Matt Haimovitz is 42 and a renowned cellist (大提琴手) in the world. He rushed into the classical music scene at the age of 12 after Itzhak Perlman, the famed violinist, heard him play.
But nothing in his family history explains where Haimovitz got his extraordinary talent. And that’s typical, Ellen Winner, a professor says.
“People are fascinated by these children because they don’t understand where their talent came from. You will see parents who say, ‘I wasn’t like this, and my husband wasn’t like this.’ It seems to sometimes just come out of the blue,” Winner says.
It’s not clear whether a prodigy’s (天才)brain is any different from the brains of other children, in part because there have been no study comparing the brains of prodigies to those of average people.
“But I believe that anything that shows up so early, without training, has got to be either a genetic or some other biological basis,” Winner says. “If a child suddenly at the age of 3 goes to the piano and picks out a tune and does it beautifully, that has to be because that child has a different brain.”
Children who are extremely gifted tend to be socially different, too, Winner says. “They feel like they can’t find other kids like themselves, so they feel strange, maybe even like a freak, and feel like they don’t have anybody to connect with. On the other hand, they also long to connect with other kids, and they can’t find other kids like themselves.”
As Haimovitz got older, he became frustrated. He wanted to play other kinds of music but felt constricted by the image and the expectations of the boy prodigy who played classical music and filled concert halls.
“When you start that early, you suddenly start to grow up in public, and I wanted to experiment,” Haimovitz says.
So he took his cello into punk rock clubs and coffee houses. He played Bach, Haydn and Hendrix. “My teacher was Leonard Rose, and we never played any 20th-century music. He didn’t like it. But once I was exposed to James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix, Miles Dewey Davis El and others, I couldn’t really turn back. I wanted to know more,” he says.
小題1:According to some parents, prodigies’ extraordinary talent       .
A.comes unexpectedly B.is inherited from parents
C.results from hard workD.is trained in early times
小題2:Winner seems to agree to the fact that ____.
A.a(chǎn)verage people have their particular brains
B.biology is the base of a different brain
C.a(chǎn) prodigy’s brain is superior to those of others
D.genes play an important role in a prodigy
小題3:According to the text, gifted children are         .
A.lonelyB.easy-going C.innocentD.social
小題4:The last paragraph is mainly about how Haimovitz was trying to         .
A.build up his friendshipB.play different kinds of music
C.set up the image of a prodigyD.perform classical music creatively

小題1:A
小題2:D
小題3:A
小題4:B

試題分析:文章大意:馬特·海默維茨是著名的大提琴手。人們都認(rèn)為他是天才,但他的這種“天才”卻不是遺傳。然而,天才的童年也有自己的煩惱,他們無(wú)法找到自己的玩伴所以有時(shí)候會(huì)很孤獨(dú)。
小題1:A細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第三段…because they don’t understand where their talent came from….just come out of the blue(出乎意料), 可知答案選A。
小題2:D 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。 根據(jù)第五段..I believe that …without training, has got to be either a genetic or some other biological basis可知,Winner相信天才要是沒有訓(xùn)練要么是遺傳要么是其它生物基礎(chǔ),所以正確答案為D、基因在天才身上起著重要作用。
小題3:A 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第四段…so they feel strange, maybe even like a freak, and feel like they don’t have anybody to connect with…可知,天才兒童沒人跟他們玩,感覺自己很奇怪,像個(gè)畸形人,所以會(huì)很孤獨(dú)。因此答案選A。
小題4:B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)最后一段…I couldn’t really turn back. I wanted to know more可知,Haimovitz接觸了別的音樂(lè)時(shí)就不想再回到原先的音樂(lè)上,而是想對(duì)新的音樂(lè)知道更多。所以答案選B。
練習(xí)冊(cè)系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

One of the worst feelings you have as a professional athlete is the feeling after losing a game to a team that you should have beaten. That happened last night against the lowly Boston Celtics. They had only won 13 games the whole year and were really struggling. We had just come off a very good win against the Orlando Magic on the road and were feeling good about ourselves.
The day did not start out good for us when we learned that T-Mac was going to miss the game with the flu. When you lose your best players (Yao, T-Mac) everyone must play a little harder and do a little bit more on the floor. We inserted Bonzi Wells into the lineup (he was the only one to have a good game for us), in place of T-Mac.
It was a nasty game. We are usually one of the best three point shooting teams in the NBA and we only made 1 of 22 three point shots! I have never seen that happen. Never! Rafer Alston, Luther Head, and me combined to shoot 5 of 33 from the field. Ouch! You aren't going to win too many games like that. Even as poorly as we shot the ball, we STILL had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter but failed to make the winning plays that you must make to leave the floor victorious.
In the locker room after the game, everybody felt terrible. When we play a bad game, we feel that we let our teammates down. There is a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach when you leave the gym and you just want to go home and not talk to anyone. It is a terrible feeling, but it is a feeling that makes you want to try harder and do better the next time.
I'll talk to you guys later.
Shane
小題1:What is the passage mainly about?
A.To blame the team for losing the game.
B.To tell the readers about the feeling after losing the game
C.To explain why they played poorly in the game.
D.To blame Yao Ming and T—Mac for being absent from the game.
小題2: What can the readers learn from the text?
A. The Boston Celtics is one of the top teams in NBA.
B. The Boston Celtics had a big win over the writer’s team.
C. Every one of the team played poorly with no energy.
D. Bonzi Wells starts in the game with T-Mac out.
小題3: How do you think the writer might describe his performance that night?
A.ToughB.RelaxingC.TerribleD.Efficient
小題4:The text most probably comes from the writer’s _________ .
A.blogB.telephone messageC.noteD.interview

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:完形填空

One sunny afternoon, a seven-year-old girl went for a walk. She crossed a large area of grassland into the woods        she realized that she was lost.
Sitting on a rock and        what to do, she began crying. After a while, she        to walk along a wide path lined with tall trees and thick bushes.        it was getting dark, she saw a small, dark wooden house. She opened the door and        stepped in. Suddenly, she heard a strange noise, and she ran out the door and back to the       . Cold and tired, she fell asleep near a       .
The girl’s parents were out and her dog, Laddy, was at home. Laddy        that his mistress(女主人) was in danger. He jumped        a window, breaking the glass. He looked in the fields, but he couldn't find his mistress anywhere. However, from the ground came a       scent(氣味)as he lowered his head. He        the scent and walked across the grassland. Barking        into the air, the dog
      through the woods until he found the       . But the girl was not there, so he headed back to the woods. Much to his       , he saw his mistress' blue shirt in the distance. He        over some bushes and saw the little stream, where the girl was       .
When she opened her eyes and        her dog standing beside her, the girl said, “You        me, Laddy.” and she kissed him several times. Seeing their daughter and dog coming back, the parents burst into tears of       .That night Laddy had a hero’s supper: a huge meal of steak.
小題1:
A.beforeB.sinceC.whileD.a(chǎn)s
小題2:
A.wonderingB.forgettingC.remembering D.regretting
小題3:
A.preferred B.expectedC.failedD.decided
小題4:
A.When B.UntilC.IfD.Because
小題5:
A.carelesslyB.cautiously C.hopelesslyD.unwillingly
小題6:
A.treesB.bushesC.woodsD.grasses
小題7:
A.stream B.rockC.treeD.house
小題8:
A.foundB.sensedC.heard D.smelt
小題9:
A.a(chǎn)tB.throughC.inD.onto
小題10:
A.terribleB.strangeC.pleasantD.familiar
小題11:
A.missedB.discoveredC.followedD.ignored
小題12:
A.calmlyB.loudlyC.merrilyD.gently
小題13:
A.searched B.wandered C.lookedD.travelled
小題14:
A.window B.girlC.houseD.hero
小題15:
A.satisfactionB.disappointmentC.embarrassmentD.delight
小題16:
A.jumpedB.climbedC.walkedD.flew
小題17:
A.a(chǎn)wakeB.a(chǎn)bandonedC.a(chǎn)vailableD.a(chǎn)sleep
小題18:
A.spottedB.watchedC.observedD.saw
小題19:
A.disturbedB.comfortedC.rescuedD.scared
小題20:
A.painB.shockC.sorrowD.relief

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

A man who failed to return more than 700 children’s books to five different libraries in the county was put into prison. Yesterday he was set free after a book publisher agreed to post his bond (擔(dān)保金) of $1,000. The publisher said, “There’s a story here. This is a man who loves books. He just can’t let go of them. He hasn’t stolen a single book. So what’s the crime? We think that Mr. Brush has a story to tell. We plan to publish his story.”
When asked why he didn’t return the books, Mr. Brush said, “Well, how could I? They became family to me. I was afraid to return them, because I knew that kids or dogs would get hold of these books and chew them up, throw them around, rip the pages, spill soda on them, get jam and jelly on them, and drown them in the toilet.”
He continued, “Books are people, too! They talk to you, they take care of you, and they enrich you with wisdom and humor and love. A book is my guest in my home. How could I kick it out? I repaired torn pages. I dusted them with a soft clean cloth. I turned their pages so they could breathe and get some fresh air.
“Every week I reorganized them on their shelves so they could meet new friends. My books were HAPPY books. You could tell just by looking at them. Now they’re all back in the library, on the lower shelves, on the floors, at the mercy of all those runny-nosed kids. I can hear them calling me! I need to rescue them. Excuse me. I have to go now.”
小題1:Why was the man put into prison?
A.Because the book publisher persuaded the police to do so.
B.Because he stole 700 children's books from the five different libraries.
C.Because he refused to return the books that he had borrowed.
D.Because he wanted to publish his story.
小題2:How did the man treat books?
A.He treated them as real people.
B.He treated them as his own children.
C.He treated them as his furniture.
D.He treated them as his job.
小題3:From the passage we can learn that the man is _____.
A.a(chǎn) thiefB.crazy about booksC.a(chǎn) writerD.unfortunate
小題4:What might happen after the man was set free?
A.He might stop borrowing books.
B.He might start a library of his own.
C.He might return all his books
D.He might go on borrowing books from libraries.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

A time capsule buried by Apple founder Steve Jobs 30 years ago has been discovered after its location was long forgotten.In 1983, the young tech innovator was attending a conference in Aspen when he and the group decided to bury as a stunt during a design convention.
The tube that was filled with an eclectic collection of goods- ranging from the then-new apple mouse to a six-pack of beer for the people who discovered the time capsule- was meant to be dug up 20 years later.
There was a problem with that plan, however, as everyone involved forgot where it was buried.
The final discovery happened at the hands of the crew from the National Geographic Channel`s reality show called Diggers.The discovery was well documented and is surely going to be featured on an upcoming episode, and even the experts had problems finding this particular treasure.
CNET reports that in spite of their preparations and clear idea of where the 13-foot-long tube was, it still took them two hours to dig it up using heavy machinery.
To anyone removed from the tech industry, the accomplishment in finding the tube appears to be the biggest accomplishment. To others, the most interesting object would likely be the `Lisa` mouse placed in the tube by the hands of a then-28-year-old Jobs.The Lisa Mouse, which Jobs named after his daughter, was one of the first commercial computer mice soled publicly, making it a rarity at the time.
The Aspen Historical Society is going to help the show creators catalogue the tube`s contents- but no word yet whether or not the Diggers cracked open one of the six bottles of Boddington`s Ale that was left inside for the people who found the tube.
小題1:Who found the time capsule buried by Steve Jobs?
A.Apple founder Steve Jobs himself.
B.the crew from the National Geographic Channel`s reality show called Diggers.
C.Steve Jobs' friends.
D.Steve Jobs’ daughter.
小題2:Which is the best title of the passage ?
A.A time capsule buried by Apple founder Steve Jobs.
B.Steve Jobs' plan.
C.Steve Jobs' time capsule is uncovered.
D.The tube by Steve Jobs.
小題3:How old is Steve Jobs now?
A.58 years old .
B.20 years old.
C.30 years old.
D.48 years old.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

It was only a few weeks after my surgery, and I went to Dr. Belt's office for a checkup. It was just after my first chemotherapy(化學(xué)療法) treatment.
My scar was still very tender. My arm was numb underneath. As usual, I was taken to an examination room to have my blood drawn, again —a terrifying process for me, since I'm so frightened of needles.
I lay down on the examining table. Ramona entered the room. Her warm smile was familiar, and stood out in contrast to my fears.  She knew about my fear of needles, and she kindly hid the equipment under a magazine. As we opened the blouse, the fresh scar on my chest could be seen.
She said, “How is your scar healing?”
I said, “I think pretty well. I wash around it gently each day.” The memory of the shower water hitting my numb chest flashed across my face.
She gently reached over and ran her hand across the scar, examining the smoothness of the healing skin and looking for any irregularities. I began to cry gently and quietly. She brought her warm eyes to mine and said, “You haven't touched it yet, have you?” And I said, “No.”
So this wonderful, warm woman laid the hand on my chest and she gently held it there. For a long time, I continued to cry quietly. In soft tones she said, “This is part of your body. This is you. It's okay to touch it.” But I couldn't. So she touched it for me. The scar. The healing wound. And beneath it, she touched my heart. Then Ramona said, “I'll hold your hand while you touch it.” So she placed her hand next to mine, and we both were quiet. That was the gift that Ramona gave me.
小題1:After I got my first chemotherapy treatment, _________.
A.I began to feel betterB.my scar was still painful
C.I could hardly stretch my armD.I got tired of operation
小題2:Ramona hid the equipment under a magazine to _________.
A.cheer me upB.rid my fear
C.make me amused D.tease me
小題3: When Ramona examined my healing skin, __________.
A.she was carelessB.she hurt me
C.I started to cryD.she was in tears
小題4:I began to have the courage to touch the scar _________.
A.because of Ramona’s encouragement
B.because I could face the fact
C.because of Ramona’s gentleness
D.because Ramona and I became friends
小題5:What is the author’s attitude towards Ramona?
A.Objective B.GratefulC.DoubtfulD.Helpless

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:完形填空

One Saturday, I got a phone call about electrical problems. Since I am not an electrician, I quickly       that the woman on the line had the wrong number. The woman on the phone sounded extremely        as her electricity wasn’t working. Her       tried to replace a wall switch(開關(guān)), but now some of their lights wouldn’t be on, and the heat had       .
The woman thought she was        an electrician who had done work for her in the past. I had just recently changed my        and she got me instead. I’m not an electrician but I do work with       .
I       her that she had the wrong number, and I didn’t know what her old electrician changed his number to. She       , and we said goodbye. After I hung up the phone I thought        I could help her so I dialed back and found out she was just one town over.
When I got to her house, I told her I would help her, but I would not        any money. This confused(使迷惑)her and she asked        I would bother if I wasn’t getting paid.  I told her it was an act of        and to “pay it forward”. The couple, who were both retired, seemed        and said they had never met anyone like me.
Her husband had fixed the        switch which was causing a short(短路). After I was done, they thanked me and tried to give me some       . I told them I wouldn’t accept anything, and that the best        would be to find someone else to help out. I        said that if they can’t find someone else to repay then just be extra nice to each other. They were both unbelievably happy that I        to solve their electrical problems quickly, but I think I was even        at the opportunity to help them.
小題1:
A.noticedB.imaginedC.believed D.realized
小題2:
A.a(chǎn)nxiousB.excited C.nervous D.curious
小題3:
A.son B.husbandC.brotherD.father
小題4:
A.shown off B.paid off C.shut off D.taken off
小題5:
A.introducingB.callingC.expectingD.searching
小題6:
A.mindB.a(chǎn)ddress C.cellphone D.number
小題7:
A.organizationB.electricityC.educationD.construction
小題8:
A.encouraged B.blamedC.taught D.told
小題9:
A.a(chǎn)pologized B.laughedC.shouted D.nodded
小題10:
A.maybe B.a(chǎn)nywayC.otherwiseD.indeed
小題11:
A.provideB.receive C.offer D.a(chǎn)ccept
小題12:
A.whenB.whetherC.why D.how
小題13:
A.honesty B.kindness C.courage D.friendship
小題14:
A.encouragedB.delighted C.interestedD.surprised
小題15:
A.wrong B.necessary C.properD.valuable
小題16:
A.candy B.praise C.moneyD.gift
小題17:
A.decision B.requirement C.replyD.payment
小題18:
A.a(chǎn)lso B.ever C.justD.even
小題19:
A.decided B.succeeded C.managed D.promised
小題20:
A.better B.happierC.easier D.stronger

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Once there was a man who liked to eat mangoes. One day he decided to get the sweetest mango from the very top of the tree. Mangoes which are exposed to the sun the most are the sweetest.
So he climbed up to the top, where the branches were thin. He managed to pick up a few sweet reddish fruits, but, in an attempt to climb down, he slipped and started falling towards the ground. Fortunately, he caught the branch as he was falling and remained helplessly hanging on the tree. Then he started to call nearby villagers for help. They immediately came with a ladder and sticks, but could do little to help him.
Then after some time one calm and thoughtful person arrived – a well-known sage who lived in a simple hut nearby. People were very curious to see what he would do, as he was famous in solving many people’s problems in the area and sometimes very complicated ones.
He was silent for a minute and then picked up a stone and threw it at the hanging man.
Everybody was surprised. The hanging mango lover started to shout, “What are you doing?! Are you crazy? Do you want me to break my neck?” The sage was silent. Then he took another stone and threw it at the man. The man was very angry, “If I could just come down, I would show you!”
That’s what everybody wanted – that he came down. But how? Now everybody was tense, as to what would happen next! Some wanted to chastise the sage, but they didn’t. The sage picked another stone and threw it again at the man, even more forcefully. Now the man on the tree was enraged and developed a great determination to come down and take revenge(復(fù)仇).
He then used all his skill and strength and somehow reached the branches which were safe to start going down. And he made it! Everybody was amazed.
However, the rescued man found the sage gone. He stood there, realizing that the man really saved him because he induced(引誘)him to try his best and save himself.
“I should be thankful and not angry.”
小題1:From the story we know that the sweetest mango must be the one        .
A.on the very top of the tree
B.hidden in the middle of a tree
C.on the tree for the longest time
D.exposed to sunlight less often
小題2:What happened after he had picked a few sweet reddish mangoes?
A.He slipped and fell to the ground suddenly.
B.He was climbing down quickly
C.He remained hanging helplessly on the tree.
D.He shouted loudly for help but no one helped.
小題3:How did the man feel when the sage hit him with a stone?
A.He was nervous.B.He kept silentC.He felt surprised.D.He was angry.
小題4:What do you think motivated the man to climb down?
A.Courage.B.Revenge.C.Carefulness. D.Assistance.

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊(cè)答案