task within 40 minutes. Indeed. I was not different from others; I just needed a quieter place: If Louis could find his "Way out of his problems, why should I ever give up?"

　　　I didn't expect anything when I handed in my paper to Mrs. Smith, so it was quite a surprise when it came back to me the next day--with an" A "on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words: See what you can do when you keep trying?"

4. The author didn't finish the reading in class because _______ .

　　A. He was new to the class B. He was tired of literature

　　C. He wanted to take the task home D. He had an attention disorder

5. What do we know about Louis Braille from the passage?

　　A. He had good sight. B. He gave up reading.

　　C. He made a great invention. D. He learned a lot from school.

6. What was Mrs Smiths attitude to the author at the end of the story?

　　A. Angry B Impatient C Sympathetic D. Encouraging

7. What is the main idea of the passage?

　　A. One can find his way out of difficulties with efforts

　　B. A teacher can open up a new world to students

　　C, The disabled should be treated with respect

　　D. Everyone needs a hand when faced with challenges.

　　C

　　George Gershwin, born in 1998, was one of America's greatest composers. He published his first song when he was eighteen years old. During the next twenty years he wrote more than five hundred songs.

　　Many of Gershwin's songs were first written for musical plays performed in theatres in New York City. These plays were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his songs have remained popular as ever. Over the years they have been sung and played in every possible way - from jazz to country.

In the 1920s there was a debate in the United States about jazz music. Could jazz, some people asked, be considered serious music? In 1924 jazz musician and