After I mastered my first concerto(协奏曲) at age fourteen, my parents decided to get me a nice violin. I tried out dozens of instruments before I found my match: a German violin. It was beautiful, but what I liked best about it was its voice. Confident and strong, it was everything I longed to be.
I'm not sure how much that violin cost, but my parents made me promise never to let it out of my sight. They didn't understand that dragging a large violin case run counter to my daily middle school task of being invisible. I was a strange absent-minded kid. When I spoke up in class, my comments brought confused silence from teachers, and wild laughter from students. Like a deer in a wolf pack, I tried to be quiet and still.
On the contrary, my new violin was almost shockingly loud. Together, we could drown out the rest of my middle school orchestra, which was encouraged, since the other kids made sounds like cats’ crying. For one glorious hour every day, I was showered with attention. Everyone wanted to hear what I had to say.
Between classes, I bent under the combined weight of my violin case and a backpack filled with books. My posture suffered, but my confidence grew. With my violin by my side, I found my voice. More and more, I contributed to class discussions and even made a couple of friends.
Today, I’m just an amateur violinist with a regular day job. As I sit in my community orchestra, sometimes I feel jealous of my fellow musicians’ instruments with their elegant voices. I may not be the best violinist around, but at least I’m still the loudest.
1. The underlined part “run counter to” in paragraph 2 probably means ______.
A. was similar to
B. went along with
C. was the opposite of
D. had something in common with
2. We know from paragraph 2 that the author ______.
A. did not fit in at school
B. was an excellent student
C. was strong and confident
D. didn't attend classes regularly
3. What kind of feeling is expressed in paragraph 3?
A. Disappointment. B. Anger. C. Pride. D. Regret.
4. What can we infer from the text?
A. The violin changed the author in some way.
B. The author hated the loud voice of his violin.
C. The violin always made the author embarrassed.
D. The author was the best violinist in his community orchestra.