高中英语阅读理解第三部分名人故事(二)练习
贵州理工大学-走进信息世界
第三部分 名人故事（二）
6. Johann Strauss, Another
Famous Austrian Composer
约翰•施特劳斯—另一位奥地利著名作曲家 <
br>约翰·施特劳斯，奥地利的轻音乐作曲家、指挥家、小提琴家。出生在维也纳的一个音
乐家庭，与
父同名。小施特劳斯从小非常热爱音乐，耳濡目染受到父亲的音乐熏陶。他最著
名的作品有《美丽的蓝色
多瑙河》、《艺术家的生涯》、《酒与女人之歌》、《维也纳性情》、《维
也纳森林的故事》、《维也纳
糖果》和《春之声》等120余首维也纳圆舞曲，被誉为“圆舞曲
之王”，其父老斯特劳斯被誉为“圆舞
曲之父”。
Johann Strauss was born in Vienna in
1825. His father, a well-known musician, was a
strange
and moody man. He did not want any of
his children to be musicians. He whipped young
Johann
because the boy insisted he should
study music. At last, Johann left his family
permanently. He
felt sad about leaving the
family because the wonderful music he always had
with him at home
was gone forever. The only
good thing about the family separation, it seemed,
was that young
Johann would be free to study
music.
The dance called the waltz developed
from a peasant dance in three-quarter time. The
waltz
became popular in Vienna, so it was only
natural that Johann would be attracted to it.
The orchestra Johann’s father had directed was
prepared to break up when the elder Strauss
suddenly died. Young Johann offered to take
his father’s place. Most of the musicians
questioned
that a young man would expect to
fill the shoes of a famous father. They did not
take into
consideration that the son already
had an orchestra of his own which was becoming
well known.
Finally, one of the members
persuaded the others to let the two orchestras be
combined. Their first
performance was a
memorial concert played in his father’s honor.
Soon Vienna was paying tributes to the son. He
wrote such famous waltz as Tales form the
Vienna Woods and the Beautiful Blue Danube,
and his music is still played today. His waltzes
are
as beautiful and timely as when Strauss
first wrote them.
Comprehension Questions:
1. Johann Strauss left home permanently
because ______
A. he felt sad.
B. the
wonderful music he always had at home was gone
forever.
C. he wanted to study music freely.
D. he didn't want to learn music from his
father.
B. most musicians didn't believe that
young Strauss' feet were as big as his father's.
C. most of the musicians thought he was unable
to do so.
D. most of the musicians considered
him able to do so.
4. Johann directed the
first performance of the newly combined orchestra
______
A. because people didn't believe his
ability.
B. because one of the members
persuaded the others to let him direct the
orchestra.
C. in memory of his father.
D.
because he could enjoy the honor of his father.
5. Tales from the Vienna Woods is ______
A. a collection of stories written by Johann
Strauss.
B. a piece of famous waltz by Johann
Strauss.
C. as good a story as The Beautiful
Blue Danube.
D. a piece of beautiful waltz
written first by Johann Strauss.
(CBCCB)
7. Charles Chaplin, King of the Film World
查理•卓别林—电影之王
查理·卓别林，英国电影演员，导演和制片人。1889
年4月16日生于伦敦，1977年12
月25日卒于瑞士科西耶。从1919年开始，卓别林独立制片
，此后一生共拍摄80余部喜剧
片，其中在电影史上著名的影片有《淘金记》、《城市之光》、《摩登时
代》、《大独裁者》、《凡
尔杜先生》、《舞台生涯》等。这些影片反映了卓别林从一个普通的人道主义
者到一位伟大的
批判现实主义艺术大师的过程。
More than one
hundred years ago, in 1889, Charles Chaplin was
born into the world. When a
poor boy, he was
often seen waiting outside the London theatres,
hoping to get work in show
business.
His
dream came true in the end. Chaplin became world-
famous and almost a king in the
world of the
film.
People everywhere have laughed at
Chaplin’s film until tears ran down their faces.
From his
very first appearance they know what
to expect from the little man with a black
moustache,
wide-open eyes, a round black hat
and shoes too large for his feet. He will fight
men who are
twice his size and fall in love
with women who hardly noticed him.
.”
Comprehension
Questions:
1. Where do you guess Chaplin was
from? ______
A. The USA. B. England. C.
France. D. Canada.
2. Why did Chaplin wait
outside the London theatres? ______
A. Because
he wanted to see some plays.
B. Because he was
asked to do something in show business.
C.
Because he wanted to find work in show business.
D. Because he wanted to be a film star.
3.
What did Chaplin like to do in films? ______
A. To act as a poor man.
B. To get into
trouble.
C. To make stupid mistakes.
D. To
make people laugh.
4. What should we do if we
want to succeed according to Chaplin? ______
A. We must have a secret.
B. We have to
learn a lot of performing skills.
C. We should
trust ourselves.
D. We should tell others how
to succeed in life.
5. Charles Chaplin was
considered to be ______
A. the king over the
world.
B. a very funny actor in the film.
C. the best actor in the film world of his
day.
D. the best film producer of the world.
(BCACC)
8. Louis Braille, the Man Who
Made It Possible
For the Blind to Read and
Write
路易斯•布雷尔—他使盲人读写成为可能
At first
people did not believe that the system of Louis
Braille was possible or practical. One
day a
girl who had been blind since she was born played
the piano beautifully at a concert.
Everybody
was pleased. Then the girl got up and said that
the people should thank Louis Braille,
who had
made it possible for her to learn music and to
play the piano.
Some of Louis’ friends went to
his home to see him. He was sick in bed. They told
him what
had happened. Louis began to cry. He
said, “This is the third time in my life that I
have cried. First,
when I became blind.
Second, when I heard ‘night writing’, and now
because I know that my life
has not been a
failure.”
A few days latter Louis died. He was
only 43 years old.
Comprehension Questions:
1. The Braille system is made up of _______
A. dots B. dashes. C. holes.
D. letters.
2. Louis Braille wrote a book
using the “Braille” system _______
A. not long
after he arrived at the system.
B. long before
he arrived at the system.
C. long after he
arrived at he system.
D. because people didn’t
believe his system.
3. People began to believe
that the Braille system was possible and practical
as they ______
A. saw the blind girl play the
piano beautifully.
B. were asked to thank
Louis Braille.
C. were quite pleased with the
blind girl.
D. were told that the blind girl
couldn’t have succeeded without the Braille
system.
4. For the third time Braille cried
because he knew_______
A. some of his friends
had come to see him.
B. he was sick in bed.
C. he had succeeded in his life.
D. he
would die in a few days.
等人的名声大，但他
在艺术史上的位置却不容忽视。他的“图普医生的解剖学课”系列雕
塑为他赢得了世界声誉。
Holland’s most famous artist was Rembrandt van
Rijn. He was born in Leyden in 1609, and
even
at an early age his drawing was brilliant and his
understanding of light and shade was
unusual
among the artists of his day. In 1631, he settled
in Amsterdam and painted a group of
portrait
called The Anatomy Lesson of Doctor Tulp. It can
be seen in the Mauritshuis Museum
today.
Rembrandt made a lot of money, but spent it
just as quickly and was always in debt. His style,
however, continued to mature and in 1634 he
painted another group of portrait, known as The
Night Watch. It is one of his finest works.
The painting is now in the Rijn-museum in
Amsterdam.
After that, Rembrandt’s reputation
began to fall. So did his eyesight and funds. His
art,
however, did not fall, and his greatest
masterpieces were produced towards the end of his
life. He
died in 1669, after giving to the
world 600 paintings, including his wonderful self-
portrait,
landscapes and religious work
paintings that are among our greatest treasures.
Comprehension Questions:
1. When Rembrandt
was very young, ______
A. his drawing caused
great admiration.
B. people liked his
brightness.
C. he was an unusual artist of his
day.
D. he left Amsterdam.
2. Rembrandt
was always in debt because ______
A. he earned
little money.
B. he spent his money as quickly
as he earned.
C. he lent his money to his
friends.
D. he liked to borrow money from
others.
C. Rembrandt
was at the height of art in 1934.
D.
Rembrandt’s art declined towards the end of his
life.
(ABBAA)
10. John Baird,
Inventor of the First TV Set
约翰•贝尔德—电视机的发明者
贝尔德，出生在英国，电视机的发明者。1929年，英国广播公司允许贝尔德公司开展<
br>公共电视广播业务。1930年，他语出惊人，提出了“彩色电视系统”构图。为此理想，百
折不
挠，顽强奋斗，终于在1941年12月测试成功。年仅56岁便与世长辞。他的坚忍不拔
的科学家精神
，为电视研发可以说鞠躬尽瘁，永怀世人心中。
An important thing can
have a small beginning. The first television
picture that was ever seen
was not exciting.
It was only a picture of a face, and the picture
only traveled a few meters. But to
the
inventor, John Baird (1888-1946), it was
wonderful.
Baird had always been interested in
science, but not all of his experiments had been
successful.
In 1900, when he was twelve, he
and some friends built a private telephone system.
It worked well,
but one night a storm pulled
down the wires. A man standing in the street was
hurt by the falling
wires, and the boys’
telephone system had to be closed down.
A few
years later, Baird and a classmate built a plane,
which they launched (with John in it)
from a
roof. Luckily, it fell on some grass, so John
wasn’t badly hurt.
After studying electrical
engineering at the University of Glasgow, John
Baird got a job in a
power station that
supplied electricity to the Clyde Valley in
Scotland. When he used the power
supply at the
station for one of his experiments, all of the
electricity in the Clyde Valley was cut
off!
That was the end of his job.
At this time, one
of Baird’s friends in Trinidad, Godfrey Harris,
had often written to Baird
about the wonderful
climate there. Now John decided to go to live in
Trinidad. When he arrived,
Harris told him
about a business idea that he had thought of. He
said that he wanted to start a jam
factory.
Baird agreed, and they started the factory
together. But, because they didn’t know
anything about making jams, all kinds of
terrible things happened. Some kinds of insects
fell into
the jam. Also, when they put the jam
into the jars, it spoiled. Finally, Baird became
ill and left
Trinidad.
15-year-old boy. In
January 1926, members of the British Royal
Institution came to see his
invention.
Happily, Baird’s demonstration was a success.
Comprehension Questions:
1. Baird was
interested in science ______
A. when he was
studying at university.
B. from his early
childhood.
C. only when was in his thirties.
D. after he failed in a business.
2. It
took John Baird ______ to invent his television
system.
A. quite a long period
B. almost
three years
C. no more than two years
D.
all his life
3. John Baird decided to go to
Trinidad because ______
A. he had some
inventions to make there.
B. he wanted to go
in for trade.
C. he had jam factory to
manage.
D. the weather there was fine.