Question

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach 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 middle aged 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 3-year-old 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 theater 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?”

1.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

2.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

3.Joshua Bell played in the metro station in order to ______.

A. make more money      

B. practice his skills in playing music

C. made an advertisement for his concert

D. find out people’s reaction under such a circumstance

4.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

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题分析: 当人们处在匆忙之中时，有多少人会为美好的事物而驻足呢？在华盛顿的地铁站，一个男士演奏了45分钟的小提琴，因正值上班时间，几乎没有人停下脚步去欣赏这美妙的音乐，可是谁又知道这位男士是著名的小提琴手Joshua Bell呢？

1.细节理解题。根据文章第一段most of them on their way to work.以及下文中出现的多个描述人们行为的词hurry，可以判断因忙着去上班而很少人能停下来去欣赏美妙的音乐，选A。

2.细节理解题。根据文章第五段内容This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.可知当孩子们停下来听音乐的时候，家长们都会催促他们继续赶路，选D。

3.推理判断题。根据文章后三段内容可知Joshua Bell的行为是华盛顿邮报进行的一项实验：人们在像车站这样普通的地方，在匆忙去上班的这段时间人们对于美好的东西会不会去欣赏，人们对于美好的事物是如何反应，故答案选D。

4.主旨大意题。从文章末段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?”可知文章目的是让人们思考人生，选A。

考点：考查社会生活类短文阅读。