Once there was a piano player in a bar (酒吧). People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.
“I don’t sing,” said the man.
But the lady told the waiter, “I’m tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!”
The waiter shouted across the room, “Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!”
So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!
He had talent(天賦) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.
You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.
【小題1】The lady asked the player to sing a song because ________.

Once there was a piano player in a bar (酒吧). People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.

“I don’t sing,” said the man.

But the lady told the waiter, “I’m tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!”

The waiter shouted across the room, “Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!”

So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!

He had talent(天賦) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.

You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.

1.The lady asked the player to sing a song because ________.

A．she had paid him for this

B．she knew him very well

C．she was tired of listening to the piano.

D．she enjoyed his singing

2.Nat King Cole succeeded because ________.

A．the lady helped him a lot

B．he caught the chance(機會)

C．he continued to play in the bar

D．he played the piano well

3.The words “sit on” in the passage probably mean “________”.

A．fail to realize                           B．forget to use

C．try to develop                          D．manage to show

4.From the story we know if you have some talent, you should __________.

A．hide it and wait

B．ask others for help

C．pay no attention to it

D．work hard to improve yourself

5.Which could be the best title(標題) for the passage?

A．Sing in the Bar

B．Achieve Success in Life

C．Never Lose Heart

D．Find Your Hidden（隱藏的） Talent

A big, mighty(高大的) tree stood in a forest. Its branches(樹枝) spread out and its roots (根) went deep in the earth. A lot of people came here to have a rest under it. And a lot of birds stood on its branches to sing and dance. The big tree was very proud all the time.

At the foot of the tree, there was a little plant. The plant was thin, and seemed to be blown down by any of a little wind.

One day, the two neighbors were having a little chat.

“Well, little one,” said the tree to the plant, “why not put your feet deeply in the earth, and raise your head high in the air as I do?”

“I see there is no need to do so,” said the plant with a smile. “In fact, I think I may be safer in this way.”

“Safer?” said the tree. “Are you safer than I am? Do you know how deep my roots are in the earth and how strong my branches are? Who can possibly pull me out by the roots or bow my head to the ground?” And the tree didn’t want to say anything to the weak plant.

But the tree was to regret its words very soon. One evening, a great hurricane(颶風) came. It blew the trees off their roots and almost destroyed the forest completely. It uprooted（將……連根拔起）the mighty tree and blew it away with great force.

When the storm had gone, the villagers living nearby came to check the damage. The mighty tree lay on the ground, but the little plant still stood there.

1.Who was the big tree’s neighbor?

2.Why was the big tree proud before its neighbor?

3.Why didn’t the big tree want to say anything to the little plant?

4.What did the villagers living nearby see after the hurricane had gone?

5. What’s probably the best title of the passage?

　　Last week, he went to a friend’s house for dinner, and there were some other guests there, too.

　　They had a good dinner and were pleased. Then the hostess（女主人）went to Mr Juta and said, “It’s said that you can sing Chinese songs, Juta? Please sing us a Chinese song! ”

　　Mr Juta was very happy, he began to sing an old song about the Yangtse River of China. The guests listened to it for a few minutes and then one of the guests began to cry. She was a young woman and had dark hair and very dark eyes.

　　One of the other guest went to her, put his hand on her back and said, “Please don’t cry. Are you Chinese?”Another young man asked, “Do you love China?”

　　“No, ”the young woman answered, “I’m not Chinese, and I’ve never been to China, but I’m a singer, and I love music! ”

　　1．Mr Juta likes___________very much．

　　A. dancing　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　  B. dinner

　　C. singing　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　 　　   　　   D．singing foreign songs

　　2．When did he begin to sing?

　　A. Before the dinner.

　　B. After the dinner.

　　C. In the middle of the dinner.

　　D. As soon as he got to the friend’s house.

　　3．Why did the young woman cry?

　　A. Because she was a foreign person.

　　B. Because she was a Chinese.

　　C. Because she was a singer.

　　D. Because Mr Juta’s singing was too bad.

　　4．What did you think of Juta’s singing?

　　A. Wonderful.     　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　 B. Too bad.

　　C. Not bad. 　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　  D. Very good.