the best of his abilities.

There is also something exciting he said about young people. It’s his hope that young boys and girls of today will grow up knowing that the UN is working hard to build a better future for them. As Secretary-General, he will hold their hopes and hear their demands.

Main aspects in Ban Ki-moon’s speech
Expressing his (1) ______________	·to the Member States for feeling (2)___________ of him and being supportive ·to the former Secretary-General for the (3) ___________ he has made to the UN
His understanding of the UN’s major tasks	·in the (4) _________ century, to keep countries from fighting each other ·in the new century, to (5) __________ the cooperation between countries ·to meet the needs of the whole world
His commitments and expectations	·to be supported, cooperated and (6) _________ by all the Member States ·to work for the UN heart and (7) _________ ·to make young people fully (8) _________ of the UN’s mission(革命)
What do we know about Ban Ki-moon?
·He is an important role in the world. However, he is very (9)____________ . ·He is strong willed, hard-working, committed and easy to work with. ·He is determined to (10) ____________ a better future for mankind.