题目内容

Motion pictures are so much a part of our lives that it’s hard to imagine a world without them. We enjoy them in theatres, at home, in offices, in cars and buses, and on airplanes.

For about 100 years, people have been trying to understand why this medium has so attracted us. Films communicate information and ideas, and they show us places and ways of life we might not otherwise know. Important as the benefits are, though, something more is at stake. Films offer us ways of seeing and feeling that we find deeply satisfying. They take us through experiences. The experiences are often driven by stories, with characters we come to care about, but a film might also develop an idea or explore visual qualities or sound textures. A film takes us on a journey, offering a patterned experience that engages our minds and emotions.

Films are designed to have effects on viewers. Late in the 19th century, moving pictures emerged as a public amusement. They succeeded because they spoke to the imaginative needs of a broad-based audience. All the traditions that emerged- telling fictional stories, recording actual events, animating objects or pictures, experimenting with pure form-aimed to give viewers experiences they couldn’t get from other media. The men and women who made films discovered that they could control aspects of cinema to give their audience richer, more engaging experiences. Learning from one another, expanding and refining the options available, filmmakers developed skills that became the basis of film as an art form.

The popular origins of cinema suggest that some common ways of talking won’t help us much in understanding film. Take the distinction between art and entertainment. Some people would say that blockbusters(大片) playing at the multiplex are merely “entertainment”, whereas films for a narrower public-perhaps independent films for festival fare, or specialized experimental works-are true art. Usually the art / entertainment split carries a not-so-hidden value judgment: art is high-brow, whereas entertainment is superficial. Yet things aren’t that simple. As we just indicated, many of the artistic resources of cinema were discovered by filmmakers working for the general public. During the 1910s and 1920s, for instance, many films that aimed only to be entertaining opened up new possibilities for film editing. As for the matter of value, it’s clear that popular traditions can promote art of high quality. Cinema is an art because it offers filmmakers ways to design experiences for viewers, and those experiences can be valuable.

Sometimes, too, people treat film art as opposed to film as a business. This split is related to the issue of entertainment, since entertainment generally is sold to a mass audience. Again, however, in most modern societies, no art floats free of economic ties. Novels good, bad, or indifferent are published because publishers expect to sell them. Painters hope that collectors and museums will acquire their work. True, some artworks are funded through taxes or private donations, but that process, too, involves the artist in a financial transaction(交易). Films are no different. Others are funded by patronage or public moneys. Even if you decide to make your own digital movie, you face the problem of paying for it-and you may hope to earn a little extra for all your time and effort.

The crucial point is that considerations of money don’t necessarily make the artist any less creative or the project any less worthwhile. Money can corrupt any line of business (consider politics), but it doesn’t have to. In Renaissance Italy, painters were commissioned by the Catholic church to illustrate events from the Bible. Michaelangelo and Lenonardo da Vinci worked for hire, but it would be hard to argue that it hurt their artistry.

Here we won’t assume that film art prevents entertainment. We won’t take the opposite position either-claiming that only Hollywood mass-market movies are worth attention. Similarly, we don’t think that film art rises above commercial demand, but we also won’t assume that money rules everything. Any art form offers a vast range of creative possibilities. Our basic assumption is that as an art, film offers experiences that viewers find worthwhile.

1.Where should the sentence “It doesn’t happen by accident.” be put in the passage?

A. ① B. ②

C. ③ D. ④

2.Which of the following statements about film is TRUE?

A. Hollywood films are usually far more appealing.

B. Film offers a wide variety of creative possibilities.

C. Films are made in the hope that consumers will pay to see them.

D. When watching films, viewers feel controlled by film designers.

3.The writer uses the examples of Michaelangelo and Lenonardo da Vinci to ______.

A. indicate that money is unlikely to corrupt artistry

B. show that money doesn’t necessarily destroy artistry

C. prove that money cannot buy everything in the field of art

D. suggest that money is an important concern even for famous artists

4.According to the writer, film should ______

A. avoid concentrating on popular traditions

B. focus on artistry rather than entertainment

C. provide the audience with something worthwhile

D. earn enough to pay for the developers’ time and effort

5.Which of the following can be the proper title for the passage?

A. Film: art or business B. Art or entertainment

C. Film offers us experiences D. Money doesn’t rule everything

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Smog in Europe and North America could be more than 25 times more deadly than the average air pollution found in Chinese cities, a new study suggests. In the largest ever study of its kind in the developing world, researchers tested the effects of air pollution on the health of people in 272 cities in China.

They found average annual exposure to fine particles, known as PM2.5, in those cities was more than five times higher than the level recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to a paper in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

However they also discovered that it was much less likely to increase the death rate than PM2.5 in Europe and North America.

The researchers, led by Dr Maigeng Zhou, of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, suggested this was because China is affected by large amounts of natural dust blown by the wind from arid areas, while most pollution in the West comes from industry.

They found that for every increase of 10 micrograms of air pollution in a cubic meter of air, the mortality rate increased by 0.22 percent, discounting deaths from accidents.

Professor Frank Kelly, an expert in environmental health at King’s College London, who was not involved in the study but has studied air pollution in China, told The Independent: “Those relative risks are considerably less than those seen in Europe and the US. For mortality(死亡率) in Europe we are working on a six percent increase per 10 micrograms.” That suggests air pollution in Europe is about 27 times more toxic than average air pollution in China.

However, Professor Kelly said cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong were likely to suffer from Western-style air pollution. "The natural dust component there is not of the magnitude that it would dwarf the coal, biomass and fossil fuel signals,” he said, “That may be true in certain cities whose pollution is not dominated by local power generation or major traffic congestion.”

Natural dust particles can cause physical damage to the lungs and trigger an asthma attack. Particles of carbon produced when fossil fuels are burned can lead to similar problems but they are also coated with toxic heavy metals, chemicals and volatile organic compounds. These are able to pass from the lungs into the blood stream where it is thought they cause further damage to the body.

Areeba Hamid, an air pollution campaigner with environmental group Greenpeace, said: “Poisonous air causes damage to people’s health wherever in the world they live. We now know fumes from diesel(柴油机) vehicles are a lot more poisonous than car companies claimed and this is a big cause of air pollution in Europe and North America. These companies have a lot to answer for, but so far they’ve managed to avoid any real accountability.”

The study of cities in China found the average annual expose to PM2.5 was 56 micrograms per cubic meter, compared to the WHO guideline limit for safe air quality of 10 micrograms.

People who were older than 75, had less education or who lived in hotter places were more likely to die. It is thought people in warmer cities were more likely to spend time outside or leave their windows open, thereby breathing more polluted air, the researchers said. They also speculated that less well educated people might have poorer access to health care or experience poorer environmental health conditions.

1.Why PM2.5 in China is less deadly than that in Europe and North America?

A. China is free from any pollution about PM2.5.

B. Pollutants affecting China mainly come from arid areas.

C. Fewer people died from PM 2.5 in China than those in Europe and North America.

D. Europe and North America are polluted by natural dust.

2.What does the underlined part in Para 7 refer to?

A. The average mortality rate. B. The higher mortality rate.

C. The lower mortality rate. D. The normal mortality rate.

3.What’s the real cause of air pollution in Europe and North America according to Areeba Hamid?

A. Fumes from diesel vehicles are much more poisonous.

B. The environmental agencies can’t take on responsibilities.

C. The technology doesn’t meet the standards.

D. Car companies can’t evaluate the results.

4.The author’s purpose of writing the passage is to ________.

A. appeal to people to lay an emphasis on environmental protection

B. illustrate smog in Europe and North America is quite serious

C. demonstrate China is safest place in the world to live in

D. provide some good ways to address the smog

When I was just out of college, I managed to get my dream job as a trader in New York City on the floor of the American Stock(股票)exchange.

Though it was a proud_______,the job was simply too physically_____—I must stand in a crowd every day, which often_______me in a mindset(心态)that held me back.

Manhattan is a walking town and it's difficult to ______when you have a disability. Taxis are expensive and riding the subway _______dozens of steep steps to get below ______.This left me only one________—the bus.

One night, after the _______for my job, I was aching with self-pity________it started to rain on my walk to the bus stop. I became more and more________without an umbrella, thinking I’d never________it in this city. Telling myself, "this city is just too hard" and "maybe it is just not possible for a guy like me".

And then, I ______the most beautiful, short moment. A couple came rolling by on roller skates, hand_______hand as they skated what seemed like the tango. They were all wet but they saw the_____as an opportunity and romance.

I suddenly became grateful for waiting in the rain because I________have missed this beauty___________if I had been in a taxi or on the subway. This, although _______, was an important moment on my journey to discovering the________of achieving health and happiness. When I change my mindset, ______for a moment, to what is possible and work to get rid of the self-limiting beliefs that________my daily actions, I will be on the road to a healthier, happier life.

1.A. adjustment B. achievement C. agreement D. treatment

2.A. tiring B. boring C. relaxing D. disappointing

3.A. reminded B. expected C. took D. left

4.A. go up B. get around C. set off D. show up

5.A. requests B. supports C. requires D. surrounds

6.A. ground B. street C. town D. city

7.A. change B. chance C. idea D. choice

8.A. struggle B. work C. experience D. influence

9.A. before B. while C. when D. after

10.A. nervous B. curious C. scared D. upset

11.A. get B. make C. put D. watch

12.A. recalled B. observed C. witnessed D. realized

13.A. on B. by C. to D. in

14.A. rain B. tree C. wind D. cloud

15.A. shall B. would C. need D. must

16.A. exactly B. instantly C. entirely D. suddenly

17.A. strange B. small C. normal D. different

18.A. humor B. honest C. power D. principle

19.A. still B. yet C. also D. even

20.A. affect B. follow C. forbid D. harm

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