【B1】 【B4】

Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the greatest composers who ever lived. He thought that people could be free when they wrote music. Before his time, music was composed for a special purpose. Often it was church music. Or, music was written to entertain at parties and concerts.
   Beethoven was born in Germany in 1770. He was a very musical child. The boy learned to play the violin and piano, but he was not happy at home. His mother died when he was in his teens. After that, his father was often drunk and bad-tempered. Beethoven became a tutor in a rich family. His student’s mother was very kind to the young teacher. She helped him meet many famous musicians. One of them was Mozart. He said, "That boy will give the world something worth listening to."
   When Beethoven was in his twenties, he began to go deaf. The deafness changed his behaviors. He became  withdrawn and moody. His friends found him hard to be around, but he kept composing even when he lost all his hearing.
   Beethoven died when he was 57 years old. He had composed over a hundred pieces, His music spanned two stages of music history. His romantic style changed the way people thought about music. Many later composers gained new ideas from Beethoven’s music.