Duke Ellington is known as one of the most important composers of his time，and his work has been enjoyed for more than 80 years by music lovers all over the world.During his lifetime Ellington turned musical sounds into many compositions，mostly in the style known as jazz.
The Early Years
Edward Kennedy Ellington was born in 1899 in Washington，D.C.It wasn't until Ellington was a teenager that his interest in music grew.He taught himself to play the piano by listening to local piano players.Sometime around 1916 Ellington began playing the piano at high school parties.Ellington realized that he enjoyed entertaining people with his music.He soon became a very popular musician，playing at parties and other events in the Washington area.Young adults seemed especially delighted by the modern pieces he composed.
Success in New York
In 1923，when Ellington was almost 24 years old，he joined The Washingtonians，a five-piece group of musicians in Washington，and became the group's leader in early 1924.In 1927 Ellington and his orchestra won an engagement（雇傭期）at Harlem's famous Cotton Club.For the next three years，his orchestra played at the Cotton Club nearly every night.
The Influence of the Cotton Club
Working at the Cotton Club encouraged Ellington's creativity.Since the shows changed every six months，he was challenged by the need to continually develop new material.He had to compose a wide variety of music to accompany the various acts in the Cotton Club shows and to adapt that music to the strengths and weaknesses of the players in his orchestra.
By 1928 the popular nightspot began radio broadcasts.From the broadcasts Ellington and his orchestra gained a national reputation.
On the Road
As Ellington's popularity increased，he realized that his orchestra could do well on concert tours.They left the Cotton Club in 1931 and toured America and Europe almost continually for the next 43 years.In addition to touring，Ellington made recordings and continued to compose music.
Duke Ellington played the piano，composed music，and led his famous orchestra for more than 50 years，until his death in 1974.Music lovers all over the world agree that the large quantity of music he created will be enjoyed for many years to come.
（1）From the second paragraph，we know that Ellington BB.
A．could sing as well as he played the piano
B．had a natural talent for musical composition
C．preferred mature audiences to young adults
D．learnt to play musical instrument from very young age
（2）Which of the following can show us Ellington's leadership ability？ DD
A．Ellington was very popular at parties in the Washington area.
B．Ellington did live radio broadcasts in New York City.
C．Ellington continually developed new material.
D．Ellington took the responsibility for a band for a long time.
（3）We may infer from the passage that CC.
A．Ellington's career took off overnight
B．Ellington loves touring around the world
C．Ellington had a great effect on the world of music
D．Ellington could compose a wide variety of songs
（4）Which of the following shows the order in which the events happened in the story？ AA
a.Ellington joined a five-piece group of musicians in Washington.
b.Ellington's orchestra played at the Cotton Club.
c.Ellington and his orchestra gained a national reputation.
d.Ellington began playing the piano at high school parties.
e.Ellington's orchestra went on concert tours.
A．d-a-b-c-e
B．a(chǎn)-d-b-c-e
C．a(chǎn)-d-b-e-c
D．d-b-a-e-c
【考點(diǎn)】記敘文．
【答案】B；D；C；A
【解答】
【點(diǎn)評(píng)】
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發(fā)布：2024/5/27 14:0:0組卷：0引用：1難度：0.5
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（1）What do you know about Ronald Dahl？
A．He was born in Norway.
B．He was talented in many fields.
C．His mother worked in a school.
D．His father reached the South Pole.
（2）What does the underlined word "lust" in Paragraph 3 mean？
A．Vain hope.
B．Special care.
C．Strong desire.
D．Main concern.
（3）How is Paragraph 4 mainly developed？
A．By giving examples.
B．By analyzing causes.
C．By presenting figures.
D．By making comparisons.
（4）Which words can best describe the children's books penned by Ronald Dahl？
A．Amazing and humorous.
B．Educational and serious.
C．Imaginative and scary.
D．Fascinating and encouraging.發(fā)布：2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷：3引用：2難度：0.5 -
2．On Thursday，many people were remembering the American writer Theodore Seuss Geisel -better known as "Dr Seuss"．
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On Thursday，the hashtags（話題標(biāo)簽）#DrSeuss and #WorldBookDay were two of the top trending topics on Twitter．
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（1）What can we infer from the passage？
A．De Seuss'books have been influential in Children's reading．
B．Dr Seuss was best remembered because of his book The Lorax．
C．Books with colorful pictures and fun rhymes are attractive to people．
D．Dr Seuss，Roald Dahl，J．K．Rowling lived in the same age．
（2）Who is remembered on World book and Copyright Day？
A．Roald Dahl．
B．Maurice Sendak．
C．Miguel de Cervantes．
D．J．K．Rowling．
（3）What can be the best title of the passage？
A．The Life of Dr Seuss
B．Children's Books Written by Dr Seuss
C．Trending Topics on Twitter
D．Dr Seuss Honored on World Book Day發(fā)布：2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷：6引用：1難度：0.5 -
3．When Laura wanted to go into the garden by the back door，it was blocked by servants．
Something had happened．
"What's the matter？What's happened？"
"There's been a horrible accident/ said the cook． "A man killed．"
"A man killed!Where？How？When？"
"Know those little cottages just below here，Miss？" Know them？Of course，Laura knew them． "Well，there's a young guy living there，name of Scott，a carter His horse shied （受驚）at a traction-engine，and he was thrown out on the back of his head．Killed．"
"Dead!" Laura stared at the cook．
"Dead when they picked him up，" said the cook． 'Just now they were taking the body home．He'﹩left a wife and five little ones．"
"Jose，come here．" Laura caught her sister's sleeve and dragged her through the kitchen into the garden．There she paused． "Jose!" she said，horrified， ''however are we going to stop everything？'
"Stop everything，Laura!" cried Jose in astonishment． "What do you mean？"
"Stop the garden party，of course．Why did Jose pretend？"
But Jose was still more amazed． "Stop the garden party？My dear Laura，don't be so absurd．Of course we can't do anything of the kind．Nobody expects us to．Don't be so extravagant．"
"But we can't possibly have a garden party with a man dead just outside the front gate．"
That really was extravagant．Those little cottages，those miserable houses，had no right to be in that rich neighbourhood in the first place．When Laura and Jose were little they were even forbidden to set foot there because of the rude language and of what they might see．It was dirty and disgusting．
"And just think of what the band would sound like to that poor woman，" said Laura．
"Oh，Laura!" Jose began to be seriously annoyed，"If you're going to stop a band playing every time some one has an accident，you'll lead a very difficult life，I'm every bit as sorry about it as you．But you won't bring a drunken workman back to life by being sentimental（多愁善感的）．"
"Drunk!Who said he was drunk？" Laura turned angrily on Jose， "I'm going straight up to tell mother．"
"Do，dear，" said Jose，gently．
"Mother，can I come into your mom？" Laura turned the big glass door-knob．
"Of course，child．Why，what's the matter？What's given you such a colour？" And Mrs．Sheridan turned round from her dressing-table．She was trying on a new hat．
"Mother，a man's been killed，" began Laura．
"Not in the garden？" interrupted her mother．
"No，no!"
"Oh，what a fright you gave me!" Mrs．Sheridan sighed with relief and took off the big hat and held it on her knees．
"But listen，mother，" said Laura，Breathless，half-choking，she told the dreadful story． "Of course，we can't have our party，can we？" she begged． "The band and everybody arriving．And the poor family would hear us，mother；they're nearly neighbours!"
"Oh，Laura's astonishment her mother behaved just like Jose；it was harder to bear because she seemed amused．She refused to take Laura seriously．"
"But，my dear child，use your common sense．If some one had died there normally 一 and I can't understand how they keep alive in those little holes 一 we should still be having our party，shouldn't we？"
Laura had to say "yes" to that，but she felt it was all wrong．
"Mother，isn't it terribly heartless of us？" she asked．
"Darling!" Mrs．Sheridan got up and came over to her，carrying the hat． "My child!" said her mother， "the hat is yours．It's made for you．Wow!Look at yourself!And she held up her hand-mirror．
"But，mother，" Laura began again．She couldn't look at herself；she turned aside．
This time Mrs．Sheridan lost patience just as Jose had done．
"You are being very absurd，Laura，" she said coldly． "People like that don't expect sacrifices from us．And it's not very sympathetic to spoil everybody's enjoyment as you're doing now，"
"I don't understand，'' murmured Laura．Then，quite by chance，she saw this charming girl in the mirror，in the beautiful hat．Never had she imagined she could look like that．Is mother right？she thought．And now she hoped her mother was right．Am I being extravagant？Perhaps．Just for a moment she had another glimpse of that poor woman and those little children，and the body being carried into the house．But it all seemed blurred，unreal，like a picture in the newspaper．I'll remember it again after the party's over，she decided．And somehow that seemed quite the best plan …
（1）Laura suggested stopping everything because．
A．something bad had happened in the garden
B．her neighbours were experiencing great grief
C．the servants blocked the back door of the garden
D．she wanted to provide material help for the poor family
（2）What does the last paragraph mainly tell us？
A．Laura was trying to submit herself to her family．
B．The news of the carter's death finally hit the headlines．
C．Laura hoped mother was right in choosing that hat for her．
D．A poor man's death was little more than an unimportant thing．
（3）What will most probably happen following this story？
A．Laura came up with a best plan to solve all this．
B．Laura managed to persuade her mother and sister．
C．The party just continued as planned in the garden．
D．The poor widow came over to scold the band．
（4）Which of the following can best describe Laura？
A．Sentimental and persistent．
B．Optimistic and easy-going．
C．Considerate and sympathetic．
D．Hardworking and open-minded．
（5）What does the underlined word "extravagant" probably mean？
A．Too sensible．
B．Not practical
C．Too upright．
D．Not sympathetic．
（6）Which of the following can be the best title of the story？
A．The garden party．
B．The quarrel．
C．The rich and the poor．
D．The death of a neighbour．發(fā)布：2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷：15引用：1難度：0.7