A
The Melbourne Magic Festival in Australia attracts crazy fans of all ages to the Arts Centre Melbourne. The annual event includes the Junior Championships of Magic, a showcase for Australia’s promising magicians under the age of 18.
The competitors in 2018 included Nicola Gidley, 16, who competed in both the stage magic and close-up magic competitions. For her stage act, Nicola performed a soccer routine: She floated a soccer ball and somehow caused a whistle to disappear. For the close-up act, Nicola performed mind-bending tricks with Rubik’s Cubes. Her impressive routines earned her third prize in both competitions.
Nicola entered the world of magic when she was just 12, almost by chance. After injuring her knee playing cricket, Nicola needed surgery. This left her on crutches for three months. With nothing to do, she found a pack of cards and began to “learn simple tricks off YouTube, ” she said. “Then I moved on to bigger and better things, such as tricks with rabbits and doves. ”
Nicola’s hard work has been paying off. Just last year, she was awarded a full scholarship to the well-known Tannen’s Magic Camp in Pennsylvania. The camp is situated in a “Harry Potter-like castle”, Nicola explained, where students participate in classes and workshops run by leading magicians.
Stepping on stage in front of an audience can be worrying, Nicola acknowledged. “But with each show, ” she added, “I become more and more confident. ”
When asked for advice for ambitious magicians, Nicola said, “Perform any chance you get. The more experience you have on stage in front of an audience, the better you become as a performer and a magician. ”
【文章大意】本文是一篇记叙文。文章记叙了澳大利亚的16岁女孩Nicola Gidley, 12岁开始玩魔术, 在2018年的墨尔本魔术节中获得青少年组三等奖, 她给了有志成为魔术师的人一些宝贵的建议。
1. What does the underlined word “mind-bending” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. Ridiculous. B. Sensitive.
C. Flexible. D. Exciting.
【解析】选D。词义猜测题。根据第二段最后两句“For the close-up act, Nicola performed mind-bending tricks with Rubik’s Cubes. Her impressive routines earned her third prize in both competitions. ”可知, 在近距离表演中, Nicola用魔方表演了激动人心的魔术。她的令人印象深刻的表演在两项比赛中都获得了三等奖。ridiculous滑稽的; sensitive敏锐的; flexible灵活的; exciting激动人心的。故选D。
2. How did Nicola begin to learn magic?
A. By watching videos.
B. By following magicians.
C. By attending classes.
D. By joining Magic Camp.
【解析】选A。细节理解题。根据第三段中的“With nothing to do, she found a pack of cards and began to ‘learn simple tricks off YouTube, ’”可知, 12岁时, Nicola在打板球膝盖受伤后, 需要手术, 这让她用拐杖走了三个月, 因为无事可做, 她找到了一包卡片, 并开始在YouTube上学习简单的魔术技巧。YouTube是视频网站, 故选A。
3. What made Nicola become an excellent magician?
A. Crazy fans. B. Her hard work.
C. Her luck. D. Good stages.
【解析】选B。细节理解题。根据第四段第一句“Nicola’s hard work has been paying off. ” 可知, Nicola的艰苦的努力使她在魔术表演中取得成功。故选B。
4. What does Nicola’s advice imply in the last paragraph?
A. Where there is a will, there is a way.
B. Seeing is believing.
C. Practice makes perfect.
D. Well begun is half done.
【解析】选C。推理判断题。根据最后一段Nicola所给的建议Perform any chance you get. The more experience you have on stage in front of an audience, the better you become as a performer and a magician. 可知, 利用任何机会去表演, 在舞台上在观众面前表演得越多, 你就越能成为好的表演者和魔术师。她的建议隐含了一个道理: 熟能生巧。A“有志者事竟成”; B“眼见为实”; C“熟能生巧”; D“良好的开端是成功的一半”。故选C。
