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 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.

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.

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.

The underlined word “unpredictability” in Paragraph 3 means____________.

A. low spirits                                            B. opposing attitude

C. successful performance                          D. changing state

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.

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．

Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up．The sense of humour is mysteriously(神秘地)connected with national characteristics．A Frenchman ,for instance, might find it hard to laugh at Russian joke．In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke which would make an Englishman laugh to tears．

       Most funny stories are based on comic situations．In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a worldwide request．No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say ,Charlie Chaplin’s early films．However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from America, has recently come into fashion．It is called “sick humour”．Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations like violent (cause by force)death or serious accidents．Many people find this sort of joke distasteful．The following example of “sick humour” will enable you to judge for yourself．

A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas．From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering(纠缠) his doctor tell him when he would be able to go home．He was afraid of having to spend Christmas in hospital ．Though the doctor did his best, the patient’s recovery was slow．On Christmas day, however, the doctor consoled(安慰)him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good．The man took heart and, sure enough , on New Year’s Eve he was able to hobble(跛行) along to a party．To compensate(补偿)for his unpleasant experiences in hospital , the man drank a little more than what was good for him．In the process, he enjoyed himself and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals．He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg．

Whether you find “sick humour” funny or not will depend on ________．

       A．your having been brought up in America                           

B．the joke being related to a really comic situation

       C．your ability to see the funny side of an unpleasant event  

D．your ability to laugh until you cry

The man spent Christmas day feeling miserable because ________．

       A．the doctor had failed to cure him                 

B．he was not able to be with his friends

       C．being unable to walk, he did not enjoy the celebrations at the hospital

       D．he thought he might also miss the New Year’s Eve celebration

The point of the joke taken to explain “sick humour” is that ________．

       A．no sooner was the out of hospital than he had to go back in again．

       B．the man should not have said how much he hated hospitals

       C．the man would be unable to walk for the rest of his life  

D．the man had not got a leg to stand on

What can you learn from this story ?

       A．On New Year’s Eve, the man was able to walk properly to the party．

       B．At the party , he enjoyed himself but only drank a little．

       C．He had to go to hospital again though he hated it．

       D．The man got well soon because the doctor took good care of him．