A
(2020·桂林、崇左联合模拟)Jamey Turner often performs to large crowds in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. You can find him playing an unusual musical instrument, the glass harp(竖琴), near Alexandria’s historic waterfront.
A glass harp is made up of differentsized drinking glasses, each containing water. Turner makes music by running his fingers over the tops of the glasses. By doing so, each glass makes a different musical sound.
Turner is 78 years old now. He became interested in playing the glass harp at the age of six, when he heard his father playing with a glass of water at the dinner table. He has been playing it for 50 years.
Today Turner puts together his instrument by placing 60 different glasses on a wooden soundboard. He holds the glasses in place with rubber bands, which keeps them from breaking. He then adds different amounts of water to each one to create different musical notes. Adding or taking away just a little water will change the sound. Adding water to a glass will make a lower sound. The smaller bowls of water produce a higher sound, while the larger ones produce a lower, deeper sound.
Turner always uses lowpriced glass because it sounds better than costly crystal(水晶) and he has more control over the sound. Before buying new glasses, he will test them in stores.
The glass harp was popular 300 years ago when composers like Wolfgang Mozart wrote music for the instrument. There have been about 400 pieces of music written just for the glass harp. But Turner plays all kinds of music, even popular music from China. Few people play the glass harp these days, but Turner says he sees videos of people experimenting with the instrument on the Internet. He hopes the next generation will continue making their music.
【解题导语】 杰米·特纳经常在弗吉尼亚州亚历山大人群密集的地方演奏玻璃竖琴：敲击不同大小的盛水的玻璃杯，发出动听的乐声。他不仅能演奏玻璃竖琴专门乐曲，还能用它演奏中国流行音乐。
1．What do we know about Turner?
A．He began playing the glass harp at six.
B．He often teaches glass harp lessons online.
C．He is a great master of the Chinese language.
D．He was inspired by his father to learn the glass harp.
D 解析：细节理解题。根据第三段第二句“He became interested in playing the glass harp at the age of six, when he heard his father playing with a glass of water at the dinner table.”可知，在六岁时，杰米·特纳听到父亲在餐桌上用一玻璃杯水演奏音乐，开始对玻璃竖琴产生兴趣。据此可知，D项正确。
2．What does the author say about the glass harp?
A．Its inventor is Wolfgang Mozart.
B．It is made up of glasses of the same size.
C．It appears to be gaining in popularity today.
D．Its sounds are affected by the amount of water in the glasses.
D 解析：细节理解题。根据第四段第三、四句“He then adds different amounts of water to each one to create different musical notes. Adding or taking away just a little water will change the sound.”可知，杯子中的水量不同，产生的音调也不同；添加或去掉少量水就会改变声音。据此可知，玻璃竖琴的声音受杯子中水量的影响，故D项正确。
3．Why does Turner prefer to use cheap glass?
A．To save money.
B．To produce better sounds.
C．To help recycle drinking glasses.
D．To increase difficulty in performing.
B 解析：细节理解题。根据第五段第一句“Turner always uses lowpriced glass because it sounds better than costly crystal(水晶) and he has more control over the sound.”可知，特纳总是使用低价玻璃杯是因为其声音听起来比昂贵的水晶杯好听，故B项正确。
4．What would be the best title for the text?
A．A Musician Pleases Crowds by Playing Glasses
B．Playing the Glass Harp: a New Trend
C．Jamey Turner’s Dream Coming True
D．Wonderful Music Has No Borders
A 解析：标题归纳题。根据第一段“Jamey Turner often performs to large crowds in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. You can find him playing an unusual musical instrument, the glass harp(竖琴), near Alexandria’s historic waterfront.”并结合全文其他内容可知，本文主要讲述了一位音乐家为人群演奏玻璃竖琴的故事。故A项最适合作本文标题。B项意为“演奏玻璃竖琴：一种新趋势”，与文章最后一段中的“Few people play the glass harp these days”不符；C项意为“杰米·特纳的梦想实现了”，文章未提及；D项意为“美妙的音乐没有国界”，偏离主题。
【难句分析】 A glass harp is made up of differentsized drinking glasses, each containing water.
分析：本句是一个简单句。该句中的“each containing water”为独立主格结构，作句子的伴随状语，be made up of意为“由……组成”。
译文：一个玻璃竖琴由不同大小的玻璃杯组成，每个玻璃杯里盛着水。
