In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conduc
题型：不详难度：来源：
In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an intemational festival of music,dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.
At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival.Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947,in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform,and they did so in a public house disused for years.
Soon,groups of studentsfirstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge,Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.
Today the “Fringe”,once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre,music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959,with only 19 theatre groups performing,some said it was getting too big.
A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1,25 million tickets were sold.
小题1:Point was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at he beginning?| A．To bring Europe together again. | | B．To honor heroes of World War 11. | | C．To introduce young theatre groups. | | D．To attract great artists from Europe. |
小题2:Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?| A．They owned a public house there. | | B．They came to take up a challenge. | | C．They thought they were also famous. | | D．They wanted to take part in the festival. |
小题3:Who joined the "Fringe" after it appeared?| A．they owned a public house there | | B．University students. | | C．人rusts from around the world. | | D．Performers of music and dance. |
小题4:We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival.| A．has become a non-official event | | B．has gone beyond an art festival | | C．gives shows all year round | | D．keeps growing rapidly |
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答案
小题1:A
小题2:D
小题3:B
小题4:D |
解析
小题1:细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.可知，组织音乐节的目的是为了重新团结欧洲。故选A。
小题2:细节理解题。根据第二段的in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform可知，他们不请自来是因为，他们认为人人都有权利进行表演。故选D。
小题3:细节理解题。根据第三段的groups of studentsfirstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge,Durham and Birmingham可知，后来加入的都是大学的学生，故选B。
小题4:主旨大意题。A项未提及；艺术节一直以来都是演出戏剧、舞蹈等艺术形式，并未超出艺术范围，B错；文中只提到由eight administrators来全年工作和管理，故C错；根据最后一段的最后一句In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1,25 million tickets were sold.可知，艺术节发展的非常迅速，D项符合题意，故选D。 |
举一反三
LONDON—Archaeologists have discovered a smaller prehistoric(史前) site near Britain’s famous circle of standing stones at Stonehenge.
Researchers have named the site “Bluehenge” after the color of the 27 Welsh stones that were laid to make up a path. The stones have disappeared, but the path of holes remains.
The new circle, unearthed over the summer by researchers from Sheffield University, represents an important find, researchers said Saturday. The site is about a mile away from Stonehenge.
Bluehenge, about 80 miles southwest of London, is believed to date back to about the time Stonehenge was built, about 5,000 years ago.
Mike Parker Pearson of Sheffield University said he believed the path and stonehenge itself were linked to rituals(仪式) of life and death.
Mike Parker suggested that the ancient funerary rituals began at a different circle site known as “Wood-henge”, which represented the world of the living. The bodies of the dead were then brought down the River Avon to Bluehenge, which represented death, and were finally carried along a ceremonial route known as the Avenue to Stonehenge.
Bournemouth University Professor Tim Darvill, an expert on Stonehenge, told Britain’s Dail Mail that Bluehenge “adds to the richness” of the ancient site’s story.
“This henge is very important because it forms part of the picture of ceremonial monuments in the area and puts Stonehenge into context,” Darvill was quoted(引述) as saying. “It’s no longer Stonehenge standing alone, but it has to be seen in context with the landscape.”
小题1:How many henges are mentioned in this passage?| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
小题2:Who believed the Stonehenge is related to ancient ritual of death?| A．Archaeologists from London | B．Welsh researchers | | C．Mike Parker Pearson | D．Professor Tim Darvill |
小题3:What does the underlined sentence “It’s no longer Stonehenge standing alone, but it has to be seen in context with the landscape.” in the last paragraph mean?| A．Stonehenge has noting to do with Bluehenge | | B．Woodhenge represented the world of living in ancient times. | | C．Bluehenge represented death | | D．Stonehenge, Woodhenge and Bluehenge should be studied together |
小题4:From the passage we can learn that ______.| A．researchers have named the site “Bluehenge,” because they have found blue huge stones there | | B．funerary rituals were carried out along the path starting from Woodhenge, River Avon to Bluehenge, finally Stonehenge. | | C．Bluehenge is 1 mile away from London | | D．Bluehenge dates back to 2000 BC |
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It was in the Victorian Era (维多利亚时期) that the novel became the leading form of literature in English. Most writers were more concerned to meet the tastes of the middle class. The best known works of the period included the works of Charles Dickens and the Bronté sisters and others.
Charles Dickens came on the literary scene in the 1830s. Dickens wrote vividly about London life and the struggles of the poor. Most of his works were written in a very humorous style, which was popular with readers of all classes.
The Bronté sisters were English writers of the 1840s and 1850s. They began to write from early childhood. In 1846 they published the first book at their own expense as poets; however, their book attracted little attention, selling only two copies. Then the sisters turned to writing novels, each producing a novel in the following year.
An interest in rural(田园的) matters and the changing social and economic situation of the countryside may be seen in the novels of Thomas Hardy and a number of others.
Literature for children developed as a single style. Some works became well-known, such as those of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear. Adventure novels were written for adults but are now generally grouped in the list for children. Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author at the end of the Victorian Era, best known for her children’s books, which featured (以……为特色) animal characters. In her thirties, Potter published the highly successful children’s book The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902.
小题1:What can we know about Charles Dickens from the text?| A．He showed an interest in rural matters in his writing. | | B．He focused on changing social and economic situation of the countryside | | C．He wrote about the struggles of the poor in London? | | D．He published the highly successful children’s book |
小题2:Which is TRUE about the Bronté sisters?| A．They were English writers of the 1830s. | | B．They paid to have their first book published. | | C．They began their writing from the rural life. | | D．Their first book was successful. |
小题3:Who wrote the famous children’s book The Tale of Peter Rabbit according to the text?| A．Lewis Carroll. | B．The Brontésisters. | | C．Thomas Hardy. | D．Helen Beatrix Potter. |
小题4:The author states in the last paragraph that ________.| A．Edward Lear was famous for writing about animals | | B．adventure novels were not written for children at first | | C．Thomas Hardy was not as famous as Lewis Carroll | | D．society changed rapidly in the Victorian Era |
小题5:This text is mainly about ________. | A．literature in the Victorian Era | | B．writing styles in the Victorian Era | | C．famous works in the Victorian Era | | D．the importance of literature in the Victorian Era |
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The question this week comes from our listener Herve Acard, who asks about the American word “OK”, which means “all right” or “acceptable”. It expresses agreement or approval. The word is used more often than any other word in the world.
Language expert Allen Walker Read said the word began as a short way of writing a different spelling of the words “all correct”. Old stories say some foreign-born people would write “all correct” as o-l-l k-o-r-r-e-c-t and spoke it as “OK”. Some people say it came from the Native American Indian tribe known as the Choctaws. The Choctaw word “okeh” means the same as the American word “OK”. Experts say early explorers in the Western America spoke the Choctaw language in the nineteenth century. The language spread across the country.
According to some people, “OK” was a way to shorten Greek words that mean everything is fine. It is also said that a railroad worker named Obadiah Kelly invented the word. He is said to have put the first letters of his names — O and K — on each object people gave him to place on the train.
Another explanation is that “OK” was invented by a political organization that supported Martin Van Buren for president in the 1800s. They called their organization the OK Club. The letters O and K were taken from the name of the town where Martin Van Buren was born — Old Kinderhook, New York.
Not everyone agrees with these explanations, but experts do agree that the word is purely American and has spread to almost every country on Earth. Yet in the United States, it is used mostly in speech. Serious writers prefer using words, such as “agree”, “approve” or “confirm” instead.
小题1:Where does the passage probably come from? | A．A newspaper. | B．A textbook. | | C．A radio program. | D．A language magazine. |
小题2:Of the following origins, which one has the same meaning as the American word “OK”?| A．The OK Club | | B．The Choctaw word “okeh” | | C．The word invented by Martin Van Buren | | D．The short form of “all correct” |
小题3:According to the passage, which statement is NOT true?
A. People disagree about the origin of “OK”.
B. “OK” is often used in formal writing in the USA.
C. The word “OK” is widely used all over the world.
D. Native American language once influenced American English. |
THE BRONTE FAMILY
Yorkshire, England was the setting for two great novels of the 19th century. One of them is Jane Eyre written by Charlotte Bronte.
The Bronte family had three girls and a boy. Charlotte was born in 1816, Emily was born in 1818 and Anne in 1820. Their brother Branwell was born in 1817. The children wrote and told stories and walked over the hills. They grew up largely self-educated. Branwell showed a great interest in drawing. The girls took positions as teachers or taught children in their homes. The girls were determined to earn money for Branwell"s art education.
As children, the girls had all written many stories. Charlotte alone wrote 22 books, each with 60 to 100 pages of small handwriting. Therefore, they turned to writing for income. By 1847, Charlotte had written The Professor; Emily, Wuthering Heights; and Anne, Agnes Grey. After much difficulty, Anne and Emily found a publisher (出版商), but there was no interest shown in Charlotte"s book. ( It was not published until 1859. ) However, one publisher expressed an interest in seeing more of her work. Jane Eyre was already started, and she hurriedly finished it. It was accepted at once; thus each of the sisters had a book published in 1847.
Jane Eyre was immediately successful; the other two, however, did not do so well. Emily lived only a short while after the publication of her book, and Anne died in 1849.
Charlotte published Shirley in 1849, and Villette in 1853. In 1854 she married Arthur Bell Nicholls. But only a year later, she died of tuberculosis (肺结核) as her sisters had.
小题1:What did the Bronte sisters want to do for Branwell Bronte?| A．Help him write stories. | | B．Help him get trained in art. | | C．Teach him how to draw well. | | D．Teach him how to educate himself. |
小题2:We know from the text that| A．Jane Eyre was published in 1847 | | B．Charlotte Bronte wrote 22 books in all | | C．the Bronte sisters received good education | | D．the father helped his daughters with their writing |
小题3:The underlined words "the other two" in Paragraph 4 refer to ________.| A．Shirley and Villette | | B．The Professor and Agnes Grey | | C．Agnes Grey and Wuthering Heights | | D．The Professor and Wuthering Heights |
小题4:What do we know about the Bronte sisters from the text?| A．Their novels interested few publishers. | | B．None of them lived longer than 40 years. | | C．Emily was the least successful of the three. | | D．None of them had more than two books published. |
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I have learnt a lot about Chinese life and culture while teaching in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province and found them very interesting．
First, family life is quite 1 in China． In the USA, many young people 2 home after they finish their education and start working． However, in China, it is 3 for people to live with their parents until they get married． 4 , many of my Chinese friends told me that their 5 lived with them and helped take care of them when they were children． It seems that Americans think independence is more important 6 the Chinese think family relationships are more important．
Bargaining is another 7 that I have tried to learn． In the USA, prices are 8 and you can’t ask for a lower price． However in some small Chinese stores and tourist places, you are 9 to bargain． My Chinese friends taught me to ask for 40 percent or 50 percent 10 the original price． If the salesperson doesn’t agree to my price, I should 11 to leave and he might let me come back and sell me the item． It is a skill that you have to 12 if you live in China．
Tipping hasn’t been easier to 13 ． In the USA, many people in the service 14 want to get 15 money for serving customers． Tipping is not a part of Chinese culture． 16 I tried to tip a taxi driver． He looked a little 17 and refused to take the money．
In dinners, perhaps what surprises an American visitor most is that some of the Chinese hosts like to put food into the plates of their 18 ． Actually, this is a 19 of true friendship and politeness． My Chinese friend told me if I didn’t want to eat it, I should just 20 the food in the plate．
| 小题1: | | A．unique | B．different | C．private | D．harmonious |
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| 小题2: | | A．come | B．build | C．leave | D．abandon |
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| 小题3: | | A．regular | B．true | C．common | D．usual |
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| 小题4: | | A．Also | B．However | C．Therefore | D．Although |
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| 小题5: | | A．parents | B．relatives | C．babysitters | D．grandparents |
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| 小题7: | | A．way | B．custom | C．lesson | D．habit |
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| 小题8: | | A．made | B．agreed | C．charged | D．set |
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| 小题9: | | A．expected | B．taught | C．suggested | D．required |
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| 小题11: | | A．promise | B．pretend | C．decide | D．hope |
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| 小题12: | | A．tolerate | B．understand | C．practise | D．consider |
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| 小题13: | | A．adjust to | B．turn to | C．refer to | D．stick to |
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| 小题14: | | A．area | B．department | C．branch | D．industry |
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| 小题15: | | A．easy | B．extra | C．pocket | D．prize |
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| 小题16: | | A．Often | B．Once | C．Sometimes | D．Before |
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| 小题17: | | A．excited | B．satisfied | C．frightened | D．confused |
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| 小题18: | | A．own | B．children | C．neighbors | D．guests |
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| 小题19: | | A．signal | B．mark | C．sign | D．feature |
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| 小题20: | | A．leave | B．remain | C．put | D．taste |
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