Question

Joey is loyal, encouraging and self-sacrificing, always putting others’ interests ahead of his own. He is a hard worker, who also loves to run and play. In short, he’s an ideal friend and a heroic character.

Here is the thing: Joey is a horse, who appears as the main character in Steven Spielberg’s new film War Horse.

It is based on Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel, which also caused the same-titled Tony Awards winning play.

The film follows the saga of Joey, a racehorse that’s trained for farm work under the loving care of Albert (Jeremy Irvine )after Albert’s drunk father Ted(Peter Mullan ) overpays for the animal at auction(拍卖会).

Then the World War I tears Albert and Joey apart. Joey is sold into the war effort for the British and starts his episodic adventures in Europe.

Splendidly staged, the battle plots in the film are visually astounding and impressive.

And with Spielberg’s unique, top-notch direction and storytelling skills, War Horse cannot escape its episodic nature, calling to mind another Spielberg film about the horrors of war and its effects upon soldiers and civilians—Saving Private Ryan.

While that film shocked with horrific scenes of bleeding, it relied on a company of easily-described characters and a focused storyline to present heroic themes.

Like Saving Private Ryan, War Horse clings to a series of characters, not only Albert, but also British officers, French civilians and German soldiers, who display courage in the face of danger. Everyone who comes in contact with Joey is either already in touch with their inner angel or is quickly moved to become more humane.

Although none of this covers the fact that we’ve seen this stuff elsewhere before, the lovely sentiment will steal your heart.

And the emotional signature of Spielberg can be felt as he establishes the relationship between the boy and the horse and the mood of the piece – there will be tears.

Therefore, calling this beautiful, dramatically incomplete film “ Saving Private Joey”, is entirely justifiable.

56. In common with “ Saving Private Ryan”, the film  War Horse _________ .

A. is full of terrifying scenes of bleeding and killing

B. received the title of Tony Awards Winning Play

C. covers a lot of characters

D. tells the story happening in the Second World War

57. Which statement is true according to the passage?

A. War Horse is based on the same-titled novel by Steven Spielberg.

B. Joey is a heroic character because he saved many people’s lives.

C. Albert sold Joey into the war effort for Europe.

D. Joey came to Albert’s care after Ted paid a lot of money for it.

58. According to the passage, what does the underlined word astounding mean?

A. astonishing        B. confusing         C. satisfying       D. disappointing

59. What is the best title for the passage?

A. Joey ─ a heroic race horse             B. Albert and Joey

C. Saving Private Joey                  D. Spielberg’s Joey

Answer 1

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