(二)
A man sat at a metro station in Washington D.C. and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a middleaged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the money box without stopping, and continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3yearold boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected 32$. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most beautiful pieces ever written, on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theatre in Boston where the seats averaged 100$.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell's playing in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment.
The outlines were in a common environment at an inappropriate hour. Do we enjoy beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected situation?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
6.Few people stopped to listen to Joshua Bell playing because________.
A.people were in a hurry
B.they were not interested in music
C.it was too cold in the subway
D.the performance was not good enough
7.When children stopped to look at the violinist, their parents ________.
A.would give him some money
B.would stop to enjoy the music
C.would applaud for the performance
D.would urge them to continue walking
8.Joshua Bell played in the metro station in order to ________.
A.make more money
B.practise his skills in playing music
C.made an advertisement for his concert
D.find out people's reaction under such a circumstance
9.The purpose of the passage is to ________.
A.set us to think about our life
B.show us how to play music
C.tell us the importance of music
D.report a subway performance
