Long ago, poemd were recited out loud instead of being written down.When the Greeks first started the Olympics, they held poetry contests as well as athletic competitions.
Now, poetry competitions have been revived(恢复).This year 120,000 high school students competed in the first Poetry Out Loud national recitation contest, performing poems from memory for $100,000 in prizes.The first competitions were held in classrooms.The winners went on to school wide contest and then they competed in city and state competitions.Finally the 50 state champions, along with the District of Columbia champion came to Washington, D.C., last week for the last showdown.After the 51 champions competed against one another, 12 went on to the finals.Then the field was narrowed to five.The final five had one last chance to “perform” a poem.The overall champion, Jackson Hille, a high school senior from Ohio, won a $20,000 scholarship.
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation started Poetry Out Loud because they realized that hearing a poem performed is a different experience from reading it on a page.
It’s not just a matter of saying the words in the right order.It’s the tone of voice, the pauses, the gestures, and the attitude of the performer that bring the words to life.“Each time we hear somebody recite a poem, we understand again what we found fresh and interesting about it,” says National Public Radio broadcaster Scott Simon, master of ceremonies for the finals.Hearing it in a new voice offers something new to the listeners.
Not only do the people hearing poems have a new experience, but memorizing and presenting poems helps the participants(参加者)understand those poems in a new way.Another benefit of a competition such as Poetry Out Loud is that the participants learn public-speaking skills that can help them for life.
(1)
From the first paragraph, we can know ________.
[ ]
A.
the Greeks were the first to write poems.
B.
the Olympics used to start with poem recitation
C.
poems were spread orally in the past
D.
athletes were asked to recite poems before competing
(2)
How many rounds of competitions did the state champions take before they went to Washington, D.C.?
[ ]
A.
Three
B.
Four
C.
Five
D.
Six
(3)
According to the passage, hearing a poem recited in a new voice can ________.
[ ]
A.
bring a new life to listeners
B.
help listeners find their interest
C.
make listeners learn the words
D.
offer something new to listeners
(4)
One benefit the participants get from a competition such as Poetry Out Loud is that they can ________.
The pound new Library of Birmingham(LoB)will be the most visible sign of the way the city is accepting the digitalization(数字化)of everyday life.
Set to open in 2013, the £188 m LoB is already beginning to take shape next to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with which it will share some equipment.
As digital media(媒介)is important to itsidea, 49the project is already providing chances for some of the many small new local companies working at new technologies.
Brian Gambles, the LoB project director, says 51.a it is about giving people the right tools for learning:“The aim is to mix the physical with the digital.51.b Providing 24-hour services which can be used through many different ways.It is important to enable us to reach more people, more effectively.”
The digital library will, he says, be as important as the physical one, allowing the distant use of the services, making sure that it is never closed to the public.
Even before the LoB is complete, the public has been able to go online to visit the Virtual(虚拟的)LoB, designed by Baden, the Birmingham virtual worlds specialists.50Not only have the public been able to learn about LoB, but the virtual one has also enabled those working on the LoN to understand the building and how it will work before ot even opens.
Two other small Birmingham-based digital companies are working on the LoB projects.Substrat, a digital design company, is developing what it calls an “enlarged reality” project.It is about the use of an exciting smart phone, an important part of LoB the which is the early stages of development.And The People’s Archive is an online library of figures of the city being built content company in Cahoots, 51.d in which users will be encouraged to add to and comment on the material.
Gambles says:“Technology will enable us to make the library’s and services open to citizens as sever before.”
(1)
The underline part “its idea” in Paragraph 3 refers to the idea of _________
[ ]
A.
the equipment
B.
the project
C.
the digital media
D.
the physical library
(2)
While visiting the Virtual LoB, the public can _________
[ ]
A.
get a general idea of the LoB
B.
meet more world-famous experts
C.
learn how to put up a library building
D.
understand how the specialists work on the project
(3)
Which of the following is true of the LoB when it opens?
[ ]
A.
a, b, d
B.
a, c, e
C.
b, c, d
D.
b, d, e
(4)
This text more probably from _________ .
[ ]
A.
a computer book
B.
a library guide
C.
a project handbook
D.
newspaper report
阅读理解
A structure thought to be the world's oldest building has been discovered under the sea off the coast of Japan, and could be evidence of a previously unknown Stone Age civilization.
The monument dates back to at least 8,000 BC; the oldest pyramid in Egypt was constructed more than 5,000 years later.
The structure was first discovered under 75 feet of water by divers in 2000, and was believed to be a natural phenomenon.
Professor Masaki Kimura, the first to study the site, has concluded that the structure is man-made."The object was not formed naturally.If that had been the case, we would have found pieces through erosion(腐蚀)around the site, but there is nothing there," he says.
The discovery of a road surrounding the building is further evidence that the structure was made by humans, along with small underwater stone tombs nearby.
Kimura says it is too early to know who built it or its purpose."It might be an ancient religious shrine(神社), possibly celebrating an ancient god.And it could be evidence of a new culture, since there are no records of a people intelligent enough to have built such a monument 10,000 years ago; it could only have been done by people with a high degree of technology, probably coming from the Asian continent, where the oldest civilizations originated."
Teruaki Ishii, a professor at Tokyo University, said the structure could be natural, but that part of it may have been made by humans.
The first signs of civilization in Japan date back to around 9,000 BC, but nothing in the archeological record suggests the presence of a culture advanced enough to have built such a structure.
Jim Mower, an archeologist at University College Lon-don, says, "If it's proved that the site is as old as 10,000 years and is man-made, then it's going to change an awful lot of the previous thinking on southeast Asian history.It would put the people who made the monument on equal terms with the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia(An an-cient region of southwest Asia)."
(1)
Professor Masaki Kimura believes that the monument is man-made because ________.
①
no pieces through erosion were found around it
②
underwater stone tombs are nearby it
③
a road surrounds it
④
a shrine was built on it
[ ]
A.
①②④
B.
②③④
C.
①③④
D.
①②③
(2)
Which of the following is NOT true, according to the text?
[ ]
A.
The Japanese mastered advanced construction techniques 10,000 years ago.
B.
Professor Masaki Kimura was the first to study the monument.
C.
The purpose of the monument is still uncertain.
D.
The world抯 oldest civilizations originated in Asia.
(3)
What does the underlined word "that" in the fourth paragraph refer to?
[ ]
A.
The structure being man-made.
B.
The structure being a natural phenomenon.
C.
The structure having first been found ten years ago.
D.
The structure dating back to 8,000 BC.
(4)
What do we learn about the monument from the text?
[ ]
A.
It was made at least 5,000 years earlier than the oldest pyramid of Egypt.
B.
It was built by people from Europe.
C.
It抯 the first evidence of the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia.