By day, Robert Titterton is a lawyer. In his spare time though he goes on stage beside pianist Maria Raspopova—not as a musician but as her page turner. "I'm not a trained musician, but I've learnt to read music so I can help Maria in her performance."
Mr Titterton is chairman of the Omega Ensemble but has been the group's official page turner for the past four years. His job is to sit beside the pianist and turn the pages of the score so the musician doesn't have to break the flow of sound by doing it themselves. He said he became just as nervous as those playing instruments on stage.
"A lot of skills are needed for the job. You have to make sure you don't turn two pages at once and make sure you find the repeats in the music when you have to go back to the right spot, " Mr Titterton explained.
Being a page turner requires plenty of practice. Some pieces of music can go for 40 minutes and require up to 50 page turns, including back turns for repeat passages. Silent onstage communication is key, and each pianist has their own style of "nodding" to indicate a page turn which they need to practise with their page turner.
But like all performances, there are moments when things go wrong. "I was turning the page to get ready for the next page, but the draft wind from the turn caused the spare pages to fall off the stand, " Mr Titterton said. "Luckily I was able to catch them and put them back."
Most page turners are piano students or up-and-coming concert pianists, although Ms Raspopova has once asked her husband to help her out on stage.
"My husband is the worst page turner, " she laughed. "He's interested in the music, feeling every note, and I have to say: 'Turn, turn!'" "Robert is the best page turner I've had in my entire life."
1.What should Titterton be able to do to be a page turner?
A.Read music. B.Play the piano.
C.Sing songs. D.Fix the instruments.
2Which of the following best describes Titterton's job on stage?
A.Boring. B.Well-paid. C.Demanding. D.Dangerous.
3What does Titterton need to practise?
A.Counting the pages.
B.Recognizing the "nodding".
C.Catching falling objects.
D.Performing in his own style.
4Why is Ms Raspopova's husband "the worst page turner" ?
A.He has very poor eyesight.
B.He ignores the audience.
C.He has no interest in music.
D.He forgets to do his job.
【答案】ACBD
【解析】本文是一篇记叙文。主要讲述了律师Robert Titterton在空闲时间担任乐谱翻页者，配合钢琴家演出的故事。
1.细节理解题。根据题干信息be able to do定位到第三段A lot of skills are needed for the job. You have to make sure you don't turn two pages at once and make sure you find the repeats in the music when you have to go back to the right spot.可知，做一名page turner需要能够找到音乐中重复的部分，然后翻回到乐谱正确的地方。因此做一名page turner需要能够读懂音乐。故选A。
2.推理判断题。根据题干选项定位到第五段。分析语境可知，他在工作中有时还要处理突发事件，例如会有翻开一页乐谱的风导致其他的乐谱掉落的情况。因此，可以形容这份工作是让人费神费力的。故选C。
3.细节理解题。根据题干信息need to practice定位到第四段第一句Being a page turner requires plenty of practice.这句话后面说明了page turner需要能够捕捉到演奏者的点头致意，根据这一信号来翻页，这是需要配合练习的。故选B。
4.细节理解题。根据题干信息the worst page turner定位到最后一段。分析可知，说话人的丈夫总是过度沉迷于音乐本身而忘记翻页，以至于她必须告诉他该翻页了。故选D。
