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(天赋) 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 ff you just sit on your talent.
81. 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 wanted to have a change D. she enjoyed his singing
82. Nat King Cole succeeded because _____.
A. the lady helped him a lot B. he caught the chance
C. he continued to play in the bar D. he stopped playing the piano
83. 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
84. 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
85. Which could be the best title (标题) for the passage?
A. Sing in the Bar B. Achieve Success in Life
C. Never Lose Heart D. Find Your Hidden Talent
C
Questionnaire
Read the questions and answer YES or NO, then you will find out how good you are.
1. When you don t understand something, you ask questions. □
2. You like listening to older people talk about the post. □
3. You think that you con learn something interesting from everyone around you. □
4. You ore brave enough when you have to talk to people you don't know. □
5. You enjoy reading books about famous people. □
6. You always see and talk to different people. □
7. You are interested in learning new ways of doing things. □
8. You enjoy shying experiences with friends and learning from people of all ages. □
9.You talk o lot about yourself. □
10. Even if you ore often wrong, you make your own decisions. □
11.You hate teaching what you are good at: sports, technology, whatever. □
12.Your parents don't understand you, so you don't talk to them much. □
SCORE NOW!
Score 2 points if you answer YES to each of tile first 8 questions, and 0 if you choose NO.
Score 2 points if you answer NO to each of the last 4 questions, and 0 if you choose YES.
18--24. You are friendly and open-minded. You make people feel important by listening to what they have to say. You'll probably succeed in learning al1 kinds of interesting things. Good for you!
10--16 Remember that every single person you know can teach you something. You will greatly make your life rich and colorful.
0- 8 About 400 years ago, a famous writer wrote, "No man is an island." This is still mm today. Try to be more open and interested in people around you.
86. If you say "YES" to all these questions, you'll get ____ points.
A. 12 B. 16 C. 20 D. 24
87. When you score 22 points, you are _____.
A. shy and nervous B. silent and serious
C. open and friendly D. brave and strong
88. The writer thinks you should _____.
A. always see and talk to the same people
B. make your Own decision whenever you want
C. enjoy teaching what you are good at
D. talk much about yourselves when possible
89. "No man is an island." in the text probably means that _____.
A. the famous writer was very clever
B. everything is the same as 400 years ago
C. you will feel lonely if on an island
D. you can not live alone in the world
90. The questions are used to test whether you are willing to __
A. learn from others B. help other people
C. do all by yourself D. depend on others
，我们将会及时处理。
