Michael Jackson has been on the road of performing since he was five years old. For anyone who wants to know, the road to fame(名誉)and fortune is a long, hard one to travel.

　　Michael remembered those early years when he was young."My father was a machine operator,"he explained,"and he worked at a steel works. My mother worked at Sears, a big department store. But they were both musicians."

　　Mr. Jackson realized that his sons had a lot of talent(才能), and he knew he could train them to become fine musicians. In those days there were plenty of music groups and some of them were very good. He knew if his sons were to stand out, they would have to be the best.

　　Practice makes perfect. And the Jackson boys practised! Gradually the group took shape. When the Jacksons took their first professional job, their total pay was only five dollars! They kept on working. They played at parties, they entered the biggest contests. They worked at clubs.

　　Then word of this group began to get around. All of a sudden, the Jackson Five became popular in the country. Their first album(歌曲集)sold a million copies! Michael, 11 years old then, was the star. It just didn't seem possible that so much talent could come from such a young performer.

　　Then Michael got a chance to do some solo(独唱)songs. In the years following Mlichael was always at the top. One million records of his were sold in New Zealand, which has only a total population of three million!

　　When Michael was eighteen, he entered another field of his career(事业):acting."I plan to star in movies,"he told his friends,"but of course, my first love is music."

　　Michael wrote a lot of his own songs."Songs come about in the strangest ways,"he said. I'll just wake up from sleeping and there is a whole song coming into my head. And then I put it down on the paper. Whatever he is doing, it works!

　　Still, with all his success, Michael manages to keep his head calm."I just do a different job from other people,"he said,"but it doesn't make me think I'm better than other people."

　　To be quite honest, his fans just love to hear and watch him.

　　根据短文选择填空:

　　1.Michael Jackson began performing with_____ .

　　A.his father B.his mother

　　C.his parents D.his brothers

　　2.Mr. Jackson knew only when his sons were the best musicians could they_____ .

　　A.make a lot of money

　　B.go out of their hometown

　　C.be famous

　　D.support themselves

　　3.Which of the following is not mentioned in this passage?

　　A.When the group began to go round the world.

　　B.The songs sung by this group were very　popular.

　　C.The Jacksons shocked the country.

　　D.People could hardly believe that young　Michael was so talented.

　　4.Michael Jackson wants to be_____ .

　　A.a solo singer and musician rather than a　film star and actor

　　B.not only a film star and actor but a solo　singer and musician

　　C.a solo singer as well as a musician

　　D.a film star as well as an actor

　　5.Michael means that he does something different from others,_____ .

　　A.so he is different from others

　　B.so he is better than others

　　C.still he is no better than others

　　D.he is as well as others

　　Key:1-5 DCABC

　　(文/山东呼振璞；英语通高中一年级版2003年第10期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)