A
After I mastered my first concerto (协奏曲) at the age of 14, my parents decided to get me a nice violin. I tried out dozens of instruments before I found my match: a German violin. It was beautiful, but what I liked best about it was its voice. Confident and strong, it was everything I longed to be.
I’m not sure how much that violin cost, but my parents made me promise never to let it out of my sight. They didn’t understand that pulling a large violin case ran counter to my daily middle school task of not being noticed. I was a strange, absent-minded kid. When I spoke up in class, my comments brought confused silence from teachers and wild laughter from students. Like a deer in a wolf pack, I tried to be quiet and still.
However, my new violin was almost shockingly loud. Together, we were much louder than the rest of my middle school orchestra — which was encouraged, since the other kids made sounds like cats’ crying. For one wonderful hour every day, I was showered with attention. Everyone wanted to hear what I had to say.
Between classes, I bent under the combined weight of my violin case and a backpack filled with books. My body suffered, but my confidence grew. With my violin by my side, I found my voice. More and more, I contributed to class discussions and even made a couple of friends.
Today, I’m just an excellent violinist with a regular day job. As I sit in my community orchestra, sometimes I feel jealous (嫉妒的) of my fellow musicians’ instruments with their elegant voices. I may not be the best violinist around, but at least I’m still the loudest.
21. The underlined part “ran counter to” in Paragraph 2 probably means________.
A. was similar to B. went along with
C. had something in common with D. was the opposite of
22. We know from Paragraph 2 that the author________.
A. was an excellent student B. did not fit in at school
C. was strong and confident D. did not attend classes regularly
23. What kind of feeling is expressed in Paragraph 3?
A. Pride. B. Anger. C. Disappointment. D. Regret.
24. What can we infer from the text?
A. The violin always made the author embarrassed.
B. The author hated the loud voice of his violin.
C. The violin changed the author in some way.
D. The author was the best violinist in his community orchestra.
【答案】21. D 22. B 23. A 24. C
【解析】
这是一篇记叙文。文章主要讲述了作者小时候个性古怪，心不在焉，但通过练习小提琴，他在学校受到关注，变得自信。
【21题详解】
词义猜测题。根据下文的“I was a strange, absent-minded kid.”和第三段的“In contrast, my new violin was almost shockingly loud.”可知，作者的个性是古怪的，心不在焉的，和小提琴的高亢正好相反。此处run counter to的意思是“和……相反”，故选D。
【22题详解】
推理判断题。根据第二段的“Like a deer in a wolf pack, I tried to be quiet and still.”可知，作者在学校里试着保持安静不动，表示他和其他人格格不入，故选B。
【23题详解】
推理判断题。根据第三段的“For one glorious hour every day, I was showered with attention.”，可知，每天有一个小时，作者会受到全校的关注，这让他很自豪，故选A。
【24题详解】
推理判断题。根据第四段的“My posture suffered, but my confidence grew. With my violin by my side, I found my voice.”可知，有了小提琴，作者的自信增长了，也就是从某种意义上小提琴改变了作者，故选C。
