职称英语

Fall down as you come onstage. That's an odd trick. Not recommended. But it saved the pianist Vladimir Feltsman when he was a teenager back in Moscow. The veteran cellist Mstislav

Rostropovich tripped him purposely to cure him of pre-performance panic,Mr. Feltsman said, \"All my fright was gone. I already fell. What else could happen?\"

Today, music sc hools are addressing the problem of anxiety in classes that deal with

performance techniques and career preparation. There are a variety of strategies that musicians can learn to fight stage fright and its symptoms:icy fingers, shaky limbs ,racing heart,blank mind.

Teachers and psychologists offer wide-ranging advice, from basics like learning pieces inside out, to mental discipline, such as visualizing a performance and taking steps to relax. Don't deny that you're jittery ,they urge; some excitement is natural, even necessary for dynamic playing. And play in public often, simply for the experience.

Psychotherapist Diane Nichols suggests' some strategies for the moments before performance, \"Take two deep abdominal breaths, open up your shoulders, then smile,\" she says. \"And not one of these 'please don't kill me' smiles. Then choose three friendly faces in the audience, people you would communicate with and make music to, and make eye contact with them. \" She doesn't want performers to think of the audience as a judge.

Extreme demands by mentors or parents are often at the root of stage fright, says Dorothy

Delay, a well-known violin teacher. She tells other teachers to demand only what their students are able to achieve. .

When Lynn Harrell was 20, he became the principal cellist of the Cleverland Orchestra, and he suffered extreme stage fright. \"There were times when I got so nervous I was sure the audience could see my chest responding to the throbbing. It was just total panic. I came to a point where I thought, ' If I have to go through this to play music, I think I' m going to look for another job. Recovery, he said, involved developing humility-recognizing that whatever his talent, he was fallible, and that an imperfect concert was not a disaster. 6

It is not only young artists who suffer, of course. The legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz's

nerves were famous. The great tenor Franco Corelli is another example. \"They had to push him on stage,\" Soprano Renata Scotto recalled.

Actually, success can make things worse. \"In the beginning of your career,when you're scared to death, nobody knows who you are, and they don't have any expectations,\" Soprano June Anderson said. \"There's less to lose. Later on, when you're known, p.eople are coming to see you, and they have certain expectations. You have a lot to lose. \" Anderson added, \"I never stop being nervous until I've sung my last note. \"

注释：

1．Stage Fright：怯场

2．The veteran cellist Mstislav Rostropovich tripped him purposely to cure him of pre—performance panic．资深大提琴家Mstislav Rostropovich故意把Vladimir Feltsman绊倒，

因而治愈了他的上台前的恐惧症。cure somebody of something(illness，problem)：医治好病(解决问题)。

3．…its symptoms：icy fingers，shaky limbs，racing heart，blank mind：怯场的症状有：手指冰凉、四肢发抖、心跳加速、大脑一片空白。

4．Teachers and psychologists offer wide• ranging advice，from basics like learning pieces inside out…：老师和心理学家提出了方方面面的建议，从基础的做法，比如，将演奏曲目烂熟于 心……inside out：in great detail(详细的，从里到外的) 5．I came to a point where I thought，„If I have to go through this to play music，I think l‟m goingto look for anotherjob．‟我曾经一度认为，如果演出要经历这种慌乱，我宁可另找一份工作。

6．Recovery，he said，involved developing humility——recognizing that whatever his talent，he wasfallible，and that an imperfect concert was not a disaster．要克服怯场，就要学会谦虚，即认识到 不论自己有多大的才能，都可能犯错误；一场音乐会即使有不完美的地方，也不是要命的事情。

1. Falling down onstage was not a good way for Vladimir Feltsman to deal with his stage fright. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned 2. There are many signs of stage fright. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned

3. Teachers and psychologists cannot help people with extreme stage fright. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned

4. To perform well on stage, you need to have some feelings of excitement. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned

5. If you have stage fright, it's helpful to have friendly audience. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned

6. Often people have stage fright because parents or teachers expect too much of them. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned

7. Famous musicians never suffer from stage fright. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned

答案与题解：

1．B本文第一段讲的是钢琴家Vladimir Feltsman被Mstislav Rostropovich绊倒后，他的怯场被治愈了的经历。 2．A第二段的最后一句点出怯场的诸多症状：手指冰凉、四肢发抖、心跳加速、大脑一片空白。 3．B 本文的第三、第四、第五和第六段都在讲老师和心理学家为怯场者提供全方位的建议。 4．A依据第三段的倒数第二句：some excitement is natural，even necessary for dynamic playing． (适度的兴奋对于精彩演出是正常甚至是必要的)

5．c第四段提到克服怯场的方法之一是：在观众中选择三名比较友善的人，与他们做眼神交流。所以克服怯场要靠自己而不是指望所有的观众都友好。

6．A第五段讲了怯场的根源在于导师或父母对表演者要求太高。Extreme demands就是expect too much of them的意思。 7．B第七段讲的是：不只年轻艺术家会怯场，钢琴家Vladimir Horowitz和男高音Franco Corelli亦不能幸免。Never一词不恰当。

第十一篇：Bill Gates: Unleashing Your Creativity

I've always been an optimist and I suppose it is rooted in my belief that the power of creativity and intelligence can make the word a better place.

For as long as I can remember, I've loved learning new things and solving problems. So when I sat down at a computer for the first time in seventh grade, I was hooked. It was a clunky old teletype machine and it could barely do anything compared to the computers we have today. But it changed my life.

When my friend Paul Allen and I started Microsoft 30 years ago, we had a vision of \"a

computer on every desk and in every home\were the size of refrigerators. But we believed that personal computers would change the world. And they have. And after 30 years, I'm still as inspired by computers as I was back in seventh grade.

I believe that computers are the most incredible tool we can use to feed our curiosity and

inventiveness -- to help us solve problems that even the smartest people couldn't solve on their own.

Computers have transformed how we learn, giving kids everywhere a window into all of the world's knowledge. They're helping us build communities around the things we care about and to stay close to the people who are important to us, no matter where they are.

Like my friend Warren Buffett, I feel particularly lucky to do something every day that I love to do. He calls it \"tap-dancing to Work\". My job at Microsoft is as challenging as ever, but what makes me \"tap-danceing to work\" is when we show people something new, like a computer that can recognize your handwriting or your speech, or one that can store a lifetime's worth of photos, and they say, \"I didn't know you could do that with a PC5 !\"

But for all the cool things that a person can do with a PC, there are lots of other ways we can put our creativity and intelligence to work to improve our world6. There are still far too many

people in the world whose most basic needs go unmet7. Every year, for example, millions of people die from diseases that are easy to prevent or treat in the developed world.

I believe that my own good fortune brings with it a responsibility to give back to the world.

My wife, Melinda, and I have committed to improving health and education in a way that can help as many people as possible.

As a father, I believe that the death of a child in Africa is no less poignant or tragic than9 the death of a child anywhere else, and that it doesn't take much to make an immense difference in these children's lives.

I'm still very much an optimist, and I believe that progress on even the world's toughest

problems is possible -- and it's happening every day. We're seeing new drugs for deadly diseases, new diagnostic tools, and new attention paid to the health problems in the developing world. I'm excited by the possibilities I see for medicine, for education and, of course, for

technology. And I believe that through our natural inventiveness, creativity and willingness to solve tough problems, we're going to make some amazing achievements in all these areas in my lifetime.

注释：

1．be rooted in：扎根于；深深地存在于

2．It was a clunky old teletype machine and it could barely do anything compared to the computers we have today．那是一台笨重的旧式电传打字机，跟我们今天的电脑相比几乎干不了什么事。本句中，barely意为almost not；compare to在美国英语中也可以等同于compare with (与……相比)。

3．They‟re helping US build communities around the things we care about and to stay close to the people who are important to US，no matter where they are．电脑帮助我们就我们所关心的事情建立一个交流的场所，并且与那些我们认为对我们有重要意义的人密切相处，不管他们身在何处。care about指不管喜欢或不喜欢的事情都很关心、介意、在乎、计较。 4．“tap—dancing to work”：“跳着踢踏舞工作”。tap原意是“叩击、轻敲”；tap dance是“踢踏舞”。这里实际意思是“(手指)轻轻敲击键盘的工作”。

5．PC(personal computer)：个人计算机

6．But for all the cool things that a person can do with a PC，there are lots of other ways wecan put our creativity and intelligence to work to improve our world．除了我们能用计算机做的所有神奇的事情，还有很多其他方式发挥我们的创造力和智慧，从而使世界更加美好。

7．go unmet：得不到满足。在这里go是系动词，unmet是过去分词作表语： 8．commit to此处意为承诺，保证做某事。 9．no less…than：和……一样，不亚于……

10．and that it doesn‟t take much to make an immense difference in these children‟S lives．而且要改善这些孩子们的命运，其实不难。此处it是形式主语，真正的主语是不定式短语to make an immense difference in these children‟S lives。 练习：

1. A computer was as big as an icebox when Bill Gates was a high school student. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned

2. Bill Gates has been dreaming of the popularity of computers for his lifetime. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned

3. Bill Gates compares his hard work on a PC to \"tap-dancing to work\". A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned

4. To Bill Gates' mind, there is a big difference between the death of the poor's children and the death of the rich's children. A RightB Wrong C Not mentioned

5. So far Bill Gates has contributed several dozen billion dollars to the charities. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned

6. Bill Gates and his wife consider it their duty to help the poor better their health and education as much as possible. A Right B Wrong

C Not mentioned

7. Bill Gates will leave only a small portion of his wealth for his children. A Right B Wrong

C Not mentioned 答案与题解：

1．A文章第三段中比尔•盖茨说，当他念七年级时，电脑就是冰箱那么大小。

2．A文章第三段比尔•盖茨说，他30年前与Paul Allen一起创办微软公司时就梦想一桌一机、一户一机，而且从

其他各段也可以看到他对电脑有很多的期待。

3．B从第七段第二句可以看到作这样比较的是他的朋友Warren Buffett，而不是他自己。

4．B在倒数第三段，比尔•盖茨已经明确说，所有这些儿童的死亡都一样令人伤心和悲痛，没有什么区别。 5．c文章没有提到他给慈善机构捐款的事。

6．A倒数第四段比尔•盖茨认为他一生好运，就理应回报社会，所以他和他的妻子做出了承诺，要帮助尽可能多的人改善医疗和教育条件。 7．C文章没有提到。

第十五篇：A Memory Drug?（A级）

It‟s difficult to imagine many things that people would welcome more than a memory- enhancing drug. 1 Furthermore, such a drug could help people remember past experiences more clearly and help us acquire new information more easily for school and at work. As scientists learn more about memory, we are closing in on this tantalizing goal. 1 __________ Some of the most exciting evidence comes from research that has built on earlier finding,, linking LTP2 and memory to identify a gene that improves memory in mice. 2 __________

Mice bred to have extra copies of this gene showed more activity in their NMDA receptors, more LTP, and improved performance on several different memory tasks -- learning a spatial layout3, recognizing familiar objects, and recalling a fear-inducing shock.

If these basic insights about genes, LTP, and the synaptic basis of memory can be translated to people- and that remains to be seen -- they could pave the way for memory-enhancing treatments. 3__________ As exciting as this may sound, it also raises troubling issues. Consider the potential educational implications of memory-enhancing drugs. If memory enhancers were available, children who used them might be able to acquire and retain extraordinary amounts of information, allowing them to progress far more rapidly in school than they could otherwise. How well could the brain handle such an onslaught of

information? What happens to children who don't have access to the latest memory enhancers? Are they left behind in school -- and as a result handicapped later in life?

4__________ Imagine that you are applying for a job that requires a good memory, such as a manager at a technology company or a sales position that requires remembering customers' names as well as the attributes of different products and services. Would you take a memory-enhancing drug to increase your chances of landing the position? Would people who felt uncomfortable taking such a drug find themselves cut out of lucrative career opportunities?

Memory drugs might also help take the sting out of disturbing memories that we wish we could forget but can't. The 2004 hit movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind told the story of a young man seeking just such freedom from the painful

memories of a romantic breakup. As you will see in the section on persistence later in the chapter, emotionally arousing events often create intrusive memories, and researchers have already muted emotional memories with drugs that block the action of key hormones. Should emergency workers who must confront horrifying accident scenes that can burden them with persisting memories be provided with such drugs? Should such drugs be given to rape victims who can't forget the trauma? Memory drugs might provide some relief to such individuals. But could they also interfere with an individual's ability to assimilate and come to terms with a difficult experience? 5 __________ 注释：

1．As scientists learn more about memory，we are closing in on this tantalizing goal．随着科学家们对记忆了解增多，我们正接近这一诱人的目标。

2．LTP&NMDA：(Lon9—term Potentiation)给突触前纤维一个短暂的高频刺激后，突触传递效率和强度增加几倍且能持续数小时至几天保持这种增强的现象。LTP发现海马LTP可能是学习记忆的分子基础。1973年Bliss及其合作者，电刺激麻醉兔的内嗅皮层，使海马表层的穿通纤维兴奋，可在齿状回记录到场电位。先用高频电刺激几秒钟后，

再用单个电刺激，记录到的部分场电位幅度大大超过原先记录的对照值,并可持续几小时，几天。这一现象称为长时程增强效应(LTP)。1983年发现NMDA(N一甲基一D一门冬氨酸)受体通道复合体在LTP过程中起重要作用，进一步深化了对LTP在大脑学习记忆中作用的理解。 3．a spatial layout：空间布局

4．Memory drugs might also help take the sting out of disturbing memories that we wish we could forget but Can‟t：增强记忆药对我们想忘记却又不能的令人烦扰的记忆变得令人易于接受。take the sting out of：使……易于被接受；使……令人感到愉快

5．But could they also interfere with an individual‟S ability to assimilate and come to terms with a difficult experience?中的come to terms with：让步；屈服

A Like steroids for bulking up the muscles,these drugs would bulk up memory.

B A memory enhancer could help eliminate forgetting associated with aging and disease. C What are the potential implications of memory-enhancing drugs for the workplace? D We may find ourselves struggling with these kinds of questions in the not-too-distant future. E There is a pill that you could take every day to allow you to remember everything.

F The gene makes a protein that assists the NMDA2 receptor, which plays an important role in long-term memory by helping to initiate LTP. 答案与题解：

1．B依据上一句的“很难想象一种提高人们记忆力的药会受到人们吹捧”；下面应该对这一现象做出解释，即这种药物有什么疗效；而后一句的Furthermore这一指示词起到了递进的作用，进一步说明这种药物的益处。More than：非常，极其，十分

2．F前一句的关键词是gene、LTP和mice，它讲的是有些令人兴奋的证据是从研究中得出的；该研究基于早期连接LTP和记忆的发现，该结果确定了提高老鼠记忆的基因；而后一句进一步阐述这一发现，开头的mice可以是一个连接词。

3．A前一句讲：如果这种结果用于人类的话，人们就有可能把提高人的记忆力用于临床。这一句讲：就像类固醇用于提高人的肌肉能力，这种药物也可以提高人的记忆力。

4．C一般情况下，每一段的第一句都是本段的主题句。而该句是一个问句：这种提高记忆力的药物用于职场有什么潜在的启示呢?紧接着本段其余几句都提出关于这种药物是否会职场的提升有什么影响的问题。

5．D本句是全文的最后一句。应该是总结性的。鉴于前面都列举了这种提高记忆力的药所面临的一系列问题，所以，我们在不久的将来要面临这些问题。