By day, Robert Titterton is a lawyer. In his spare time though he goes on stage beside pianist Maria Raspopova—not as a musician but as her page turner. “I’m not a trained musician, but I’ve learnt to read music so I can help Maria in her performance.”

Mr Titterton is chairman of the Omega Ensemble but has been the group’s official page turner for the past four years. His job is to sit beside the pianist and turn the pages of the score so the musician doesn’t have to break the flow of sound by doing it themselves. He said he became just as nervous as those playing instruments on stage.

“A lot of skills are needed for the job. You have to make sure you don’t turn two pages at once and make sure you find the repeats in the music when you have to go back to the right spot.” Mr Titterton explained.

Being a page turner requires plenty of practice. Some pieces of music can go for 40 minutes and require up to 50 page turns, including back turns for repeat passages. Silent onstage communication is key, and each pianist has their own style of “nodding” to indicate a page turn which they need to practise with their page turner.

But like all performances, there are moments when things go wrong. “I was turning the page to get ready for the next page, but the draft wind from the turn caused the spare pages to fall off the stand,” Mr Titterton said, “Luckily I was able to catch them and put them back.”

Most page turners are piano students or up-and-coming concert pianists, although Ms Raspopova has once asked her husband to help her out on stage.

“My husband is the worst page turner,” she laughed. “He’s interested in the music, feeling every note, and I have to say: ‘Turn, turn!’ “Robert is the best page turner I’ve had in my entire life.”

1.What should Titterton be able to do to be a page turner?

A Read music.

B Play the piano.

C Sing songs.

D Fix the instruments.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据第一段的“I’m not a trained musician, but I’ve learnt to read music so I can help Maria in her performance.(我不是受过训练的音乐家，但我学会了识谱，这样我就可以在Maria的表演中帮助她)”可知，Titterton会识谱，所以可以在Maria的钢琴表演中为她翻页。故选A。

2.Which of the following best describes Titterton’s job on stage?

A Boring.

B Well-paid.

C Demanding.

D Dangerous.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据第三段的“A lot of skills are needed for the job. You have to make sure you don’t tum two pages at once and make sure you find the repeats in the music when you have to go back to the right spot.(这项工作需要很多技能。你必须确保你不会一次翻两页并且必要的时候确保你回到前面找到音乐重复的部分)”可知，为钢琴家翻页这项工作很需要技巧。由此推知，Titterton在舞台上的翻页工作要求是很高的。故选C。

3.What does Titterton need to practise?

A Counting the pages.

B Recognizing the “nodding”.

C Catching falling objects.

D Performing in his own style.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第四段的“Silent onstage communication is key, and each pianist has their own style of ‘nodding’ to indicate a page tum which they need to practise with their page turner.(无声的舞台交流很关键，每个钢琴家都有自己的“点头”风格来表示翻页，他们需要和翻页者进行练习)”可知，Titterton需要和钢琴演奏者练习识别他们的“点头”示意来翻页。故选B。

4.Why is Ms Raspopova’s husband “the worse page turner”?

A He has very poor eyesight.

B He ignores the audience.

C He has no interest in music.

D He forgets to do his job.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据最后一段的“He’s interested in the music, feeling every note, and I have to say: ‘Turn, turn!’(他对音乐很感兴趣，感受着每一个音符， 所以我不得不说:“翻页， 翻页!”)”可知，Ms Raspopova的丈夫因为对音乐感兴趣，所以帮她翻页的时候总是沉浸在音乐中而忘掉自己的工作，她不得不去提醒他。故选D。