A
One of the most famous buildings in the United States is Carnegie Hall, the home of classical and popular music concerts in New York. Carnegie Hall is known not just for its beauty and history, but also for its amazing sound. It has been said that the hall itself is an instrument. It takes the music and makes it larger than life.
Carnegie Hall is named after Andrew Carnegie, who paid for its construction. Construction on Carnegie Hall began in 1890 and the official opening night was on May 5, 1891.
The hall was owned by the Carnegie family until 1924 when it was sold to Robert E·Simon. The building became very old and in 1960, the new owner made plans to destroy it and build an office block. Isaac Stern led a group of people who fought to save Carnegie Hall and finally, the city of New York bought it for $5 million. It was then fixed up between 1983 and 1995.
Advertisements and stories in newspapers about how Carnegie Hall needed help to recover its history led people to send in old concert programmes and information from all over the world. Over 12, 000 concert programmes were received and with these it was possible to make a proper record of Carnegie Hall’s concert history.
Carnegie Hall is actually made up of several different halls, but the Main Hall, now called the Isaac Stern Hall, is the most famous. The hall itself can hold an audience of 2, 804 in five levels of seating.
Because the best and most famous musicians of all time have played at Carnegie Hall, it is the dream of most musicians who want to be great to play there. This has led to a very old joke which is now part of Carnegie Hall’s history. Question: “How do I get to Carnegie Hall? ” Answer: “Practise, practise, practise. ”
【语篇概述】这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了有号称“世界一流音响设备”的卡内基音乐厅, 并讲述它的历史与辉煌。能在卡内基音乐厅举办自己的音乐会, 成为众多音乐家的梦想。
1. It can be inferred that people wanted to save Carnegie Hall mainly because ________.
A. it made a lot of money
B. it was worth visiting
C. many important concerts were held in it
D. it made some musicians become famous
【解析】选C。推理判断题。根据最后一段Because the best and most famous musicians of all time have played at Carnegie Hall, it is the dream of most musicians who want to be great to play there. (因为历史上最优秀、最著名的音乐家都曾在卡内基音乐厅演奏过, 所以大多数想成为伟大音乐家的人都梦想在那里演奏。)由此可知, 它的历史辉煌, 因此当它要被拆迁改建时, 人们才会极力挽救, 故选C。
2. How did Carnegie Hall recover its concert history?
A. Through newspaper reports.
B. Through old concert programmes.
C. Through old photographs.
D. Through old jokes.
【解析】选B。细节理解题。根据第四段Over 12, 000 concert programmes were received and with these it was possible to make a proper record of Carnegie Hall’s concert history. (收到了超过12 000个音乐会节目, 有了这些节目, 就有可能让卡内基音乐厅的音乐会历史重现辉煌。)故选B。
3. How long did it take Carnegie Hall to be fixed up?
A. 9 years. B. 10 years.
C. 11 years. D. 12 years.
【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据第三段It was then fixed up between 1983 and 1995. (然后在1983年至1995年间进行了修复。)所以修复时间持续了1995-1983=12年, 故选D。
4. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. The History of Carnegie Hall.
B. The Best Musician Having Played in Carnegie Hall.
C. A Joke about Carnegie Hall.
D. The Dream of Most Musicians.
【解析】选A。主旨大意题。通过阅读文章, 可知这篇文章主要讲了号称有“世界一流音响设备”的卡内基音乐厅的历史与辉煌, 故选A。
