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    You dash through a crowded railway station, tripping over bags, spilling (泼出) your coffee, only to have the doors slide shut in your face, leaving you breathless on the platform as the train pulls away,

    But at least, if you're in France, someone may be playing the piano for you. But it won't be performed by a paid musician, or even a street entertainer playing for coins. It will just be a random passer - by, jamming for the fun of it on one of the pianos that the national railroad company, S. N. C. F., has fixed in nearly 100 stations across France. They are free for anyone to play, and travelers from all walks of life have taken to doing just that.

    Gares & Connexions, the S. N. C. F. division that manages its stations, rents the instruments from the producer, Yamaha: which maintains them and tunes them every month or two. The first one was set up in the Gare Montparnasse in Paris in 2012.

    The music, mixed with the sounds of shouting passengers, screaming trains and rolling suitcases, gives French stations a special soundscape. The amateur musicians have included Irish soccer fans and even babies. In 2014, Gares & Connexions and Yamaha organized a nationwide contest called Your Turn to Play, asking participants to submit videos of themselves using one of the pianos. It drew nearly 900 entries.

    Isn't the railroad company taking a big chance? Apparently not: “None of the instruments has been vandalized to this day, or even merely damaged,” said Claire Foumon, a spokeswoman for Gares & Connexions. “They are shared and respected by all.”

    So if you miss a train in Paris; Bordeaux or Marseille one day, perhaps someone will be playing a favorite piece that will ease your pain. Or perhaps you'll sit down and play your annoyance away yourself.

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同类题3

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    I've loved my mother's desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it when Mother sat doing letters. Looking at the ink bottle, pens and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.

    Years later, during her final illness, Mother kept different things for my sister and brother, “But the desk,” she said again, “is for Elizabeth.”

    I never saw her get angry, and never saw her cry. I knew she loved me, and she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter. They never happened and a gulf opened between us. I was “ too emotional (易动感情的) ”, but she lived “on the surface”.

    As years went by, I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know that she did forgive (原谅) me.

    I posted the letter and waited for her answer, but it didn't come. I wondered if the letter had even got to her. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.

    Now the present of her desk told me that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work, though she had never been able to. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside … a photo of my father and a one-paper letter, folded (折叠) and refolded many times.

    Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose. Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.

同类题4

阅读下面文章,回答问题。

相信自己永远能够穿越沙漠的人

       他长着一张朴实的脸,穿着朴素,看上去很像一个民营企业家,而不像是叱咤互联网的弄潮儿。

       他毕业于中国人民大学,出身农民家庭,从小过着贫寒的生活,大一就开始四处打工,帮人抄信封,从批发市场买了书,出去卖。大学期间,对计算机产生了浓厚的兴趣,争取到了在学校机房打工的机会,一边打工,一边自学计算机。

       大三,依靠自学的写程序的专长,赚到了十几万元,挖到了人生的第一桶金,成为当时最有钱的大学生之一。

      拿着手里的十几万,又从亲朋好友手里借了些钱,他盘下了一个饭馆。由于管理松散,没用一年时间,赔光了投入的钱,还欠了不少债。他承受着周围异样的目光。

      大学毕业,他进了一家外资企业,工作拼命,很快就获得了职位上的升迁,但他渴望创业的冲动一天比一天强烈,不能控制自己,还完债后,就辞去了这份高薪工作。

      他拿着手里仅剩的一万多元选择再次创业。在中关村,租了一个小柜台,售卖刻录机。在1998年的时候,作为一个大学生,去中关村摆柜台,是一件很丢人的事情,特别是他毕业的学校还是有一定知名度的学校。最终,女友离开了他。

      女友离弃,家人反对,让他一度陷入痛苦之中。虽然经历了痛苦,但是,这一次,他打了个漂亮的翻身仗。2004年初正式涉足电子商务领域,2005年,转型为一家专业的电子商务公司。

      在电子商务上,他敢冲敢杀,曾多次掀起价格战,一时间讨伐声四起。他将“战斗”二字贴满办公室,让自己和公司的人随处可见,时刻都在战斗中,随时都准备战斗。

      在一片质疑声中他融资数亿美元,再次把竞争对手甩在了身后。

      在工作之余,他喜欢越野,这是他减轻压力的最好办法。

      他每年要进行一次长达十多天的沙漠穿越,享受挑战自己的乐趣。他觉得沙漠的风景有一种凄凉的美,在那里,他可以静心思考,想透很多事情。穿越沙漠也是很枯燥的事,在整个过程中,他必须说服自己坚持下去,一定不能放弃,直到穿越沙漠。他相信他最终总会穿越沙漠。

      他的头衔有很多,年度经济人物、华人经济领袖、商界精英……

      他给人的印象是:冒险家,好战斗,讲话咄咄逼人,有点张扬,有点高调。

      参加一个电视访谈节目,当主持人问他,自己身上最喜欢的特点是什么的时候,他毫不犹豫地说:坚持。

      是的,促使他成功的因素有很多,但是,在这些因素的背后,我们可以看到,他的执着与坚持,看准路子坚持一辈子的那种坚持。

      其实,我们还能清楚地看到他的梦想与野心。

      他心里有创业的冲动,一心想创业成功的迫切愿望。一心想做第一,无论这个行业竞争有多激烈。

      2013年岁末,在哥伦比亚大学游学几个月,沉寂半年后,他再度归来,瘦身成功,一身剪裁得体的黑西服,使得他的身上多了一份学院派的高贵气质,面对媒体,少了一份攻击,多了一份谦和与内敛。

      人们纷纷猜测他的下一步举动。他又要做出怎样的大举动?

      我们不得而知,但是,他不会倒下。因为他是时刻准备战斗的人,他是敢于和最厉害的竞争对手战斗的人,他是那个相信自己最终总能成功穿越沙漠的人,能战胜他的只有他自己。

      他,就是刘强东。他创办的电子商务公司,就是京东商城。