四、阅读与回答问题。
主题群:文学、艺术与体育 子主题:优秀艺术家 语篇类型:记叙文 难度:★★
Music is a common language across different countries and cultures. It can express feelings such as joy, sadness and courage without any spoken words. Great composers use their talent and hard work to create lasting works that touch people's hearts for hundreds of years.
Beethoven was a famous German composer. He was born in 1770 in Bonn and began learning the piano when he was only four. He also learned to play the violin. His family loved music, so he was raised in a strong musical environment from an early age. Beethoven visited Vienna, which was a very musical city, in 1787. Another famous composer lived in Vienna at that time. Wolfgang Mozart met Beethoven and gave his music high praise. Beethoven made friends in Vienna and returned there in 1792. He studied music with Haydn and lived in Vienna for the rest of his life.
Beethoven was known as a great pianist, but he wanted to compose his own music. He always seemed to have musical ideas in his head. His notebooks show how hard he worked to get the music just right. He often wrote and then revised his music by scratching it out(勾掉), so it is possible for us to see how he was thinking about the music.
During the late 1790s, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. At first it was difficult for him to hear people and talk with them. However, even when he became completely deaf, he did not stop creating music. He heard music in his mind even though he couldn't hear it with his ears.
Most people have heard of Beethoven's Symphony(交响乐) No.5, but they may not know he wrote it when he was growing deaf. A symphony is a long piece of music for orchestras(管弦乐队). Symphony No.5 starts like this: da-da-da-dum. Beethoven used this pattern over and over in his symphony. Try saying it aloud twice: da-da-da-dum, da-da-da-dum.
1. When did Beethoven start learning music?
When he was only four.
2. Which city influenced Beethoven most in his musical career?
Vienna.
3. What was Beethoven known as?
A great pianist.
4. During the late 1790s, what difficulty did Beethoven face?
He began to lose hearing.
5. What do you think of Beethoven? (请自拟一句话作答)
He was great/brave/hard-working. /He never gave up.（言之有理即可）
