“I grew up on Jackson’s music and I still have all his stuff on My iPod. I think that Michael Jackson will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers. His brilliance as a performance also was paired with a tragic and in many ways，sad personal life.”
Michael Jackson was a singer，songwriter，dancer and celebrity icon with a vast catalog of hit records and countless awards to his credit. Beyond that，he had transfixed the world like few entertainers before or since. As a solo performer，he had enjoyed a level of superstardom previously known ——Barack Obama
only to Elvis Presley，the Beatles and Frank Sinatra.
Michael Jackson was unquestionably the biggest pop star of the 80s’，and certainly one of the most popular recording artists of all time.
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29,1958.The fifth and youngest son of steelworker Joe Jackson，Michael displayed a talent for music and dance from an extremely young age. His father began to organize a family musical group around his three eldest sons in 1962，and Michael joined them the following year，quickly establishing himself as a dynamic stage performer. Dubbed the Jackson 5，the group signed to Motown in 1968 and issued their debut single in October 1969，when Michael was just 11 years old. I Want You Back，ABC，The Love You Save and I’ll Be There all hit number one in 1970，making the Jackson 5 the first group in pop history to have their first four singles top the charts. Later in 1972，Jackson had his first number one solo single，Ben. In 1977，he met producer/composer Quincy Jones for the first time. With Jones producing，Jackson recorded his first solo album as an adult，Off the Wall.
Released（发行） in 1982，the Quincy Jones produced Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall：the dance and rock tracks were more driving，the pop tunes and ballads softer and more soulful，and all of it was recognizably Michael. There was no surprise that Thriller was a hit；what was a surprise was its staying power .Jackson’s duet with McCartney，The Girl Is Mine，was a natural single choice，and it peaked at number two；then Billie Jean and the Van Halen track Beat It both hit number one，for seven and three weeks respectively.
Michael Jackson died from heart disease on June 25 at age 50.
小题1:What does Barack Obama mean by saying “His brilliance as a performance also was 
paired with a tragic and in many ways，sad personal life”？
A．Michael Joseph Jackson was a success in his career as well as in life.
B．Michael Joseph Jackson was a success in his career.
C．Michael Joseph Jackson led a happy life.
D．Michael Joseph Jackson gained a lot in his career，but he also suffered a lot in his life.小题2:According to the passage，which of the following is NOT true?
A．Barack Obama likes Michael Jackson’s song very much.
B．Barack Obama and Michael Jackson are good friends.
C．Michael is good at music as well as at dance.
D．Michael Jackson had his first number one solo single when he was 14 years old.小题3:Choose the right time order of the following events.
a．Barack Obama，President of the US，assessed the whole life of Michael Jackson.
b．The family musical group signed to Motown.
c．Michael joined the family musical group.
d．His father began to organize a family musical group.
e．Thriller became a hit.
A．a－c－e－b－d
B．d－c－b－e－a
C．b－e－a－c－d
D．d－e－b－c－a小题4:W
hat does the first paragraph mainly tell us?
A．Michael Jackson’s job.
B．How Michael Jackson performed.
C．Michael Jackson’s great achievements.
D．Michael Jackson’s life.
