Violin prodigies (神童), I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers if the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world's greatest violinists the reason for this phenomenon. "It is very clear," he told me. "They were all Jews(犹太人) and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage. " As a result, every Jewish parent's dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.
Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values
excellence in a certain field to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays, the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. "In Japan, a most competitive society, with stronger discipline than ours. " says Isaac Stem, children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World War Ⅱ, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well. The Koreans and Chinese as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.
That's a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work,
biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.
27.Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ______ .
A) enforce strong discipline on students who want to achieve excellence
B) treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development
C) encourage people to compete with each other
D) promise talented children high positions
[答案及分析]：[B]句意理解题。问文章中提到的nurturing societies指的是一种什么样的社会。文章中论及nurturing societies(培养天才的社会)的内容在第二段。第二段第一句就是nurturing society的定义：a society that values excellence in a certain field and is able to nurture talent.A项意思与此相同，不过是换了一种提法而已。
28.Japan is described in the passage as a country that attaches importance to ______ .
A) all-round development. B) the learning of Western music
C) strict training of children D) variety in academic studies
[答案及分析]：[C]归纳事实题。问文中认为日本是一个重视下列哪项事情的国家。A项意为“全方位发展”。B项表示“学习西方音乐”。C项是“对孩子的严格训练”。D项意为“学术研究的丰富多样性”。文章第二段说：“In Japan,a most competitive society with stronger discipline than ours,children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields.”据此不难判断出C正确。
29.Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?
A) A natural gift. B) Extensive knowledge of music. C) Very early training. D) A prejudice-free society.
[答案及分析]：[A]事实辨认题。问文章认为下列哪项有助于音乐神童的出现。文章第三段说：“Next to hard work,biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy(除了勤奋，遗传因素在天才的成长中起着重要作用)”。A natural gift的意思跟biological inheritance相同，所以A正确。
30.Which of the following titles best summarises the main idea of the passage?
A) Jewish Contribution to Music. B) Training of Musicians in the World C) Music and Society D) The Making of Prodigies
