Moreover, insofar as any interpretation of its author can be made from the five or six plays attributed to him, the Wake field Master is uniformly considered to be a man of sharp contemporary observation. He was, formally, perhaps clerically educated, as his Latin and music, his Biblical and patristic lore indicate. He is, still, celebrated mainly for his quick sympathy for the oppressed and forgotten man, his sharp eye for character, a ready ear for colloquial vernacular turns of speech and a humor alternately rude and boisterous, coarse and happy. Hence despite his conscious artistry as manifest in his feeling for intricate metrical and stanza forms, he is looked upon as a kind of medieval Steinbeck, indignantly angry at, uncompromisingly and even brutally realistic in presenting the plight of the agricultural poor.

Thus taking the play and the author together, it is mow fairly conventional to regard the former as a kind of ultimate point in the secularization of the medieval drama. Hence much emphasis on it as depicting realistically humble manners and pastoral life in the bleak hills of the West Riding of Yorkshire on a typically cold bight of December 24th. After what are often regarded as almost “documentaries” given in the three successive monologues of the three shepherds, critics go on to affirm that the realism is then intensified into a burlesque mock-treatment of the Nativity. Finally as a sort of epilogue or after-thought in deference to the Biblical origins of the materials, the play slides back into an atavistic mood of early innocent reverence. Actually, as we shall see, the final scene is not only the culminating scene but perhaps the raison d’etre of introductory “realism.”

There is much on the surface of the present play to support the conventional view of its mood of secular realism. All the same, the “realism” of the Wakefield Master is of a paradoxical turn. His wide knowledge of people, as well as books indicates no cloistered contemplative but one in close relation to his times. Still, that life was after all a predominantly religious one, a time which never neglected the belief that man was a rebellious and sinful creature in need of redemption, So deeply (one can hardly say “naively” of so sophisticated a writer) and implicitly religious is the Master that he is less able (or less willing) to present actual history realistically than is the author of the Brome “Abraham and Isaac”. His historical sense is even less realistic than that of Chaucer who just a few years before had done for his own time costume romances, such as The Knight’s Tale, Troilus and Cressida, etc. Moreover Chaucer had the excuse of highly romantic materials for taking liberties with history.

Which of the following statements about the Wakefield Master is NOT True?

[A]. He was Chaucer’s contemporary.

[B]. He is remembered as the author of five or six realistic plays.

[C]. He write like John Steinbeck.

[D]. HE was an accomplished artist.

By “patristic”, the author means

[A]. realistic. [B]. patriotic

[C]. superstitious. [C]. pertaining to the Christian Fathers.

The statement about the “secularization of the medieval drama” refers to the

[A]. introduction of mundane matters in religious plays.

[B]. presentation of erudite material.

[C]. use of contemporary introduction of religious themes in the early days.

In subsequent paragraphs, we may expect the writer of this passage to

[A]. justify his comparison with Steinbeck.

[B]. present a point of view which attack the thought of the second paragraph.

[C]. point out the anachronisms in the play.

[D]. discuss the works of Chaucer.

      Music has often been used in movies to create mood and add dimension to the images which the audience sees on the screen. One man who is famous for his ability to write powerful and highly effective music for movies is John Williams. Mr. Williams has been writing music for movies since 1960, but he is perhaps best known for his award-winning scores for movies such as Jaws, Star Wars, and Schindler's List. Before he began writing music for the movies, Mr. Williams dreamed of being a concert pianist. He studied at both the University of California, Los Angeles and Juilliard School. During the 1950s, Mr. Williams was into jazz and he worked in New York City with many jazz artists. Later, he moved back to Los Angeles where he continued to play the piano for jazz musicians. He also got a job writing music for television shows. It was this television job that led him into movies.
Throughout the 1960s, Mr. Williams wrote the music that can be heard in more than 20 movies. Most of these movies were light comedies. Then, in 1975, the director of the movie Jaws, Steven Spielberg, hired Mr. Williams. The director thought that Mr. William's music added so much to the scary （引起恐慌的）scenes of the movie that he insisted on working with Mr. Williams in all of his future movies. Other directors and Hollywood film studios also demanded to work with Mr. Williams, and his career as a composer of movie soundtracks took off. Many of these movies have soundtracks that are still available in music stores today. They include The Deer Hunter, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, and Jurassic Park.
In 1980, Mr. Williams had another chance to expand his musical experience. He was chosen to be the new conductor for the Boston Pops Orchestra when Arthur Fiedler retired. Mr. Williams gladly accepted the position because it only required that he conduct the orchestra during the summer. This left him free to continue writing music for the movies during the rest of the year. Mr. Williams conducted the Boston Pops for more than 12 years before he decided to retire and write music full-time. Along with the many movie music scores he has written, Mr. Williams has also written two symphonies, a flute concerto, and a violin concerto. Up to now, Mr. Williams has written music for more than 60 movies. It is no wonder that he is today's most famous Hollywood composer.
69. What is John Williams most famous for?
A. Conducting.                 B. Making movies.
C. Playing jazz.                 D. Writing music for movies.
70. What happened to Mr. Williams in 1975?
A. He began writing music for movies.      B. He moved to Hollywood.
C. He worked with Steven Spielberg.        D. He worked for the Boston Pops.
71. Which of the following things has Mr. Williams not done?
A. Conducted an orchestra.              B. Directed a movie.
C. Played jazz piano.                   D. Writing classical music.

There are many great movie directors of all time and the following are five of those who have largely impressed audience with their body of work.
As a member of the New Hollywood gang, Francis Coppola is best remembered for The God father series. His decision to cast Marlon Brando in the lead also met with fierce opposition from the studio bosses. Good sense became popular, and The God father went on to become one of the most memorable movies ever. Critics may point out that he has become less creative after his seventies, but try as one might, no one can possibly take the place of this great director’s work.
Stanley Kubrick’s movies focus on the themes like sci-fi, horror, dark humor and war. He used symbolism in most of his movies, giving us some wonderful screen visuals, as shown in 2001: A Space Odyssey. His actors in Hollywood complained about the endless number of retakes, but they appreciated the performance he milked out of them. People argue about films like Lolita, A Clockwork Orange and Paths of Glory, but these are now seen as classics.
Steven Spielberg is a great success at the box office, and he is one of the world’s most popular filmmakers today. As the creator of classics like Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, ET, Indiana Jones series, Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, no one can win his hold over the audience. His critics accuse him of being emotional and over the top, but the fact remains that his movies attract the audience, and set the cash registers ringing.
Woody Allen is a director who directs movies full of crime and hate. This comic genius has given us Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters and Midnight in Paris, which have also become classical. His movies constantly include characters who arouse the audience’s sympathy and laughter at the same time, as they set out on a journey of self-discovery. Hollywood star power has never fazed Allen. Thankfully, awards and honors do not interest him, which results in creativity that is original.
【小题1】What do the directors mentioned in the passage have in common?

Still waiting for little green men to make contact? Don't hold your breath.

A leading astronomer has concluded there probably aren't any aliens out there – meaning we are absolutely alone in the universe.

Even though there may be tens of thousands of other distant planets similar in size to Earth, the conditions on them are likely to be too hard to support life-forms such as ET.

Dr Howard Smith, a senior astrophysicist at Harvard University, believes there is very little hope of discovering aliens and, even if we did, it would be almost impossible to make contact.

So far astronomers have discovered a total of 500 planets in distant solar systems – known as extrasolar systems – although they believe billions of others exist.

But Dr Smith points out that many of these planets are either too close to the sun or too far away, meaning their surface temperatures are so bad that they could not support life. Others have unusual orbits which cause vast temperature variations, making it impossible for water to exist – the most important thing for life.

Dr Smith said, "We have found that most other planets and solar systems are wildly different from our own. It means it is highly unlikely there are any planets with intelligent life close enough for us to make contact." But his suggestions contradict other leading scientists who have claimed aliens almost certainly exist.

Only last month Professor Stephen Hawking said the fact that there are billions of galaxies out there made it reasonable to think there were other life-forms in the universe.

Researchers from the University of London have recently suggested that aliens could be living on as many as 40,000 other planets. But Dr Smith said: "Any hope of contact has to be limited to a relatively tiny space around the Earth, reaching maybe 1,250 light years out from our planet, where aliens might be able to pick up our signals or send us their own. But communicating would still take decades or centuries."

1.By saying ＂don’t hold your breath＂, the author advised the reader not to _____.

A．keep silent        B．give up           C．expect so         D．be afraid

2.Dr Smith concludes there probably aren’t any aliens because other planets _____.

A．are too far away from the earth

B．are different from the Earth in size

C．don’t have rich natural resources

D．don’t have a suitable living environment

3.Researchers from the University of London are mentioned to show that ______.

A．they have better explanations about aliens

B．aliens certainly exist on many planets

C．they disagree with Dr Smith’s suggestion

D．aliens can pick up signals from the earth

4.What’s the main idea of the text?

A．There must be other life forms in the universe.

B．We can communicate with aliens in decades.

C．The chances of finding aliens are slight.

D．Many other planets are quite different from the Earth.

      Music has often been used in movies to create mood and add dimension to the images which the audience sees on the screen. One man who is famous for his ability to write powerful and highly effective music for movies is John Williams. Mr. Williams has been writing music for movies since 1960, but he is perhaps best known for his award-winning scores for movies such as Jaws, Star Wars, and Schindler's List. Before he began writing music for the movies, Mr. Williams dreamed of being a concert pianist. He studied at both the University of California, Los Angeles and Juilliard School. During the 1950s, Mr. Williams was into jazz and he worked in New York City with many jazz artists. Later, he moved back to Los Angeles where he continued to play the piano for jazz musicians. He also got a job writing music for television shows. It was this television job that led him into movies.

Throughout the 1960s, Mr. Williams wrote the music that can be heard in more than 20 movies. Most of these movies were light comedies. Then, in 1975, the director of the movie Jaws, Steven Spielberg, hired Mr. Williams. The director thought that Mr. William's music added so much to the scary （引起恐慌的）scenes of the movie that he insisted on working with Mr. Williams in all of his future movies. Other directors and Hollywood film studios also demanded to work with Mr. Williams, and his career as a composer of movie soundtracks took off. Many of these movies have soundtracks that are still available in music stores today. They include The Deer Hunter, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, and Jurassic Park.

In 1980, Mr. Williams had another chance to expand his musical experience. He was chosen to be the new conductor for the Boston Pops Orchestra when Arthur Fiedler retired. Mr. Williams gladly accepted the position because it only required that he conduct the orchestra during the summer. This left him free to continue writing music for the movies during the rest of the year. Mr. Williams conducted the Boston Pops for more than 12 years before he decided to retire and write music full-time. Along with the many movie music scores he has written, Mr. Williams has also written two symphonies, a flute concerto, and a violin concerto. Up to now, Mr. Williams has written music for more than 60 movies. It is no wonder that he is today's most famous Hollywood composer.

69. What is John Williams most famous for?

A. Conducting.                 B. Making movies.

C. Playing jazz.                 D. Writing music for movies.

70. What happened to Mr. Williams in 1975?

A. He began writing music for movies.      B. He moved to Hollywood.

C. He worked with Steven Spielberg.        D. He worked for the Boston Pops.

71. Which of the following things has Mr. Williams not done?

A. Conducted an orchestra.              B. Directed a movie.

C. Played jazz piano.                   D. Writing classical music.