104. Violin Lessons

　　"Daddy, can I learn to play the violin?" young Sarah asked her father. She was¹ always asking for things and her father was not very pleased².

　　"You cost³ me a lot of money, Sarah," he said⁴. "First you wanted to learn horse riding, then dancing, then swimming. Now it's the violin.

　　"I'll play every day ,Daddy." Sarah said. "I'll try very hard.

　　"All right," her father said. "This is what I'll do. I'll pay⁵ for you to have lessons for six weeks. At the end of six weeks you must play something for me. If you play well, you can have more lessons. If you play badly⁶, I will stop the lessons."

　　"0. K. Daddy," Sarah said. "That is fair⁷.

　　He soon found⁸ a good violin teacher and Sarah began her lessons. The teacher was very expensive, but her father kept his promise⁹.

　　The six weeks passed quickly. The time came¹⁰ for Sarah to play for her father.

　　She went to the living¹¹ room and said, "I'm ready to play for you, Daddy.

　　"Fine, Sarah," her father said. "Begin.

　　She began to play. She played very badly. She made¹² a terrible¹³ noise.

　　Her father had¹⁴ one of his friends with him, and the friend put his hands over his ears.

　　When Sarah finished¹⁵, her father said, "Well done, Sarah. You can have more lessons."

　　Sarah ran¹⁶ happily¹⁷ out of the room. Her father's friend turned to him. "You've spent a lot of money, but she still plays very badly. he said.

　　"Well, that's true," her father said. "But since¹⁸ she started learning¹⁹ the violin I've been able²⁰ to buy five apartments²¹ in this build very cheaply²². In another six weeks I'll own²³ the whole²⁴ building!"

Notes:

　　(1) fair adj.公平的 (2) keep one's promise信守诺言

Exercises:

根据短文选择正确答案：

　　① Sarah's father was not pleased with her because_____ .

　　A. she wanted to team the violin

　　B. she was rude²⁵

　　C. she was always asking for things

　　D. she was noisy

　　② Sarah's father said he would²⁶ pay for violin lessons for _____.

　　A. two weeks

　　B. six weeks

　　C. a month

　　D. six months

　　③ Sarah played the violin_____ .

　　A. very well

　　B. very badly indeed²⁷

　　C. badly

　　D. well

　　④ Her father gave²⁸ her more lessons because_____ .

　　A. she played well enough

　　B. she was so interested²⁹ in playing the violin

　　C. he could³⁰ buy more apartments cheaply because of Sarah's noise

　　D. he liked the violin

　　(5) From this passage³¹ we can see that _____.

　　A. Sarah had a talent³² for music

　　B. Sarah's father was very generous³³ with money

　　C. Sarah's father was a selfish³⁴ man

　　D. Sarah's father told her the truth³⁵

104.小提琴课

　　“爸爸，我能学拉小提琴吗？”小莎拉问她的父亲。她总是要东西，因此她爸爸很不高兴。

　　“你花了我很多钱，莎拉，”他说，“开始你想学骑马，然后想学跳舞，然后是游泳。现在又想学拉小提琴。”

　　“我会每天都拉的，爸爸，”莎拉说，“我会认真练的。”

　　“好吧，”她爸爸说。“下面是我要做的：我会为你付六个星期的小提琴课的钱，六个星期后你必须拉首曲子给我听。如果你拉得很好，你可以继续上小提琴课，要是你拉得很差，你就不要再学了。”

　　“行。爸爸，”莎拉说，“这很公平。”

　　他很快就找到了一个好的小提琴老师，莎拉就开始学拉提琴了。尽管学费很高，但她爸爸遵守了诺言。

　　六个星期很快就过去了。该莎拉拉提琴给爸爸听了。

　　她走进起居室说：“我准备好拉提琴给你听了。”

　　“好哇，莎拉，”她爸爸说。“开始吧。”

　　她开始拉了。她拉得很差，发出了可怕的嗓音。她爸爸身旁有位朋友，朋友用手捂着耳朵。

　　莎拉拉完一曲，她父亲说：“拉得好，莎拉。你可以继续学琴了。”

　　莎拉高兴地跑出门去。她父亲的朋友对他说：“你已经花了不少钱了，但她还是拉得很差。”

　　“噢，的确如此，”她爸爸说，“但自从她开始学小提琴，我就可以很便宜地买下这幢楼的五个公寓。再过六周，我就可以拥有整幢楼啦！”

练习参考答案：

①C②B③B④C⑤C

1 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

2 pleased   

adj.高兴的，快乐的，喜欢的，满意的

参考例句：

• She was pleased to hear good news about him.听到他的好消息，她很高兴。
• Whichever day you come,we will be pleased to see you.无论你哪一天来，我们都很高兴。

3 cost   

n.价钱，费用，成本；损失，牺牲

参考例句：

• What does the book cost?这本书值多少？
• He saved his daughter at the cost of his life.他以牺牲自己的生命挽救了女儿。

4 said   

v.动词say的过去式、过去分词

参考例句：

• He said to me that he could not come.他对我说他不能来。
• He said to his mother that he would do it by himself.他对他的母亲说他将自己独立做那件事。

5 pay   

v.付钱；n.付钱；薪金

参考例句：

• How much did you pay?你付了多少钱？
• His pay is below the average.他的工资低于一般水平。

6 badly   

adv.非常，严重地；坏地，差地，拙劣地

参考例句：

• I miss you so badly.我非常非常想你。
• We need money badly now.我们现在非常需要钱。

7 fair   

adj.公平的，晴朗的，美丽的；(皮肤，毛发等)浅色的；白皙的；n.展览会，市集

参考例句：

• I think it is not fair.我认为那不公平。
• And never I'd seen a girl as fair.我从没见比她更美丽的女孩。

8 found   

v.建立，创立，创办；vbl.(find的过去分词)找到

参考例句：

• I found him at home.我发现他在家。
• The United Nations was found in 1945.联合国于1945年成立。

9 promise   

n.诺言，约定，希望；v.允诺，约定，预示

参考例句：

• I didn't make any promise.我没有作出任何承诺。
• His promise is a big lie.他的许诺是大谎言。

10 came   

v.动词come的过去式

参考例句：

• I was surprised why he came here so early.他为什么那么早到这里，我很惊奇。
• The doctor came in time to save his life.医生及时来抢救他的生命。

11 living   

adj.活的，活着的，现存的；逼真的，一模一样的；生活的，维持生活的；n.生活，生计

参考例句：

• Nowadays it is very easy to earn a living.现今谋生很容易。
• I'll never forget that as long as I am living.这事我至死也不会忘记。

12 made   

v.make的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• They were not made in china.它们不是中国制造的。
• The monkey made a long arm for the peach.猴子伸臂去摘桃子。

13 terrible   

adj.可怕的，糟糕的，极其的

参考例句：

• I think you've made a terrible mistake.我认为你犯了一个严重的错误。
• This is a terrible idea.这是一个可怕的想法。

14 had   

vbl.have的过去式和过去分词；conj.有

参考例句：

• I just had a good idea!我有个好主意！
• The boy had a small branch of a tree in his hand.这个男孩手上拿一条小树枝。

15 finished   

adj.完成的，精湛的；v.动词finish的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• We finished up everything there was on the table. 我们把桌上的东西全吃完了。
• We can certainly have the job finished on time.我们肯定能按时完成任务。

16 ran   

vbl.run的过去式

参考例句：

• He ran,and then slowed down to a walk.他跑着，然后放慢速度步行。
• As soon as Marie opened the door,the dog ran in.当玛丽一打开门，狗就跑了进来。

17 happily   

adv.幸福地；愉快地

参考例句：

• From then on,the prince and princess lived happily.从那时起，王子与公主就幸福地生活在一起。
• Where we will live happily ever after.我们可以在那里直到永远。

18 since   

adv.后来；conj.既然，因为，自从；prep.自从

参考例句：

• He's been working in a bank since leaving school.自从毕业后，他就一直在一家银行工作。
• I have known him ever since I was a child.我自孩提时代起就已经认识他了。

19 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

20 able   

adj.能...的，有才能的，能干的，能够的

参考例句：

• How good and able he is!瞧他多能干啊！
• He is able to do this job well.他有能力做好这件工作。

21 apartments   

n.（尤指巨屋、名宅的）房间( apartment的名词复数 )；一套房间；（尤指在同一楼层的）公寓套房；（租赁的）度假套房

参考例句：

• You can visit the whole palace except for the private apartments. 整座宫殿除内殿外均可参观。
• The apartments were infested with rats and roaches. 公寓里面到处都是老鼠和蟑螂。

22 cheaply   

adv.廉价地；粗俗地

参考例句：

• Old bikes can be bought quite cheaply.旧自行车很便宜就能买到。
• This apartment rents cheaply.这套公寓租价便宜。

23 own   

v.拥有，持有；adj.(属于)自己的，特有的

参考例句：

• I need my own space.我需要自己的空间。
• Everything I own is yours.我所有的一切都是你的。

24 whole   

adj.整整的；全部的；完整的

参考例句：

• It snowed for two whole days.雪下了整整两天。
• The whole village was sleeping.整个村庄一片寂静。

25 rude   

adj.粗鲁的；无礼的

参考例句：

• How can you be so rude?你怎么可以这么粗鲁呢？
• It is rude to point.指指点点是不礼貌的。

26 would   

aux.will的过去式；愿，要；常常；大概；将要，会

参考例句：

• Why would you say that?为什么你会这么说？
• Would you please help me?你能帮帮我吗？

27 indeed   

adv.真正地，实际上；确实，实在；当然，固然；甚至；真的

参考例句：

• I thank you very much indeed for this interview.我十分感谢您这次接见。
• I didn't mind.Indeed,I was pleased.我不在意，甚至还很高兴。

28 gave   

vbl.（give的过去式）给予，产生，发表

参考例句：

• He asked for money and I gave him some.他要钱，我给了他一些。
• I gave you a map so you wouldn't get lost. 我给你一张地图，这样你就不会迷路了。

29 interested   

adj.感兴趣的；拥有权益的；有成见的v.使…感兴趣(interest的过去分词)

参考例句：

• to be interested in wildlife conservation 对野生动物保护感兴趣
• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。

30 could   

v.能，可能(can的过去式)；aux.v.(can的过去式)能；可以

参考例句：

• Could I open the window?我可以打开窗子吗？
• I could wait ten minutes.我可以等十分钟。

31 passage   

n.通道，走廊，一段文章，旅程；vi.通过；vt.通过

参考例句：

• I'll read you another passage.我来读另一段给你们听。
• The house has an underground passage.这房子有一条地下通道。

32 talent   

n.天才，天资；才能，才干；有才能的人

参考例句：

• The child has musical talent.这孩子有音乐天才。
• There was a lot of talent in this city.在这个城市里有很多人才。

33 generous   

adj.慷慨的，大方的，慷慨给予的

参考例句：

• She was kind and generous.她心地善良，宽容大量。
• She was generous with her money.她很乐于仗义疏财。

34 selfish   

adj.自私的，利己主义的，自我中心的

参考例句：

• You must learn to share and not be so selfish.你一定要学会与他人分享，不要那么自私。
• She is a selfish person.她是一个自私自利的人。

35 truth   

n.真理；真相，事实，实际情况

参考例句：

• We must find out the truth of the matter.我们必须弄清楚事情的真相。
• You may trust me that I'm speaking the truth.你可以相信我在说实话。