Sometimes, little things can bring big changes. Justice and Nathaniel are learning this with music. A cello and a violin brought big changes to their lives.
Justice and Nathaniel are in sixth grade. They go to a middle school named Northwest School of the Arts. They used to go to Winterfield Elementary School. Winterfield has a program with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO). The CSO program teaches kids how to play musical instruments. Justice learned to play the violin. Nathaniel learned to play the violin and the cello. They are the first students from the program to go to Northwest.
For the past six years, the CSO has given after﹣school music classes at Winterfield. Most of the kids in the school come from poor homes. It's difficult for their parents to afford music lessons. The CSO wants the kids to learn about music, and it also wants them to stay out of trouble and get better grades.
The program was started to teach kids about music. It wants to help kids in other ways, too. Kids are allowed to take smaller instruments home to practice. This teaches them to take responsibility for something valuable. The program also encourages cooperation(合作). Students must spend time with children they might know outside of the program. And also, the program teaches practice habits. When students get better after practice, they learn that practice is good.
Students use the first year to explore and find a "forever instrument." Justice tried out the clarinet and cello before picking a violin.Nathaniel liked the trumpet but decided on the cello and violin.
"When I started, it actually looked easy, but I knew it would get tougher," says Nathaniel. "Practicing is a pleasure. I'm always trying to get a song perfect, so I'm playing 15﹣20﹣25 minutes a day."
Thanks to music, Justice and Nathaniel got into a good middle school. Justice's mom said she is very glad that he does well in class and that he likes it. "It makes a big difference," Nathaniel's dad said.
(1)The word "cello" in the passage is most probably .
A. a musical instrument
B. an expert in music
C. a famous musician
D. a music program
(2)From Paragraph 2 , we can learn that Justice and Nathaniel .
A. are six﹣year﹣old school boys
B. are learning art in a primary school
C. are middle school students
D. worked for a school music program
(3)Which of the following is true about the CSO program?
A. It trains music teachers for a school.
B. It gives kids after﹣school music classes.
C. It teaches each kid to play the violin.
D. It tries to raise money to help poor kids.
(4)Paragraph 4 mainly talks about .
A. how to become a responsible person
B. the importance of cooperation
C. how to take part in the music program
D. the goals of the music program
(5)From the last paragraph, we know that Justice's mom and Nathaniel's dad .
A. are both music teachers in the program
B. are happy about the program
C. have different opinions about the program
D. don't think the program useful