James Blunt is one of the most popular singers in the UK. His first album, Back to Bedlam, and his number one hit, You’re Beautiful, brought him fame in 2005. his music is a mix of pop, rock and folk.

Blunt comes to China for the first time this month, he will hold two concerts, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai on April 18 and 19 respectively.

Blunt, 34, took an unusual path to stardom. His father was a soldier and so was his grandfather.

“The only music he heard growing up was Happy Birthday and Silent Night. His father considered all music, even classical, to be unnecessary noise,’ reads Blunt’s official website.

Even though Blunt did not want to join the military, he eventually followed his father’s wishes, and served as a soldier in Kosovo on peacekeeping duty.

“Like any parents, mine wanted me to have a secure job with a regular wage and career prospects,” Blunt said. “And the one job my father knew of, that he’d had experience of himself, was the army, so he could help me in that direction.”

Blunt eventually became a Captain. One of his final duties in the army before retirement was carrying the coffin(棺材) at the funeral of the Queen Mother of England in 2002.

But Blunt couldn’t escape his love for music. So, after leaving the British Army he moved to Los Angeles and worked on his first album. While in LA, Blunt lived with the actress Carrie Fisher, who played the lead female role in the Star Wars movie. He recorded his song, Goodbye My Lover, in his bathroom, where he kept a piano.

Blunt took his new album back to England where it was not very successful. But he kept performing and eventually his song, You’re Beautiful, became a number one hit.

Now Blunt has won numerous awards, sold millions of records and dated super models.

But his greatest accomplishment might be that his father now enjoys music!

1. All of the following belongs to Blunt EXCEPT__________.

A. Back to Bedlam　　　　　　　　 B. Silent Night　　

C. Goodbye My Lover　　　　　　 D. You’re Beautiful

2. Which of the following proves “Blunt took an unusual path to stardom”?

　 A. Blunt was 34 when be became famous.

B. Blunt recorded his most famous song in a bathroom.

　 C. Blunt’s father wanted him to have a secure job.

　 D. Blunt began to pursue a career in music after military service.

3. We can infer from the passage that __________.

　 A. Blunt is living in Los Angeles at present

　 B. Blunt rose to fame two years after he left the army

　 C. Blunt became successful immediately he recorded his first song

　 D. Blunt has changed his father’s attitude towards music

4. What is the passage mainly about?

　 A. Blunt’s visit to China　　　　　　 B. Blunt’s military life.

　 C. How Blunt became famous　　　　 D. How Blunt father fell in love with music.

 

I was cleaning out an old box when an old card caught my eye：Queen City Casket Company．“What is it?” I wondered．I 　36　 it over．There，in faded ink, was a hand-scrawled(手写的) 　37　. Immediately my mind traveled  38   many years．

   I was nine years old, walking down the cold，wet streets of Springfield，with a bag of magazines on my shoulder．On my   39  that day．I came to that Company finally, whose owner, Mr. Rader，had always taken me there to ask his workers  40  they wanted any magazines．

    Shaking off the  41  like a wet dog．I entered Mr. Rader's office．After a quick glance ,he  42  me over to the fire-place．Noticing the  43   in the top of my  44   ，he said，“Come with me!”，pulling me into his pickup  45  ．we pulled to a stop before a shoe store．Inside，a salesman  46   me with the finest pair of Oxfords I had  47  seen．I  48  about 10 feet tall when I got up  49  them．“We’d like a pair of new socks too．” Mr Rader said．

    Back in his office, Mr Rader took out a  50   ，wrote something on it, and handed it to me．With   51  eyes，I read，“Do to others as you would have them do to you．” He said affectionately(深情地)，“Jimmy，I want you to　52　　I  love  you”．

    I said good-bye, and for the first time I  53    a flicker of hope that somehow things would be  54  ．With people like Mr Rader in the world，there was hope，kindness and love，and that would always make a   55  ．

A．read          B．thought        C．turned       D．passed

A．address       B．1ist            C．message     D．information

A．forward       B．so             C．ahead       D．back

A．return         B．rounds         C．trip         D．arrival

A．if only        B．how           C．whether      D．why

A．dust          B．sweat          C．tail          D．rain

A．led           B．followed        C．watched     D．carried

A．hole          B．mud           C．water        D．cover

A．magazine      B．shoe           C．sock         D．bag

A．truck         B．factory         C．home        D．store

A．dressed        B．fitted          C．showed      D．comforted

A．ever          B．already         C．never        D．hardly

A．appeared      B．seemed         C．looked 　    D．felt

A．for           B．with            C．on　 　     D．in

A．pen          B．paper           C．card　　     D．notebook

A．tearful        B．unbelievable     C．curious.　    D．puzzled

A．admit         B．know           C．consider 　  D．express

A．sensed        B．received         C．lost　       D．gained

A．mistaken      B．fight            C．all right 　   D．possible

A．deal          B．fortune          C．choice　　   D．difference

A couple of years ago, I went to a lady’s house to buy some vitamins. Upon entering the house, I 　 31　 that there was an electronic keyboard on a stand, leaning　 32　 the wall. Being a piano music lover and 　 33 , I asked, if the woman played. She nodded and added that she had been 　34　 lessons—at age 54! I told her that it was very　 35　 that she was pursuing （追求） her passion（热情） to play the piano.

　 Then she asked me　 36　 question.

　 “I have been playing for 8 years now, ” I answered.

　 “Then you must play a song for me before you leave, ” she　 37 . I thought she was joking and I simply smiled. At the end of the deal of the vitamins, she　 38　 me of our musical “ 39　 ”. She then showed me to an old upright piano in the living room, 40 asked me to play a song for her. I thought　 41　 and decided to play David Lanz’s “Return to the Heart”, since she had so much passion for　 42　 , and it was my soul-searching song.

　 I played the song to the best of my ability, and with my emotions　 43　 into it as possible. She loved it. 　 44　 I was about to step out of the door, I heard a weak voice calling out, “Young man! ”

　 I turned around. And there was an old lady　 45　 one little step at a time with the help of another woman. “I wanted to come out to　 46　 you for the beautiful song that you played. I have been very sick, and it’s very hard for me to　 47　 my bed, but your music made me feel good, ”she said. With that, she turned around and walked　 48　 back to her room.

　 I was deeply　 49　 by her appreciation and felt a deeper understanding for the song. It served its purpose beautifully, returning to one’s　 50　 for peace and joy.

31. A. observed 　　　B. watched

C. noticed 　　　　　D. caught

32. A. on 　　　B. at

C. over 　　　 D. against

33. A. player 　　　B. teacher

C. composer 　　　D. starter

34. A. giving 　　　B. attending

C. teaching 　　　 D. reviewing

35. A. interesting 　　　B. wonderful

C. moved 　　　　　　D. impressive

36. A. another 　　　B. a different

C. the same 　　　　D. other

37. A. advised 　　　B. ordered

C. demanded 　　　D. requested

38. A. warned 　　　B. reminded

C. asked 　　　　　D. required

39. A. course 　　　B. task

C. discussion 　　　D. deal

40. A. and 　　　　 B. but

C. as a result 　　　D. what’s more

41. A. for the moment 　　　B. at the moment

C. for a moment 　　　　　D. at a moment

42. A. music 　　　B. songs

C. the piano 　　　D. vitamins

43. A. dropping 　　　B. falling

C. pouring 　　　　　D. running

44. A. Since 　　　B. As

C. While 　　　　 D. Because

45. A. taking 　　　B. making

C. having 　　　　 D. moving

46. A. thank 　　　B. praise

C. admire 　　　　D. owe

47. A. get on 　　　B. get up

C. get off 　　　　 D. get down

48. A. quietly 　　　B. calmly

C. happily 　　　　 D. slowly

49. A. shocked 　　　B. touched

C. delighted 　　　　D. disturbed

50. A. world 　　　B. heart

C. brains 　　　　 D. dreams

A lesson in caring

It was a cold evening. My daughter and I were walking up Broadway. I didn’t notice a guy sitting inside a cardboard box. But Nora    36    . She wasn’t even four, but she   37    at my coat and said, “That man’s cold. Daddy, can we take him home?”

    I don’t remember my   38    . But I do remember a sudden   39    feeling inside me. I had always been delighted at how much my daughter noticed in her   40     , whether it was     41    flying or children playing. But now she was noticing   42    and beggary.

    A few days later, I saw an article in the newspaper about volunteers who picked up a food package from a nearby school on a Sunday morning and   43     it to an elderly person. It was quick and easy. I signed us up. Nora was   44    about it. She could understand the importance of food, so she could easily see how   45    our job was. When Sunday came, she was ready, but I had to    46    myself to leave the house to fetch the food package. On my way to the school, I fought an urge (强烈愿望) to turn    47    . The Sunday paper and coffee were waiting for me at home. Why do this?   48    , we phoned the elderly person we’d been appointed. She   49    us right over.

    The building was in a bad state. Facing us was a silver-haired woman in an old dress. She took the package and asked us to come in. Nora ran inside. I unwillingly followed.   50     inside, I saw that the department belonged to someone poor. Our hostess showed us some photos. Nora played and when it came time to say goodbye, we three hugged. I walked home    51    .

Professionals call such a(n)   52    “a volunteer opportunity”. They are opportunities and I’ve come to see. Where else but as volunteers do you have the opportunity to do something    53     that’s good for others as well as for yourself? Nora and I regularly serve meals to needy people and   54     clothes for the homeless. Yet, as I’ve    55     her grow over these past four years, I still wonder—which of us has benefited more?

A. did                     B. was                          C. has            D. had

A. pulled　　　　     B. replaced                   C. waved        D. aimed

A. debate                   B. reply                        C. explanation D. expression

A. general　　　　    B. funny                       C. heavy         D. magical

A. web　　　　　    B. dream　　　　　    C. castle         D. world

A. insects                   B. animals　　　　      C. plants　　　D. birds

A. coldness 　　　    B. illness 　　　       C. suffering　　D. appearance

A. sent  　　           B. returned　　　      C. devoted　　 D. posted

A. concerned              B. sorry　　　　         C. worried      　D. excited

A. creative　　　      B. valuable　　　      C. shocking　　D. simple

A. warn　　　　　    B. stop　　　　  　    C. allow 　　　D. push

A. back 　　　　      B. away　　　　          C. up　　　　 D. out

A. Therefore　　　    B. But     　　          C. Anyhow　　D. Also

A. requested 　　    B. promised　　　      C. invited 　　 D. helped

A. Although            B. Once　　　　　      C. Because 　　D. Though

A. in tears                  B. in surprise                C. in reality      D. in disappointment

A. stay                    B. visit 　　　　         C. reception　　D. challenge

A. fair                    B. famous　　　　       C. difficult　　 D. enjoyable

A. collect                   B. make　　　　　      C. order 　　　D. design

A. let                         B. made　　　　　      C. watched 　　D. affected