Samuel Osmond is a 19yearold law student from Cornwall, England. He never studied the piano. However, he can play very difficult musical pieces by musicians such as Chopin and Beethoven just a few minutes after he hears them. He learns a piece of music by listening to it in parts. Then he thinks about the notes in his head. Two years ago, he played his first piece Moonlight Sonata(奏鸣曲)by Beethoven. He surprised everyone around him.
Amazed that he remembered this long and difficult piece of music and played it perfectly, his teachers say Samuel is unbelievable. They say his ability is very rare, but Samuel doesn’t even realize that what he can do is special. Samuel wanted to become a lawyer as it was the wish of his parents, but music teachers told him he should study music instead. Now, he studies law and music.
Samuel can’t understand why everyone is so surprised. “I grew up with music. My mother played the piano and my father played the guitar. About two years ago, I suddenly decided to start playing the piano, without being able to read music and without having any lessons. It comes easily to me—I hear the notes and can bear them in mind—each and every note，” says Samuel.
Recently, Samuel performed a piece during a special event at his college. The piece had more than a thousand notes. The audience was impressed by his amazing performance. He is now learning a piece that is so difficult that many professional pianists can’t play it. Samuel says confidently，“It’s all about super memory—I guess I have that gift.”
However, Samuel’s ability to remember things doesn’t stop with music. His family says that even when he was a young boy, Samuel heard someone read a story, and then he could retell the story word for word.
Samuel is still only a teenager. He doesn’t know what he wants to do in the future. For now, he is just happy to play beautiful music and continue his studies.
26. What is special about Samuel Osmond?
A. He has a gift for writing music.
B. He can write down the note he hears.
C. He is a top student at the law school.
D. He can play the musical piece he hears.
27. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?
A. Samuel chose law against the wish of his parents.
B. Samuel planned to be a lawyer rather than a musician.
C. Samuel thinks of himself as a man of great musical ability.
D. Samuel studies law and music on the advice of his teachers.
28. Everyone around Samuel was surprised because he ________.
A. received a good early education in music
B. played the guitar and the piano perfectly
C. could play the piano without reading music
D. could play the guitar better than his father
29. What can we infer about Samuel in Paragraph 4?
A. He became famous during a special event at his college.
B. He is proud of his ability to remember things accurately.
C. He plays the piano better than many professional pianists.
D. He impressed the audience by playing all the musical pieces.
30. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. The qualities of a musician
B. The story of a musical talent
C. The importance of early education
D. The relationship between memory and music
【要点综述】 这是一篇人物传记。文章主要讲述了英国19岁的音乐天才Samuel Osmond的故事。
26. D 细节理解题。根据第一段的“…he can play very difficult musical pieces by musicians such as Chopin and Beethoven just a few minutes after he hears them.”可知Samuel Osmond的天赋在于他可以弹出他听到的音乐片段。故选D。
27. B 推理判断题。根据第二段的“Samuel wanted to become a lawyer as it was the wish of his parents…”可知Samuel在父母的期待下打算成为律师，故选B。由“…but music teachers told him he should study music instead.”可知，老师只是建议他学习音乐而放弃法律，故D项是错误的。
28. C 细节理解题。根据第三段的“Samuel can’t understand why everyone is so surprised.”和“‘…without being able to read music and without having any lessons. It comes easily to me…’”可知他虽然没有接受过专业的音乐训练，但是他却能非常熟练地弹钢琴，大家都为此感到很惊讶。故选C。
29. B 推理判断题。根据第四段的“Samuel says confidently，‘It’s all about super memory—I guess I have that gift.’”可知Samuel对他超群的记忆力很自信，即很自豪。故选B。根据第四段的“He is now learning a piece that is so difficult that many professional pianists can’t play it.”可知他只是在一个较难的乐章方面超越了一些专业钢琴家，并不是总体上超越了他们，故C项犯了以偏概全的错误。
30. B 主旨大意题。文章主要讲述了英国19岁的音乐天才Samuel Osmond的故事。故选B。
Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholders. She became known as “Mumbet” or “Mum Bett”.
For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day, Ashley’s wife tried to strike Mumbet’s sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furious, she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. With his help, Mumbet sued(起诉) for her freedom.
While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom—the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution.
Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She declined and instead went to work for Sedgewick. Mumbet died in 1829, but her legacy lived on in her many descendants(后裔). One of her greatgrandchildren was W.E.B.Du Bois, one of the founders of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights.
Mumbet’s tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads, in part: “She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.”
51.What do we know about Mumbet according to Paragraph 1?
A.She was born a slave.
B.She was a slaveholder.
C.She had a famous sister.
D.She was born into a rich family.
52.Why did Mumbet run away from the Ashleys?
A.She found an employer.
B.She wanted to be a lawyer.
C.She was hit and got angry.
D.She had to take care of her sister.
53.What did Mumbet learn from discussions about the new constitution?
A.She should always obey her owners’ orders.
B.She should be as free and equal as whites.
C.How to be a good servant.
D.How to apply for a job.
54.What did Mumbet do after the trial?
A.She chose to work for a lawyer.
B.She founded the NAACP.
C.She continued to serve the Ashleys.
D.She went to live with her grandchildren.
55.What is the text mainly about?
A.A story of a famous writer and spokesperson.
B.The friendship between a lawyer and a slave.
C.The life of a brave African American woman.
D.A trial that shocked the whole world.
【要点综述】 这是一篇人物传记。文章介绍了美国历史上一位勇于追求自由的女性Elizabeth Freeman。
51.A 细节理解题。根据第一段的“Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves.”可知她生来就是奴隶。故选A。
52.C 细节理解题。根据第二段的“One day, Ashley’s wife tried to strike Mumbet’s sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furiously, she left the house and refused to come back.”可知答案为C。
53.B 细节理解题。根据第三段的“If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her.”可知Elizabeth从新的宪法中得知所有的人都是自由、平等的。
54.A 细节理解题。根据第四段的“She declined and instead went to work for Sedgewick.”和第二段的“…Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick.”可知答案为A。
55.C 主旨大意题。本文介绍了美国历史上一位勇于追求自由的女性Elizabeth Freeman。故选C。
