Question

April 23 marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. Organizations in Britain have planned numerous events to honor him.

In Stratford-upon-Avon, his birthplace, the tourism organization has a great number of free events, including performances of Shakespeare’s plays, and a dazzling fireworks display. And the BBC is broadcasting a live show from Stratfore-upon-Avon, celebrating Shakespeare’s widespread influence on the world. In England’s capital, the London Shakespeare Centre is holding a series of public performances, exhibitions and activities. It isn’t just England that honors the anniversary of the death of this extraordinary writer. In Washington, D.C., the Folger Shakespeare Library, which houses the world’s largest collection of documents relating to William Shakespeare, is displaying a series of exhibitions.

Shakespeare is probably one of the most famous authors and is considered a genius. He wrote around 37 plays and 154 sonnets(十四行诗), and his work has been translated into over one hundred languages! He penned beautiful metaphors(暗喻), serious dramas and amusing tales.

Shakespeare also invented many new terms and phrases. If someone’s behavior suggested they were not being honest and should not be trusted, Shakespeare called their actions suspicious. If someone was being silly and perhaps looking like a fool, Shakespeare found their actions laughable. And Shakespeare called people who offered their opinions on the quality of something critics. Today, for instance, food critics and film critics give audiences their opinions of foods and films. The familiar phrase “break the ice” comes from Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew. “The ice is broken” when a difficult conversation or meeting is calmed by some basic introduction, such as a simple game. More common words coined by Shakespeare include road, gossip, lonely, bump and hurry.

Four hundred years after his death, Shakespeare surely lives on，in everyday speech, as the most famous writer of all time!

1.The passage is mainly about ______.

A. the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death

B. the influence Shakespeare has on written English

C. the friends of William Shakespeare

D. Shakespeare’s colorful and fruitful life

2.Shakespeare is honored in the following ways except ______.

A. a great number of free events in Stratford-upon-Avon

B. a series of activities in the London Shakespeare Centre

C. a series of exhibitions in the Folger Shakespeare Library

D. a live show of Shakespeare in Washington, D.C.

3.According to the text, a simple game to make a difficult conversation easy is called ______.

A. an ice-breaker B. a suspicious man

C. a critic D. a laughable man

Answer 1