Question

The Banquet has been described as a loose adaptation(节选)of "Hamlet", featuring royal conflicts(冲突) and revenge（复仇）which is set in 10th century China. The new Emperor (Ge You) has usurped(篡夺) the throne（帝位）by murdering the previous Emperor. He marries the Empress (Zhang Ziyi), wife of the previous Emperor and stepmother to the Crown Prince (Daniel Wu).

At first, the Empress seeks only to protect herself, but as the new Emperor grows suspicious(疑心) of all those around him, she realizes that only by helping the Crown Prince kill him can she hope to survive. Together with the Chief Minister (Ma Jingwu)，she tries to carry out this plot, but when the Prince is destroyed by hesitation, she thinks out a new plan and seeks the throne for herself. As the plot move towards its climax(高潮), the Emperor calls for a plentiful royal banquet, where each will seek the end of their enemies.

The Banquet differs from Hamlet in that it does not focus on the prince, but examines the feelings of each character. According to director Feng Xiaogang: "If Hamlet is about a prince who must make a choice involving life and death, then The Banquet is about how each character must face a choice of life or death... All are motivated by desire, but as soon as they have begun their plans must grow more extreme, and they move step-by-step towards the abyss(深渊)... They do not intend evil, but turn to it out of self-preservation and ever-growing ambition（野心）."

1. As far as we can tell from the text, the Empress ________.

  A. She is just the wife of the new Emperor.    

B. She is the later mother of the Crown Prince.

  C. She helps her own son to kill the Emperor.   

D. She takes the place of the Emperor finally.

2. The author wants to tell us the following EXCEPT that _______.

  A. The new Emperor feels doubt about the affairs around him.

  B. The Empress does all she could to survive herself.

  C. The Crown Prince shows uncertainty in action.

  D. The new Emperor owns the authority all the way.

3. Feng Xiaogang’s words imply（暗示）that ___________.

  A. The Banquet is about royal conflicts.    

B. The Banquet’s characters are full of desire.

  C. The Banquet involves life and death.     

D. The Banquet is different from the Hamlet.

4. Which of the following is the best title for this text?

  A. The Banquet differs from the Hamlet.    

B. The main characters in the play.

  C. The plot（情节）of the Banquet.    

D. The ambition of each character.

Answer 1

BDDC

解析:

1. B. 细节理解题。从第一段最后一句有关the Empress 的内容“…wife of the previous Emperor and stepmother to the Crown Prince.”可知答案。

2. D. 辨别正误题。用排除法,从文章中的第二段的“..the new Emperor grows suspicious.”可知A是对的; 从第二段的“ only by helping the Crown Prince kill him can she hope to survive. Together with the Chief Minister (Ma Jingwu)，she tries to carry out this plot,”可知选项B也是正确的;还有从第二段的“…the Prince is destroyed by hesitation…”中得出C是对的。

3. D. 推理判断题。从第三段第一句 “ The Banquet differs from Hamlet in that...”可知。

4. C. 主旨大意题。通过综合概括全文三段的内容可知,第一段主要介绍晚宴这部电影的主要情节和取材,第二段主要讲电影情节的发展。