One of the most famous buildings in the United States is Carnegie Hall, the home of classical and popular music concerts in New York. Carnegie Hall is known not just for its beauty and history, but also for its amazing sound. It has been said that the hall itself is an instrument. It takes the music and makes it larger than life.
Carnegie Hall is named after Andrew Carnegie, who paid for its construction. He was a wealthy man who also gave a lot of money to schools and public libraries. Construction on Carnegie Hall began in 1890 and the official opening night was on May 5, 1891.
The hall was owned by the Carnegie family until 1924 when it was sold to Robert E. Simon. The building became very old and in 1960, the new owner made plans to destroy it and build an office block. Isaac Stem led a group of people who fought to save Carnegie Hall and finally, the city of New York bought it for $5 million. It was then fixed up between 1983 and 1995.
In 1986, people realized that Carnegie Hall had never kept proper records of its history. Advertisements and stories in newspapers about how Carnegie Hall needed help to recover its history led people to send in old concert programmes and information from all over the world. Over 12,000 concert programmes were received and with these it was possible to make a proper record of Carnegie Hall’s concert history.
Carnegie Hall is actually made up of several different halls, but the Main Hall, now called the Isaac Stern Hall, is the most famous. Most of the greatest performers of classical music since the time the hall was built have performed in the Main Hall, and its reception areas are decorated with signed photographs of these musicians. The hall itself can hold an audience of 2,804 in five levels of seating. Visitors to the top level have to climb up 105 steps to get there!
Because the best and most famous musicians of all time have played at Carnegie Hall, it is the dream of most musicians who want to be great to play there. This has led to a very old joke which is now part of Carnegie Hall’s history. Question: “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” Answer: “Practise, practise, practise.”
小題1:What do music lovers expect in Carnegie Hall?
| A．Musical concerts presented by first class performers. |
| B．Exhibits and photographs of historical events. |
| C．Musicians practicing for opportunities to play. |
| D．People dancing merrily at parties. |
小題2:What is the correct order of the following events?
a. Robert E. Simon bought it in 1924.
b. Carnegie Hall got its name.
c. Carnegie Hall recovered its history.
d. New York City paid $5,000,000 for it.
e. Construction on Carnegie Hall began in 1890.
| A．a(chǎn); c; b; d; e; | B．e; d; c; a; b | C．e; b; a; d; c | D．a(chǎn); e; c; d; b |
小題3:How long did it take Carnegie Hall to be fixed up?
| A．9 years. | B．10 years. | C．11 years. | D．12 years. |
小題4: How did Carnegie Hall recover its concert history?
| A．Through newspaper reports. |
| B．Through old concert programmes. |
| C．Through old photographs. |
| D．Through old jokes. |
小題5:Why do you think the Main Hall is now called the Isaac Stern Hall?
| A．Because Isaac Stern is a famous musician. |
| B．Because Isaac Stern built the Main Hall. |
| C．Because Isaac Stern saved Carnegie Hall. |
| D．Because Isaac Stern made up the Carnegie Hall joke. |
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