Violin prodigies (神童), I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers if the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe.I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s greatest violinists the reason for this phenomenon. It is very clear, he told me. They were all Jews(犹太人) and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage. As a result, every Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.

　　Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays, the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. “In Japan, a most competitive society, with stronger discipline than ours. ”says Isaac Stem, children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World WarⅡ, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well. The Koreans and Chinese as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.

　　That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work,biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.

　　练习题：

　　Choose correct answers to the question:

　　1.Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school because ______ .

　　A. it would allow them access to a better life in the West

　　B. Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent

　　C. they wanted their children to enter into the professional field

　　D. it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country

　　2.Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ______ .

　　A. enforce strong discipline on students who want to achieve excellence

　　B. treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development

　　C. encourage people to compete with each other

　　D. promise talented children high positions

　　3.Japan is described in the passage as a country that attaches importance to ______ .

　　A. all-round development.

　　B. the learning of Western music

　　C. strict training of children

　　D. variety in academic studies

　　4.Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?

　　A. A natural gift.

　　B. Extensive knowledge of music.

　　C. Very early training.

　　D. A prejudice-free society.

　　5.Which of the following titles best summarizes the main idea of the passage?

　　A. Jewish Contribution to Music.

　　B. Training of Musicians in the World

　　C. Music and Society

　　D. The Making of Prodigies

　　1.[A] 原文首段最后一句提到，所有犹太人父母的梦想就是让孩子上音乐学校，由because引导的从句解释了原因，即因为这是通往西方世界的通行证。A项为原文的同义改写，故选A。B、D在文中没有提及，原文中说进入professional field是不被允许的,故C不符合。

　　2.[B] nurturing societies出现在文中第2段第2句，很显然nurturing society指的是前一句说的“重视在某一特定领域中的优异表现，能培养才能的社会”,B与原文相符。

　　3.[C] 日本在文中作为典型的nurturing society的例子，之后提到日本社会竟争激烈，注重规范和纪律，结合这两点可知，C正确。

　　4.[A] 最后一段第2句提到，遗传在天才的产生上也起很重要的作用，即天赋，故选A。其他三项在文中并未提及。

　　5.[D] 本文中，prodigies是一个关键词，四个选项中只有D包含了这一关键词。其他三个选项都只是文中的局部信息，不是文章主旨，均排除。

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