InthemiddleofahotJulyafternoon

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更新 2022-09-03
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In the middle of a hot July afternoon, when the stifling air came with rippling waves of heat, I became a thief of some sort—a thief of music.
For the first time, I had created an original piano arrangement of one of my favorite songs. Not once had I looked for the help of premade sheet music or video tutorials on YouTube. Using only my ears and iPod, I had transformed a mix of intermingling sounds and intricate melodies into the tones of a single instrument; I had created complex harmonies and voices into something I could perform with only two hands. No help, no guide: I had done it on my own.
I’ve been a pianist since before my hands were big enough to reach an octave: with a musician and composer for a father, I was all but born on the piano bench. For many years, my musical identity was defined by the notes that others had written in centuries past.
This was why, when I added the finishing touches to my piano version of a modern rock song, I was proud of myself : this arrangement was mine. What I’d done seemed magical: an ability to take what had already existed—to “steal” a song from my favorite band—and to change it into something different and all my own. I was a thief, but I was also an artist.
In music, as in other aspects of life, I believe that trueoriginality rarely exists. Almost everything has, in one form or another, been done before. The most romantic novel may very well be a slightly changed version of a play by Shakespeare, which is likely to be borrowed from the works of Ancient Greece: same themes, different characters, different circumstances. But, the novel is no less deserving of praise just because its uniqueness is compromised. Adaptation is not a symbol for failure.
The gift of creativity is the ability to do what I did on the piano: to find something beautiful, to analyze and twist it and lose yourself in the mystery of its composition, and then to make it new. Such an act is not copying; it is finding inspiration and having the strength and the innovation to use it as fuel for your own masterpiece. The world is nothing more than collections of preexisting parts—scattered and often lost in the chaos of everyday life. I believe it is my job, as an artist, to rearrange this world into what I imagine it to be.
I refuse to live as if I were trapped within the walls of a museum: looking but never touching, afraid to ruin the so-called perfection of the artifacts inside. Therefore, I will embrace my ability to be a thief, because if I don’t steal what the world has to offer, I’ll never have the tools to share with others a creation of my own.
My life is my own arrangement, and because of that, anything is possible.
Which of the following can be the best title ?

A．The passion to create music

B．Changes from a thief to an artist

C．A music thief

D．My piano arrangement

According to the passage , which statement is true ?

A．Actually ,there was originality only in music

B．The author created the original piano arrangement all by himself .

C．He was born on the piano bench .

D．The author was once a thief who stole music from his favorite band.

Which word has the closest meaning with the underlined word “embrace”?

A．accept

B． describe

C．adopt

D．quit

The reason why the author felt proud of himself was that ___.

A．he became a real artist without others’ help.

B．he could play the piano before he was shorter than the piano bench.

C．he has a father who was a musician and composer.

D．he changed one of his favorite songs into a piano arrangement on his own..

From the passage we can learn that the writer______

A．is more of a follower than a leader.

B．likes to recreate songs whenever it is possible .

C．would like to lead his life the way he likes

D．is a stubborn person .

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“When I pulled, all I could see was his arm, handing by a thread,” she said.
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