A
“Angie，I know you like to sing，”her father，a worker，told Angela Brown，“but you must have something to fall back on(依靠)．”
Brown took her father’s advice. She got a degree in secretarial science before entering Oakwood College，in Huntsville，Alabama. However，her aim was to become a singer at religious meetings. So after graduation she headed for Indiana University to study with the famous soprano(女高音歌手) Virginia Zeani.
Once，when Brown was troubled by self－doubt，Zeani said to her，“If you want to be the next Aretha__Franklin，you need no more lessons.”Brown remembers her saying.“But if you want to be the best Verdian soprano this world has ever seen，you must work.”
Work she did. Three times she competed in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions(试演)．Three times she failed to make the final round in New York. Then，in 1997 at age 33，the age limit for sopranos to audition，she gave it one more try.She signed up at the last minute and didn’t even practice，thinking，“All they could do was to tell me no，and that didn’t hurt my feelings anymore.”She had the strength she needed to fall back on if she failed.
She won. But making it in New York was just the beginning. It took her three more years to become an understudy(替角) at the Met. But waiting in the wings was fine with her. Finally，her time came. When the featured singer fell ill，Brown earned the chance to sing the lead role in Aida.And The New York Times described her performance as a great success. Angela Brown，who had prepared for 20 years，was an “overnight” successful singer at age 40.
【解题导语】 本文讲述了美国歌手Angela Brown虽历经多次挫折和失败，仍不放弃，最终实现了自己的梦想的故事。
1．The underlined words “Aretha Franklin” in Paragraph 3 probably refer to “________”．
A．another teacher
B．another singer
C．one of Virginia Zeani’s students
D．an understudy at the Met
B 解析：词义猜测题。根据第三段可知，Brown跟Zeani学习唱歌，所以当Brown怀疑自己时，Zeani说如果她放弃的话，就会是下一个Aretha Franklin，故Aretha Franklin应是一名歌手。
2．We can learn from the fourth paragraph that Angela Brown____________．
A．failed to make the final round because of her old age
B．failed many auditions because she hadn’t practiced hard
C．cared much about the results of the audition in 1997
D．would have lost the last chance if she had failed again in 1997
D 解析：细节理解题。根据第四段中的“Then，in 1997 at age 33，the age limit for sopranos to audition，she gave it one more try.”可知，这次试演是Brown的最后一次机会，如果不成功她就没机会了。
3．When did Angela Brown act as an understudy at the Met?
A．From 1997 to 2000. B．From 2000 to 2004.
C．From 1997 to 2004. D．From 2000 to 2006.
B 解析：推理判断题。根据第四、五段中的时间可推知，Brown在36岁时(2000年)担任替角，40岁时成名，她担任替角的时间应是从2000年到2004年。
