2011公共英语二级阅读理解训练：Art 1

    下面是公共英语二级阅读理解训练，育路教育网特别为您搜集整理，内容如下：

Art

　　A

　　Ray Charles was a singer, songwriter, and musician1. His work will influence American music for a long time.

　　Ray Charles spent almost sixty years as a professional musician. Millions of people around the world enjoy his recordings. If Ray Charles had only played the piano, he would have been considered one of the best. If he had only sung, his voice would have made him famous. If he had only played jazz, the world would still have listened. But Ray Charles did all these things, and more.

　　He played and sang rock-and-rollandrhythm-and-bluessongs2. He sold millions of country and western records, too. His work brought together different kinds of music and different kinds of fans. His influence on America’s popular music cannot be measured.

　　Ray Charles Robinson was born in 1930 in Albany, Georgia. At age 6, he came down with an eye disease that eventually left him blind. But leaving the world of sight made him turn to the world of sound. He especially learned to love music of all kinds.

　　Charles taught himself to play the organ, alto saxophone, clarinet and trumpet3, but his special relationship was with the piano. If you listen to his piano work you can almost see him smiling.

　　Ray Charles was fifteen years old when his mother died, and within a year he’d left school to work. He began playing piano professionally in African American restaurants and bars in the state of Florida, and then moved to the opposite corner of America: Seattle, Washington.

　　By the end of the 1950s, Ray Charles had recorded many famous songs. Most of his music was black rhythm-and-blues or soul music. Yet white Americans were listening, too.

　　Notes:

　　1. musician n. 音乐家

　　2. rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues songs 摇滚和布鲁斯蓝调歌曲

　　3. the organ, alto saxophone, clarinet and trumpet管风琴、萨克斯、黑管和小号

　　Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question.

　　1. The first three paragraphs are mainly about _______.

　　A. the success of Ray Charles

　　B. stories about Ray Charles

　　C. how Ray Charles became successful

　　D. who Ray Charles was

　　2. The best title for the passage would be ______.

　　A. The Story of Ray Charles

　　B. A Very Successful Singer

　　C. A Black Singer

　　D. Ray Charles’Success

　　B

　　One million and forty-three dollars. That’s how much a Latin American oil painting —Three People—sold for in New York City. But for some time, writer Elizabeth Gibson, its owner, had no idea what it was worth.

　　Gibson found the painting on a Manhattan sidewalk in 2003. She says, "I wouldn’t say it was beautiful. It was just so powerful. It was a mystery1 —what was it doing in the garbage?"

　　Gibson hung it on a wall at home while the art world mourned2 the loss of a work by Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo. It had gone missing in 1987. An art appraiser3 named August said, "This is one of Rufino Tamayo’s most important works painted in 1970."

　　Shortly after finding the painting, Gibson started to research it, calling friends in the art world, studying the artist at the library, and even traveling four hours to take part in a TV show about lost and stolen art.

　　"I never thought it would turn out to be valuable. But it just seemed to be telling me continuously, 'You’re just going to leave me here? I don’t belong here. Find out about me,’ "she said.

　　Gibson says she made an appointment with August, who then visited her home and checked the painting. Gibson received a $15,000 finder’s money and worldwide media attention. Though she’s sad to part with the painting, she says finding it turned into the start of a meaningful journey.

　　Notes:

　　1. mystery n. 神秘, 神秘的事物

　　2. mourn v. 哀悼

　　3. appraiser n. 评价者, 鉴定者

　　Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question.

　　1. The best title for this passage might be ______.

　　A. A Great Find of a New York Woman

　　B. A Latin American Oil Painting —Three People

　　C. A Meaningful Journey

　　D. A Mystery in the Trash

　　2. The passage tells readers ______.

　　A. how Three People was found

　　B. about Gibson’s efforts to discover the value of the painting

　　C. that one person’s trash can be another person’s treasure

　　D. about a great woman named Gibson

　　新阅题读型

　　Millions of people travel on New York City’s public transportation systems every day. On the way, many of them hear the sounds of New York’s underground music. The musicians belong to a group called "Music under New York,"but come from countries as far away as China and Chile.

　　Valerie Zhmud is from Ukraine, where he was trained on the violin. Three days a week, he plays professionally at a restaurant, but sometimes he plays in Grand Central Station. He says he enjoys the crowd. "I love playing for people and making them feel good. They always say, 'thank you, thank you’, so it’s really nice."

　　The program started in 1985 as part of a wider project called "Arts for Transit". Every year, a group of judges select musicians from hundreds of applicants1. Last year, the judges chose 26 out of 200 applicants. Lydia Bradshaw, who works for the New York City Metropolitan Transit System, says that the music improves the atmosphere2. "It’s to encourage the use of mass transportation and improve the environment for travelers,"says Bradshaw.

　　Music under New York also acts as a point of contact for the musicians, allowing people interested in them to get in touch with them and maybe even book them for shows. Jeremiah Lockwood started playing blues in the subway at a young age. Now he has a record deal. "It gives you a stage on which you can say anything you want to say. Also, you make an immediate connection with people. You have to attract the audience yourself,"he say.

　　Catching their dollars may be harder, as busy New Yorkers often rush by. But for those who stop and listen, a great musical experience awaits. More than 100 musicians are now taking part in the program.

　　Notes:

　　1. applicant n. 申请者, 请求者

　　2. atmosphere n. 气氛

　　Fill in the table.

　　参考答案：

　　A)1-2 A A

　　B)1-2 A C

　　阅读新题型

　　1. get good feeling

　　2. be discovered

　　3. have immediate connection

　　4. worldwide