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. Gloria 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.
Gloria 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.”
Gloria’s father was ill .
A. when they settled down in Miami.
B. before they left their home country
C. after he returned from Vietnam War
D. as soon as she finished high school
According to the passage, probably Gloria 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
The underlined word “disaster” in this passage refers to .
A. the concert B. the celebration C. the victims D. the hurricane
This passage mainly tells about Gloria Estefan’s .
A. life story B. happy marriage C. music style D. Cuban background
科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
We were on tour a few summers ago, driving through
56. The policeman stopped the boys to ______.
A. put them into prison B. give them a ticket
C. enjoy their performance D. ask some band questions
57. The policeman became friendly to the boys when ha knew they ____
A. had long been at the band B. played the music he loved
C. were driving for a show D. promised into a performance
58. The boys probably felt ______ when they drove off.
A, joyful B. calm C. nervous D. frightened
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科目:高中英语 来源:2016届浙江省高一上学期期中英语试卷(解析版) 题型:阅读理解
Earlier this year I traveled to Turkana in Kenya. I was there to take pictures of the “broken food system”.
As a special visitor, I was greeted with songs and dances. The locals used to sing and dance all the time but now Turkana is silent and has been for some years. No one is singing or dancing any more because they have no food, nothing to celebrate. Many of them are surviving on a little corn a day and water, which they can get just every two days.
I met Tede Lokapelo, a local farmer who described the experience of a six-year drought(干旱). Tede used to have 200 goats, but now he has only seven left. He told me that this drought has taught him a hard lesson: It is too difficult to keep animals. He lives on animals. His traditional way of life has been completely destroyed now. Without the food aid(援助) they got, Tede is certain that they would starve because there are no other ways to feed themselves left.
Sadly, the same can be heard in almost any developing country around the world. Almost one billion people go to bed hungry each night. The food system is broken. In Turkana, not enough rain has fallen since 2005. They measure(测量) rainfall not in days or weeks but in minutes. More and more people are being forced to rely on food aid, but people like Tede don’t want food aid. They want to work and develop their country. It’s our responsibility(责任) to change the situation so that they can support themselves.
Drought is impossible to avoid but famine(饥荒) is manmade, and unless enough money is provided to develop a basic infrastructure(基础设施) for people in the area, thousands more lives are sure to be lost.
1. Why do people in Turkana no longer sing or dance any more?
A. Because they have no time.
B. Because they are tired of them.
C. Because they are always hungry.
D. Because they have other interesting things to do.
2.During the drought Tede had experienced, ______of his goats were killed.
A. 200 B. 193 C. 7 D. 6
3. Which of the following is NOT true about Tede Lokapelo?
A. He was a farmer in Kenya.
B. He has never received any food aid.
C. His traditional way of life ha s been changed.
D. He found it hard to raise animals after the drought.
4.What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A. To show drought is serious in the world.
B. To tell readers the serious situation of food shortage(短缺).
C. To ask more people to give food aid to people in Kenya.
D. To make it clear what is the right way to help people suffering from drought.
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
(05·湖南A篇)
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 (乐队)?" 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(倒车), 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.
56. The policeman stopped the boys to ______.
A. put them into prison B. give them a ticket
C. enjoy their performance D. ask some band questions
57. The policeman became friendly to the boys when ha knew they ____
A. had long been at the band B. played the music he loved
C. were driving for a show D. promised into a performance
58. The boys probably felt ______ when they drove off.
A, joyful B. calm C. nervous D. frightened
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科目:高中英语 来源:湖南省高考真题 题型:阅读理解
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