A man sat at a metro station in Washington D.C. and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a middleaged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the money box without stopping, and continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3yearold boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected 32$. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most beautiful pieces ever written, on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theatre in Boston where the seats averaged 100$.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell's playing in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment.
The outlines were in a common environment at an inappropriate hour. Do we enjoy beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected situation?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
6.Few people stopped to listen to Joshua Bell playing because________.
A.people were in a hurry
B.they were not interested in music
C.it was too cold in the subway
D.the performance was not good enough
7.When children stopped to look at the violinist, their parents ________.
A.would give him some money
B.would stop to enjoy the music
C.would applaud for the performance
D.would urge them to continue walking
8.Joshua Bell played in the metro station in order to ________.
A.make more money
B.practise his skills in playing music
C.made an advertisement for his concert
D.find out people's reaction under such a circumstance
9.The purpose of the passage is to ________.
A.set us to think about our life
B.show us how to play music
C.tell us the importance of music
D.report a subway performance
参考答案：
【文章大意】 当人们处在匆忙之中时，有多少人会为美好的事物而驻足呢?在华盛顿的地铁站，一位男士演奏了45分钟的小提琴，因正值上班时间，几乎没有人停下脚步去欣赏这美妙的音乐，可是谁又知道，这位男士是著名的小提琴手Joshua Bell呢?
6.A 细节理解题。根据文章段的“…most of them on their way to work.”以及下文中出现的多个描述人们行为的词可以判断，因忙着去上班而很少人能停下来去欣赏美妙的音乐，故选A项。
7.D 细节理解题。根据文章第五段的“This action was repeated by several other children.All the parents，without exception，forced them to move on.”可知，当孩子们停下来听音乐的时候，家长们都会催促他们继续赶路，故选D项。
8.D 推理判断题。根据文章后三段内容可知，Joshua Bell的行为是《华盛顿邮报》进行的一项实验：在像车站这样普通的地方，在匆忙去上班的这段时间，人们对于美好的东西会不会去欣赏，人们对于美好的事物是如何反应的。故选D项。
9.A 主旨大意题。根据文章末段“If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written，how many other things are we missing?”可知，文章的目的是让人们思考人生，故选A项。
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