A custom guitar shop that rocks

湖南 何高倫

一家吉他定制店鋪，一段非凡的人生。

主題語境：音樂 篇幅：331詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1“I remember having records when I was four or five years old,”says Brent Ferguson.“I loved sitting in front of the stereo (立體聲音響) and listening to music.”Ferguson is the co-owner and operations manager of Guitar Riot, a custom guitar store in Cleveland,Ohio.

2Ferguson started Guitar Riot 12 years ago,after noting a lack of custom guitar stores in the area.A custom guitar is made by a person who makes guitars, violins, and other stringed instruments to a player's exact specifications.One specification is the way the neck of a guitar connects to its body.

3Ferguson has spent his life on music.He has played in bands and worked at other local guitar stores.He also was operations manager for Dr.Z Amplification, a store in nearby Maple Heights that sells amplifiers (擴音器).He eventually decided to run his own business,focusing on custom guitar sales.

4Although Guitar Riot now sells mostly high-end custom guitars, that was not always the case.It had to achieve certain criteria to become a high-end quality retailer (零售店).“The guitar companies have requirements,”Ferguson said.“One is that we bring in a certain dollar amount.Another is the number of years a retailer has been in business.”Guitar Riot is now a retailer for respected guitar makers such as Gibson, Fender, Nash, and Martin.The majority of the store's business comes from online orders.

5Over the years,many well-known musicians have bought their instruments from Guitar Riot.Jack White of the White Stripes, jazz musician Julian Lage, Tommy Henriksen of Alice Cooper,and Noel Gallagher of Oasis have all bought custom guitars from the store.

6Guitar Riot started out meeting the needs of famous guitarists, but Ferguson would like to reach new musicians, too.“When kids come here who are interested in playing, we try to make it a positive experience for them.There definitely needs to be a younger generation interested in rock music,”Ferguson said.

Reading Check

Inference 1.How does the author begin this text?

A.By giving an example.

B.By asking a question.

C.By showing a famous saying.

農飛客則以植保飛防為切入口，搭建農飛客大平臺，制定行業標準，探索不同作物的植保飛防解決方案和規模化綠色防控，賦能飛防發展。

D.By listing the main character's words.

Gist 2.What does paragraph 3 focus on?

A.The reason why Ferguson opened his store.

B.How a custom guitar is made.

C.Ferguson's life with music.

D.Local guitar stores in Cleveland.

Vocabulary 3.What does the underlined word“criteria”in paragraph 4 probably mean?

B.Requirements.

C.Profits.

D.Positions.

Inference 4.How does Ferguson feel about kids'interest in rock music?

A.Bored.B.Fearful.

C.Hopeful.D.Nervous.

Language Study

I.日積月累

specificationn.規格

eventuallyadv.最終

achievev.實現

custom guitar store 吉他定制商店

a lack of 缺乏

stringed instruments 弦樂器

high-end 高端的

the majority of 大多數

meeting the needs of 滿足……的需求

Ⅱ.單句填空

1.Our flight ________(eventual)left five hours late.

2.He had finally ________(achieve)success.

3.The trip was cancelled through a lack ________money.

4.The majority ________people interviewed prefer TV to radio.

5.How can we best meet the needs ________all the different groups?