[2025 南通市海门区期末]Emma finished playing a song and looked up at her piano teacher.
“You played that very well,” Ms Green said. “How about joining some of the other students and playing at the school performance this Saturday afternoon?”
“I can’t,” Emma said quickly, feeling nervous at the thought of a crowd listening to her.
“Lots of kids are shy,” Ms Green said. “But the best way to overcome your fear is by doing what scares you. Remember, our school recital is going to be right after this event. Playing at the school performance this weekend would be great practice.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t be there,” Emma went on. “My grandmother invited my family to a party at her retirement community that afternoon.”
Emma didn’t add that she was relaxed to have an excuse not to have to play at the school performance. The thought of playing the piano with so many people around made her nervous.
On Saturday morning, as Emma helped her parents wrap gifts for Grandma, she thought about her friends playing the piano at the school performance. Some of them would take breaks from their activities to watch the piano players. “I’m so glad I won’t be there,” she thought.
With gifts for Grandma, Emma and her parents arrived at the retirement community. They greeted Grandma with hugs and warm wishes. Mrs Rossi, the activity director, showed a short video. Then they played games, and the residents opened their gifts.
“We usually end with singing songs together,” Mrs Rossi said. “But our piano player isn’t able to make it today.”
“Emma can play the piano,” Grandma said with pride.
“Wonderful,” Mrs Rossi said. She turned to Emma, “Emma, would you like to play while we are singing? It would be such a help.”
Emma looked around the room. How could she ever find the courage to play here? This would be worse than playing at the school performance. At least there, people would be distracted by other activities. But here, everyone was sitting in a big circle facing the piano.
Emma was about to say she couldn’t do it. Then she saw the smiles on all the faces as they looked eagerly toward her. She remembered Ms Green saying that the best way to overcome the fear was just to do it. Emma took a deep breath and walked to the piano.
She began to play and performed a whole song without making a mistake. A warm feeling chased away the butterflies in her stomach. Ms Green was right. Emma just had to do it. And she did!
()37. Why did Emma refuse Ms Green’s invitation at first?
A. She was too nervous to play in front of people.
B. She had never played the piano in public before.
C. She didn’t think she played the piano well enough.
D. She didn’t have time because of her friend’s party.
()38. Which of the following is the correct order of the story?
a. Emma quickly refused her teacher’s invitation.
b. Emma played the piano perfectly for the elderly.
c. Emma’s teacher advised her to face her fear directly.
d. Emma was asked to play the piano at the community.
e. Emma was glad to have an excuse to avoid the school show.
A. a-c-e-d-b B. c-a-e-d-b C. a-e-c-d-b D. a-c-e-b-d
()39. What does the underlined sentence mean?
A. Emma felt proud of her performance and smiled happily.
B. Emma’s nervousness disappeared and she became relaxed.
C. Emma was still shy but tried to hide her feelings from others.
D. Emma was excited about the success and wanted to play more.
()40. What does the writer mainly want to tell us?
A. It’s easy to get used to new environments quickly.
B. The best way to overcome fear is to face it bravely.
C. We should often go and visit our grandparents.
D. We should refuse things that make us uncomfortable.