阅读理解。阅读下列短文, 从给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D) 中, 选出最佳选项。

     Isaac Stern was  more  than a great violin player.He was one of the most honored musicians in the world.He was an international  cultural ambassador.He was a major supporter of the arts in America and in other countries.He was a teacher and activist.

     Isaac Stern was born in 1920 in what is now Ukraine.His parents moved  to  San Francisco，California the following year.His mother began teaching Isaac the piano when he was six. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument.Later，he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory(音乐学院)．He progressed quickly.When he was 16，he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.The next year，he performed in New York City and was praised by music critics.

     During World War II ，Mr.Stern played for thousands of American soldiers.It was the first time many of them had heard classical music.After the war，he was the first American violinist to perform in a concert in the Soviet union.He also supported young musicians and cultural organizations in Israel.

    In 1979，Isaac Stern visited China.He met with Chinese musicians and students.He taught them about classical Western music.His visit was made into a film，which is called From Mao to Mozart：Isaac Stern in China.It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.

     In 1984，Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music.He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life.He said he believed that music makes life better for everyone，especially children.

     Mr.Stern supported and guided younger classical musicians.They include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman，cellist Yo­Yo Ma，and pianist Yefim Bronfman.

     Isaac Stern died in 2001 at the age of 81.He was a major influence on music in the 20th century.He leaves the world richer with his many recordings.

    Easter(复活节) is still a great day for worship, randy in baskets and running around the yard finding eggs, but every year it gets quite a bit worse for bunnies.

    And no, not because the kids like to pull their ears. The culprit is climate change, and some researchers found that rising temperatures arc having harmful effects on at least five species of rabbit in the US.

    Take the Lower Keys March rabbit, for instance. An endangered species that lives in the Lower Florida Keys, this species of cottontail is a great swimmer — it lives on the islands! — but it is already severely affected by development and now by rising levels. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, an ocean level rise of only 0. 6 meters will send these guys jumping to higher ground and a 0.9-meter rise would wipe out their habitat (栖息地) completely.

    The snowshoe hare, on the other hand, has a color issue. Most of these rabbits change their fur color from white in the wintertime to brown in the summer, each designed to give them better cover from predators（捕食者）. As the number of days with snow decreases all across the country, however, more and more bunnies arc being left in white fur during brown dirt days of both fall and spring, making them an easier mark for predators. Researchers know that the color change is controlled by the number of hours of sunlight, but whether the rabbit will be able to adapt quick enough to survive is a big question. The National Wildlife Federation has reported that hunters have noticed their numbers are already markedly down.

    American pikas or rock rabbits, a relative of rabbits and hares, might be the firs' of these species to go extinct due to climate change. About 7-8 inches long, pikas live high in the cool, damp mountains west of the Rocky Mountains. As global temperatures rise, they would naturally migrate (迁徙) to higher ground — but they already occupy the mountaintops. They can't go any higher. The National Wildlife Federation reports that they might not be able to stand the new temperatures as their habitat beats up.

    The volcano rabbit has the same problem. These rabbits live on the slopes of volcanoes in Mexico, and recent studies have shown that the lower range of their habitat has already shifted upward about 700 meters, but there are not suitable plants for them to move higher, so they are stuck in the middle. Scientists are concerned about their populations.

    Native to the US, pygmy rabbits weigh less than 1 pound and live in the American West. They are believed to be the smallest rabbits in the world. Their habitats have been destroyed by development. Several populations, such as the Columbia Basin pygmy, almost went extinct and were saved by zoo breeding programs. Pygmy rabbits also rely on winter cover by digging tunnels through the snow to escape predators, but lesser snowfall is leaving them exposed.

All of this gives new meaning to dressing up in a giant bunny costume this Easter.

    Life can be so wonderful, full of adventure and joy. It can also be full of challenges, setbacks and heartbreaks. Whatever our circumstances, we generally still have dreams, hopes and desires—that little something more we want for ourselves and our loved ones. Yet knowing we can have more can also create a problem, because when we go to change the way we do things, up come the old patterns and pitfalls  that stopped us from seeking what we wanted in the first place.

    This tension between what we feel we can have and "what were seemingly able to have is the niggling  suffering, the anxiety we feel. This is where we usually think it's easier to just give up. But we're never meant to let go of the part of us that knows we can have more. The intelligence behind that knowing is us—the real us. It's the part that believes in life and its possibilities. If you drop that, you begin to feel a little "dead" inside because you're dropping "you".

    So, if we have this capability but somehow life seems to keep us stuck, how do we break these patterns?

    Decide on a new course and make one decision at a time. This is good advice for a new adventure or just getting through today's challenges.

While, deep down, we know we can do it, our mind—or the minds of those close to us—usually says we can't.

    That isn't a reason to stop, it's just the mind, that little man or woman on your shoulder, trying to talk you out of something again. It has done it many times before. It's all about starting simple and doing it now.

    Decide and act before overthinking. When you do this you may feel a little, or large, release from the jail of your mind and you'll be on your way.

    When I was in the fourth grade, I worked part-time as a paperboy. Mrs. Stanley was one of my customers. She'd watch me coming down her street, and by the time I'd biked up to her doorstep, there would be a cold drink waiting. I'd sit and drink while she talked.

    Mrs.Stanley talked mostly about her dead husband, "Mr. Stanley and I went shopping this morning." she'd say. The first time she said that, soda (汽水) went up my nose.

    I told my father how Mrs. Stanley talked as if Mr. Stanley were still alive. Dad said she was probably lonely, and that I ought to sit and listen and nod my head and smile, and maybe she'd work it out of her system. So that's what I did, and it turned out Dad was right. After a while she seemed content to leave her husband over at the cemetery (墓地).

    I finally quit delivering newspapers and didn't see Mrs. Stanley for several years. Then we crossed paths at a church fund-raiser(募捐活动). She was spooning mashed potatoes and looking happy. Four years before, she'd had to offer her paperboy a drink to have someone to talk with. Now she had friends. Her husband was gone, but life went on.

    I live in the city now, and my paperboy is a lady named Edna with three kids. She asks me how I'm doing. When I don't say "fine", she sticks around to hear my problems. She's lived in the city most of her life, but she knows about community. Community isn't so much a place as it is a state of mind. You find it whenever people ask how you're doing because they care, and not because they're getting paid to do so. Sometimes it's good to just smile, nod your head and listen.

    If you thought pilots dimmed（调暗）the lights before takeoff to give you some shuteye, think again. Believe it or not, the dim lighting could actually help save your life in case of a plane emergency.

    The dimmed lights before taking off the runway and landing are a flight precaution used to help passengers' eyes adjust quicker during an emergency escape. “Going from a brightly lit environment to one that's completely dark would require some time for our eyes to focus and see the escape slide,” Alice Theriault, service director for Air Canada wrote in a press statement. “Since we need to have all the seconds on our side in the event of an emergency, dimming the lights is one of many steps we take to ensure the safety of our customers.”

    The phenomenon that your eyes see those strange speckles (小斑点) as your sight adjusts to a dark place after being in a light place is called dark adaptation. It normally takes our eyes about 20 to 30 minutes to see best in a dark room. The brighter the lights, the longer it takes for our eyes to adjust, which is why dimming the plane lights could shorten your “dark adaptation” time since you haven't been sitting under fluorescent bulbs (荧光灯) all flight.

    Not only does dimming lights add valuable time to the escape process, it reduces the tension on your eyes if you need to look outside, or see the emergency lighting along the passage. “It helps keep you in the right direction.” Patrick Smith, an airline pilot and author of Cockpit Confidential told The Telegraph. “It also makes it easier for flight attendants to assess any outside risks, such as fire or debris, that might affect an escape.” So next time a pilot dims the lights, just know it's for your safety, even though it creates a gentle atmosphere for your takeoff into the sky.

    Assistant professor in Musical Theatre Dance Wichita State University seeks a full-time, 9-month assistant professor, beginning in August. Applicants are required to have a degree in dance area, teaching experience at a professional or college level, ability to direct and teach stage movement. The salary depends on qualifications and experience.

    For complete information visit http://finearts.wichita.edu.

    Full Professor in Theatre and Dance

    The Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of California at San Diego (http: ∥www. theatre, ucsd.edu) is seeking an experienced theatre artist in lighting design. Applicants must work for us for at least one year. Significant professional experience is required. This position is expected to teach at both graduate and undergraduate levels.

    A review of applications will start on June 1st. Application deadline： September 1st.

    Technical Director in Performing and Fine Arts

    DeSales University's Performing and Fine Arts Department seeks a highly skilled, professional technical director. The position is a 10-month staff position with the possibility of summer employment with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Professional experience is required； MFA is preferred.

    Please email materials to john. bell desales.edu. Screening of applications begins immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

    Assistant Director-Media Resources Center

    Maryland Institute College of Art is seeking an assistant director of Media Resources Center in the Academic Affairs Division.

    Qualifications for the position include a degree in Art History or related fields with knowledge of art and design history, library experience, excellent interpersonal communication skills and familiarity with photoshop and scanning.

    A review of applications will begin immediately; job announcements will remain open until the position is filled. Applicants are required to work for us at least 11 months and can send emails to jobs mica.edu. The salary differs depending on your experience. Please include your desired salary in your application letter.