Gu Changwei was the first Chinese cinematographer to be nominated (提名) for an Oscar, he is regarded by Zhang Yimou as the best cinematographer in China. Gu was behind the camera for many of Zhang Yimou’s famous films including the one that rocketed Zhang to fame: “Red Sorghum (高粱)”. And now this master of the visual has taken on his first directing role with the film “Peacock”. So Gu Changwei has come out from behind the camera into the spotlight (聚光灯).

Gu Changwei is very serious about his directing “Peacock”. To get the authentic atmosphere, Gu took his film crew to the city of Anyang in central China’s Henan province where the story takes place, to shoot the film. He chose all new actors because he didn’t want “star” appeal to weaken the power of the story, and he also had his actors trained in the local dialect. For this film Gu has been able to get out from behind the camera to manage every aspect of the film, and to realize his own ideals in movie-making.

“Peacock” is about the life of an average family in a small town in Henan province in the late 70s and early 80s. Gu chose this story for his first movie because he grew up during this same period and it struck a chord with him.

“Peacock” wrapped up production in June, 2004. It’s aimed at the foreign film market and will be entered in February’s Berlin Film Festival, and released in China at the same time. But at the end of last October, Gu took “Peacock” to his Alma Mater, the Beijing Film Academy, one of the most famous film colleges in China, to hold a preview. The film was warmly received by both teachers and students.

The underlined word “cinematographer” refers to a person who _____.

       A. has been nominated for an Oscar            B. uses a camera to shoot films

       C. directs first-class films                           D. arranges for cinema shows

Gu didn’t employ “stars” in his film because _____.

A. stars usually stick to their own acting styles

B. the stars may not be able to speak the local dialect

C. the stars may share the audience’s attention with the story

D. it was not easy for him, a fresh hand, to invite stars to join him

Gu chose such a story for his first movie because _____.

A. he was born in the early 1970s              

B. he grew up in Henan province

C. he was popular in Henan province     

D. the story had to do with his own experience

From the passage we can learn that “Peacock” _____.

A. is the film for which Gu is likely to win an Oscar prize

B. has already become popular both at home and abroad

C. has its production started last summer

D. will be publicly shown in spring, 2005

Please choose a proper title for this passage.

A. From behind the camera into the spotlight

B. Chinese cinematographer to be nominated for Oscar

C. New faces to appear in “Peacock”

D. “Peacock” to enter foreign film market

  Lucky is the man who has no “skeleton in his closet”. When a man has done something in his life that he is ashamed of, that he wants to hide, he is said to have a “skeleton in his closet”. Some people may have more than one skeleton.

  As we have noted many times, it is hard to find out how these expressions begin. Sometimes, we get some hard facts. But more often we have to depend on guesswork. And that is true of this phrase, which came from England.

  Before 1932, English law did not permit a doctor to cut open a dead human body for scientific examination, unless it was the corpse(尸体) of an executed(处决) criminal.

  But when it became legal, more and more doctors demanded skeletons for a more scientific study of medicine. It was helping in the advance of modern medicine. The demand had become so strong that men began to rob tombs and sell skeletons to doctors at high prices.

  We are told that a doctor would usually buy just one skeleton for scientific study. It became very important in his work. But he had to keep it hidden because most people objected to keeping such a thing. As a rule, the doctor would keep his skeleton in some dark corner where it could not be seen, or hide it in a closet.

  After a time, people began to suspect(怀疑) every doctor of hiding a skeleton in the closet. From this suspicion, the phrase “a skeleton in the closet” took on a broader, more general meaning to describe anything that a man wanted to keep others from discovering. It could be proof of a criminal act, or something much less serious. Well, that is one theory.

  One writer, however, believes that the phrase might have come from something that really happened. It is his guess that a hidden closet in some old English country home may have turned up a real skeleton, clear proof of some old family shame or crime. Well, one man’s guess is as good as another. But this sounds like a story by the great French novelist, Balzac.

  Baizac tells us of a man who suspected his wife of having a lover. The husband comes home by surprise. But she hears him and quickly hides her lover in the closet of her bedroom. He enters her room and asks her if she is hiding her lover. He says he will not open the door to the closet if she promises him there is no one there; He will believe her. She answers firmly that she is not hiding anyone in the closet.

  The husband then begins to build a solid brick wall against the closet. His wife watches, knowing that her lover will never come out alive. But she will not change her story and admit her guilt.   

1. Which of the following situations is suitable for using the phrase “skeleton in the closet” ?

  A. You have stolen something precious and don’t want it discovered.

  B. You are a doctor and have to keep a skeleton for research.

  C. If you have cut open a dead human body for scientific examination you should keep the skeleton secret.

  D. You have done a crime or done something foolish, but you want to keep other from discovering it.

2. From the text we know that there are _______ theories about how the phrase “skeleton in the closet” came into being.

  A. one            B. two            C. three     D. four

3. In Chinese the world “skeleton” means _______.

  A. 尸体      B. 标本      C. 收藏     D. 骷髅

4. Which of the following is right according to the text?

     A. In the 20th century, doctors realized the importance of anatomy(解剖) in the development of medicine.

  B. The doctors of the ancient times liked to collect as many skeleton as possible.

  C. The thieves stole skeletons from tombs in order to help the doctors.

  D. It was legal that corpses of anybody were cut open for scientific examination in history.

5. From the story Balzac told we know that the wife’s lover must have become _______.

A. a corpse     B. a phrase     C. a skeleton    D. a secret

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网