A year ago, at the annual pre-Grammy party, Whitney Houston, the great star, walked on stage and closed the evening with a brilliant performance．
Last Saturday, Houston was once again the focus before the Grammy, but her presence was a regrettable one．Earlier that day, the pop music's former queen was found dead in her hotel room．She was 48．This, no doubt, is sad news to the whole music industry and her fans all over the world．
At her peak(巅峰), Houston was the golden girl of the music world．From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists．She impressed audiences with her effortless, powerful and peerless performance．
Besides multi-million record sales, Houston made countless hits such as The Greatest Love of All, I Have Nothing, and the mostly famous I Will Always Love You．She also influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey．
But by the end of her career, there was a shocking fall for this superstar．Houston had been addicted to(上瘾) drugs．Her album sales declined (下降) and the hits stopped coming and her once beautiful voice became hoarse （嘶哑的）, unable to hit the high notes as she used to．
In 2009, Houston staged a successful comeback with the album I Look To You, which fell on top of the charts．But hoarse voice, canceled concerts, and continuous illness-Houston's comeback trail wasn't smooth at all．In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, Houston admitted: "It (show business) is too much for me and I wanted out．"
Now that Houston has finally taken a break from all the chaos(混乱), may she rest in peace．
小题1:Whitney Houston died ______．
A．shortly before the Grammy this year
B．earlier last Sunday
C．a year ago
D．at the annual pre-Grammy party小题2:The underlined word "peerless" in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______．
A．having no power
B．having no equal
C．requiring no effort
D．leaving no impression小题3:The cause of the fall of Whitney Houston was that _____．
A．her album sales declined
B．show business was too much for her
C．her fans no longer love her
D．she had been addicted to drugs小题4:According to the passage, which is not Houston’s achievement?
A．She made countless hits such as I Have Nothing.
B．She influenced a generation of younger singers.
C．She became the focus before the Grammy this year.
D．She staged a successful comeback in 2009.
