Question

【题目】If he’d survived his sudden illness in 1990, Jim Henson might be turning 79 years old on September 24, 2015. He would probably still be at work. We can only guess where his imagination would have taken him — and us — in the 25 years we missed. There’s no doubt that he would have broken new ground, for Henson was a neverstopping innovator (创新者)．

His long career began far back in 1955, when he created Sam and Friends for a Washington D．C. television station. The programmes were just five minutes long and scheduled in the noman’sland between afternoon and evening programming. Yet the show won an Emmy for best local entertainment programme in 1958.

When it ended in 1961, Henson struggled to find work. He could only get brief appearances on other programmes like The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live. Only in 1976 did a British producer finally give Henson the green light to start a fullscale television show. The Muppet Show was produced and broadcast in Great Britain before finally arriving on prime time (黄金时间) US television. The network continued to identify it as a children’s programme, though the programme won a wide following of adult viewers.

One reason for its appeal to grownups was the obvious skill in catching the imagination. Henson’s talent was so great that it’s difficult to think of Kermit or Miss Piggy as nothing more than piles of cloth when they aren’t being operated. But Henson himself never forgot how much work went into creating his characters.

Way back in his early days, Henson created Kermit the Frog. His body was made from a green coat his mother had thrown away and his eyes were two halves of a pingpong ball. Over the years, his shape became more expressive. “Kermit is the character through whose eyes the audience is viewing the show. He’s a nice guy，” Henson said.

【1】Which of the following programmes marked the start of Jim Henson’s career?

A. The Tonight Show. B. Sam and Friends.

C. Saturday Night Live. D. The Muppet Show.

【2】It can be inferred from the passage that Miss Piggy was ________.

A. a character Jim Henson created

B. Jim Henson’s close friend

C. a television programme

D. Kermit’s girlfriend

【3】From the passage, we can infer that ________.

A. it was easy for Jim to create his characters

B. Jim Henson died of illness at the age of 54

C. the Muppet Show was broadcast in the US first

D. the programme Sam and Friends was not popular locally

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】A

【3】B

【解析】

本文是一篇人物传记。美国木偶大师Jim Henson一生努力创作，给人们留下了很多著名的儿童电视节目。

【1】细节理解题。根据第二段的第一句His long career began far back in 1955, when he created Sam and Friends---可知Sam and Friends是他创造的第一个电视节目，也正是它开启了他的表演生涯。故选B。

【2】推理判断题。根据最后一段的Henson created Kermit the Frog.和Kermit is the character---，可知Kermit和Henson所创作的卡通木偶形象。再根据第四段中Kermit和Miss Piggy同伴也是Henson所创作的一个卡通木偶形象。故选A。

【3】推理判断题。文章第一句就假设说，如果他能从1990年的突发疾病中存活下来，那么2015年9月24日Jim Henson就79岁了。从中可以推断出他死于疾病，当时只有54岁。故B项正确。

事实询问题，这类试题通常以疑问词what/who/when/where/why/how引起的特殊问句，就文章中某一词语、某一句子、某一段落或某一具体细节和事实进行提问。解答此类试题首先要弄清题目和每一个选项的含义，然后按题目要求寻找与之相关的细节，正确估计答案来源。同时要注意题目和文章中的暗示作用，特别注意辨别各种信息，确认各种信息。本文第1小题，根据第二段的第一句His long career began far back in 1955, when he created Sam and Friends---可知Sam and Friends是他创造的第一个电视节目，也正是它开启了他的表演生涯。