Charlie Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889 in London. Both his father and mother were entertainers and although not of big names, they were doing very well. While the family was by no means rich, the music hall provided the Chaplins with a comfortable living. Unfortunately happy life didn’t last long. Father’s alcoholism was slowly, but surely destroying his marriage. Finally it ended in divorce. His mother managed to keep Charlie and his brother Syney clean and warm, clothed and fed. She would sit at the window watching the passers-by and guess at their characters from the way they looked and behaved, making up tales to delight Charlie and Syney. Charlie took in her skills and went on using them all his life.
Charlie had always believed, even in the worst times, that he had something special locked away inside him. He took his courage and went to one of the top theater agents. With no experience at all, he was offered a plum part (意外得到的好角色) in a new production of “Sherlock Holmes”, which opened on July 27, 1903 at the famous “Pavilion Theatre”. Charlie seemed to change overnight. It was as if he had found the thing he was meant to do. By 1910, Charlie had become “one of the best pantomime (哑剧) artists ever seen ”.
Cinema was born in the same year as Charlie thought people still believed it was a passing fashion, and would never replace live shows. But after using several weeks to watch and to learn, he was determined to master this new medium. It offered him the chance of money and success—and it would set him free from the unpredictability of live audience.
Charlie’s first film, released in February 1914, was called “Making a living”. After that he made another ten. The public loved him and producers were demanding more and more Chaplin films. In an incredibly short time, Charlie had become a very important man in motion picture.
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT true about Charlie Chaplin?

A．Mother had much influence on Charlie Chaplin’s career.

B．“Sherlock Holmes” made Charlie rise to fame overnight.

C．Charlie had been famous when the cinema became a fashion.

D．Charlie’s work in both the theater and the cinema was welcomed.

Charlie Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889 in London．Both his father and mother were entertainers and although not of big names, they were doing very well．While the family was by no means rich, the music hall provided the Chaplins with a comfortable living．Unfortunately happy life didn’t last long．Father’s alcoholism was slowly, but surely destroying his marriage．Finally it ended in divorce．His mother managed to keep Charlie and his brother Syney clean and warm, clothed and fed．She would sit at the window watching the passers-by and guess at their characters from the way they looked and behaved, making up tales to delight Charlie and Syney．Charlie took in her skills and went on using them all his life．

Charlie had always believed, even in the worst times, that he had something special locked away inside him．He took his courage and went to one of the top theater agents．With no experience at all, he was offered a plum part （意外得到的好角色） in a new production of “Sherlock Holmes”, which opened on July 27, 1903 at the famous “Pavilion Theatre”．Charlie seemed to change overnight．It was as if he had found the thing he was meant to do．By 1910, Charlie had become “one of the best pantomime （哑剧） artists ever seen ”．

Cinema was born in the same year as Charlie thought people still believed it was a passing fashion, and would never replace live shows．But after using several weeks to watch and to learn, he was determined to master this new medium．It offered him the chance of money and success—and it would set him free from the unpredictability of live audience．

Charlie’s first film, released in February 1914, was called “Making a living”．After that he made another ten．The public loved him and producers were demanding more and more Chaplin films．In an incredibly short time, Charlie had become a very important man in motion picture．

1．Which of the following is NOT true about Charlie Chaplin?

       A．Mother had much influence on Charlie Chaplin’s career．

       B．“Sherlock Holmes” made Charlie rise to fame overnight．

       C．Charlie had been famous when the cinema became a fashion．

       D．Charlie’s work in both the theater and the cinema was welcomed．

2．What can you infer from the passage?

       A．Charlie Chaplin’s belief in his potential led to his success．

       B．Charlie Chaplin got his first role in a film at 14．

       C．Cinema was a form of art showing live performance．

       D．Motion picture was a passing fashion lasting a short time．

3．The underlined word “unpredictability” in Paragraph 3 means____________．

       A．low spirits                                           B．opposing attitude

       C．successful performance                       D．changing state

4．What is the passage mainly about?

       A．Charlie Chaplin made the cinema industry popular．

       B．Charlie Chaplin’s early success in his career．

       C．Charlie Chaplin was a best pantomime artist．

       D．Charlie Chaplin’s determination to do what he liked．

The life of an actor appears attractive and many young people dream about becoming one. But the truth is, it is very hard work. If you’re successful, there are deadlines to be met, appointments to keep and the press to deal with. If you’re not successful, then life is extremely tough.
I remember when I started out, I had to search the advertisement board at my drama school every day to look for acting jobs. Drama school was expensive and I needed extra cash to help pay the fees. I welcomed every small job. I played extras in many crowd scenes and became a confident participant in a lot of TV commercials for hair shampoo, soap and washing powder.
I had been working for about two years before I got my lucky break. One day, as I was passing the drama school, I decided to go in to check the notice board. There was nothing on it and I was just leaving when the secretary came along the corridor with a piece of paper. She asked me how I was and I told her life was hard and work was difficult to find. The next moment, she put the paper in my hand and walked away. My hands were shaking as I unfolded the paper, full of expectation. To my surprise, it was an audition (试演) for a clown（小丑）for the Canadian circus. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. I had expected an audition with a famous director for a new film!
When I was at drama school, there had been a course in acrobatics and clown tricks. I had gained top marks in this course for originality and daring. Later I went to the audition feeling very strange. This was not what I’d had in mind when I enrolled in drama school. To my surprise, the job as a clown turned out to be exactly what I wanted. I loved every moment of getting dressed up and putting on the make-up. I had the opportunity to travel the world and I was more than an actor, I was an entertainer as well. I had visited over 32 different countries and entertained millions of people.
【小题1】The first paragraph is about how _______ it is to be an actor, whether you’re successful or not.

The life of an actor appears attractive and many young people dream about becoming one. But the truth is, it is very hard work. If you’re successful, there are deadlines to be met, appointments to keep and the press to deal with. If you’re not successful, then life is extremely tough.

I remember when I started out, I had to search the advertisement board at my drama school every day to look for acting jobs. Drama school was expensive and I needed extra cash to help pay the fees. I welcomed every small job. I played extras in many crowd scenes and became a confident participant in a lot of TV commercials for hair shampoo, soap and washing powder.

I had been working for about two years before I got my lucky break. One day, as I was passing the drama school, I decided to go in to check the notice board. There was nothing on it and I was just leaving when the secretary came along the corridor with a piece of paper. She asked me how I was and I told her life was hard and work was difficult to find. The next moment, she put the paper in my hand and walked away. My hands were shaking as I unfolded the paper, full of expectation. To my surprise, it was an audition (试演) for a clown（小丑）for the Canadian circus. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. I had expected an audition with a famous director for a new film!

When I was at drama school, there had been a course in acrobatics and clown tricks. I had gained top marks in this course for originality and daring. Later I went to the audition feeling very strange. This was not what I’d had in mind when I enrolled in drama school. To my surprise, the job as a clown turned out to be exactly what I wanted. I loved every moment of getting dressed up and putting on the make-up. I had the opportunity to travel the world and I was more than an actor, I was an entertainer as well. I had visited over 32 different countries and entertained millions of people.

1.The first paragraph is about how _______ it is to be an actor, whether you’re successful or not.

A．easy             B．attractive          C．enjoyable         D．difficult

2.According to paragraph 3, the writer went into the drama school __________.

A．to look for a job

B．to see the secretary

C．to collect a piece of paper

D．to put a notice on the notice board

3.Which of the following can best describe the author’s feeling when he unfolded the paper?

A．Extremely frightened.                    B．Feeling anxious and excited.

C．Very worried.                          D．Trembling with fear.

4.From the whole passage, we can tell that the writer is ___________.

A．sad that he was not a famous actor

B．happy to travel the world

C．feeling very strange to be a clown

D．very content with his life

5.Which of the following would be the best title?

A．The Life of a TV Actor                    B．Acrobatics and Clown Tricks

C．More than an Actor                      D．Going to Drama School