Singing had always been an important part of Gloria Estefan’s life. “Since I was three years old, I sang. I sang everything,” Gloria said. “Cubans,” she added, “are a musical people”.

Gloria was born in Cuba in 1957. Her family left the country just before Fidel Castro came to power. In Miami, where the family settled, many people did not accept Cuban immigrants. In first grade, she spoke little English, but she worked hard to learn the language. Six months after she entered school, she won an award for reading in English!

When Gloria was ten, her father returned from the Vietnam War. Soon, the family realized he wasn’t well. They soon found out that he was badly ill. Her mother went back to teaching at school to support the family. Gloria cared for her father and her younger sister.

She still made the honor roll, and she still had her music, but Gloria was lonely. However, when the band leader Emilio Estefan came to speak at her high school, Gloria sang for him. He asked her to join his band. It was the beginning of the Miami Sound Machine.

Within a few months, the Miami Sound Machine was the top band in Miami. In 1978 Gloria and Emilio married.

At first, the Miami Sound Machine was known only in Miami. Then the band signed with CBS Records. Estefan and his band became stars.

Since then, the Miami Sound Machine has sold millions of records. Estefan has done more than just singing when Hurricane Andrew hit central Florida in 1992. She used only two weeks to organize an all-star concert that raised $2 million for the people who suffered in the hurricane. “We needed a party after that disaster,” she said.

Estefan said, “You have to stay true to the music you really love to do. There will always be people who will tell you, ‘that won’t work.’ You’ve got to be firm in spite of difficulties. Stick to it—that’s the main thing.”

1.Estefan’s father was ill           .

       A.when they settled down in Miami.

       B.before they left their home country

       C.a(chǎn)fter he returned from Vietnam War

       D.a(chǎn)s soon as she finished high school

2.According to the passage, probably Estefan did the following except         .

       A.organizing an all-star concert for Hurricane victims

       B.winning an award for reading in English

       C.teaching at school to support the family

       D.taking care of her father and sister

3.The underlined word “disaster” in this passage refers to          .

       A.the concert          B.the celebration      C.the victims              D.the hurricane

4.This passage mainly tells about Estefan’s             .

      A.life story                                             B.happy marriage

       C.music style             D.Cuban background

1.C  2.C  3.D  4.A

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閱讀理解。
     We were on tour a few summers ago, driving through Chicago, when right outside of the city, we got
pulled over. A middle-aged policeman came up to the car and was really being troublesome at first. Lecturing
us, he said,"You were speeding. Where are you going in such a hurry?" Our guitarist, Tim, told him that we
were on our way to Wisconsin to play a show. His way towards us totally changed. He asked, "Oh, so you
boys are in a band (樂隊)?" We told him that we were. He then asked all the usual broad questions about the
type of music we played, and how long we had been at it. Suddenly, he stopped and said, "Tim, you want to
get out of this ticket, don't you?" Tim said, "Yes." So the officer asked him to step out of the car. The rest
of us, inside the car, didn't know what to think as we watched the policeman talk to Tim. Next thing we
knew, the policeman was putting Tim in the back of the police car he had parked in front of us. With that, he
threw the car into reverse (倒車), stopping a few feet in back of our car. Now we suddenly felt frightened.
We didn't know if we were all going to prison, or if the policeman was going to sell Tim on the black market
or something. All of a sudden, the pollen's voice came over in a loudspeaker. He said, "Ladies and gentlemen,
for the first time ever, we have Tim here singing on Route 90." Turns out, the policeman had told Tim that
the only way he was getting out of the ticket was if he sang part of one of our songs over the loudspeaker in
the police car. Seconds later, Tim started screaming into the receiver. The policeman enjoyed the performance,
and sent us on our way without a ticket.
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B. give them a ticket
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D. ask some band questions
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B. played the music he loved
C. were driving for a show
D. promised into a performance
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B. calm
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