“There’s going to be one less boy in the room!” The words rang in my ears as the criminal(罪犯) pointed his gun against my head. The floodgates opened and tears ran down my face. No one in the courtroom(法庭) moved. Everyone was held silent with fear. A few seconds passed and the criminal put down his gun, turning his back on me.
“Cut!” the director shouted with joy. One take! We had done the scene in just one take. Then all the people who acted in the film went off for lunch.
I got my food and joined them, and the criminal, who had moments before been so scary, took his seat beside me and told us many funny jokes. A table of adults surrounded me, but I was never uncomfortable talking with strangers. I worked with these people and they worked with me. We talked, we laughed, we got to know each other and sometimes we became friends. At the end of the day we all went our separate ways, but we had been drawn close by working together to make this play.
After the show was broadcast, my friends asked if I had been scared of the criminal. At first this sounded funny. He was, after all, a kind and intelligent man. Then I realized that they didn’t see that side of him. Television and films are about creating an alternate(交替的) life that appears real even if for a while. We had been successful in doing that. Even my friends, who knew the real me, were drawn in the make-believe world of our story.
Acting has helped me to feel comfortable in my own skin and in communicating with others. I feel relaxed during interviews and when leadership opportunities come. Change is not threatening(威胁) to me, and I am grateful for the chance to learn and to grow in knowledge and experience in my life.
【小题1】
In the film, what was the manner of the author’s character when facing the criminal?

“There’s going to be one less boy in the room!” The words rang in my ears as the criminal(罪犯) pointed his gun against my head. The floodgates opened and tears ran down my face. No one in the courtroom(法庭) moved. Everyone was held silent with fear. A few seconds passed and the criminal put down his gun, turning his back on me.

“Cut!” the director shouted with joy. One take! We had done the scene in just one take. Then all the people who acted in the film went off for lunch.

I got my food and joined them, and the criminal, who had moments before been so scary, took his seat beside me and told us many funny jokes. A table of adults surrounded me, but I was never uncomfortable talking with strangers. I worked with these people and they worked with me. We talked, we laughed, we got to know each other and sometimes we became friends. At the end of the day we all went our separate ways, but we had been drawn close by working together to make this play.

After the show was broadcast, my friends asked if I had been scared of the criminal. At first this sounded funny. He was, after all, a kind and intelligent man. Then I realized that they didn’t see that side of him. Television and films are about creating an alternate(交替的) life that appears real even if for a while. We had been successful in doing that. Even my friends, who knew the real me, were drawn in the make-believe world of our story.

Acting has helped me to feel comfortable in my own skin and in communicating with others. I feel relaxed during interviews and when leadership opportunities come. Change is not threatening(威胁) to me, and I am grateful for the chance to learn and to grow in knowledge and experience in my life.

1.

 In the film, what was the manner of the author’s character when facing the criminal?

A. Brave and calm.                B. Anxious and terrified.   

C. Shy and quiet.                  D. Heroic and fearless.

2.

We know from the passage that the author        .

A. is a kind person                 B. has realized his dream to be an actor

C. has a gift for film acting           D. has no experience in film acting

3.

When they had lunch, the author        .

A. was too afraid to sit beside the criminal    

B. was unwilling to talk with the others

C. was laughing to tears by the criminal’s jokes

D. was comfortable communicating with others

4.

Why could the author understand his friends’ questions?

A. He had a close relationship with his friends.    

B. The actors performed so well that the audience accepted the story as true.

C. He thought it was normal for the audience to question the actors.

D. He thought they didn’t understand the process of film acting.

5.

 It can be inferred from the passage that        .

A. the author felt lucky to play in the film

B. it wasn’t the first time that the author had acted in films

C. the author’s friends encouraged him to act in films

D. the author had a successful career because of this film

     My husband and I both work from home．We have four children, so the times when I am alone in the house are few and far between．Like many work-at-home moms, when I do get a chance to be by myself ，I do something, whether it’s related to my career or taking care of the household chores (家务).

     One Thursday，things really came to a head．My husband was heading out to the gym，just thinking that I had nothing to do but watch the twins．My older boys were making plans with their friends without bothering me and they were expecting me to drive them there．The twins，being young，wanted my undivided attention．Even my customers seemed to be demanding that day．They sounded not satisfied with the products and wanted to cut down the prices more．Nobody bothered to ask if I might have plans of my own．But the truth was, I seldom did have any plans for myself, and everyone knew it. I always put their needs before my own．They took advantage of that．

    The next day，when the kids were at school, I headed for the movie theater—alone．I’d never been to the movies alone before．Would I look pitiful going to the theater by myself? Was I being silly by seeing a movie when so much work awaited me at home? I forced myself to take back these thoughts．And then I walked into the theater with my head held high and enjoyed every minute of the movie．For a couple of hours, I was nobody’s wife or mother．I was just myself．

    From that point on，I decided that Fridays would be mine，at least for a couple of hours．Some Fridays, I head for the beach with a good book．Other Fridays, I go shopping．I really look forward to my Fridays after a long week of caring for my family．

    By forcing myself to slow down and put the needs of my family out of my mind, I feel closer to myself．I’m not completely responsible for caring for my family．I don’t need to do it all myself. I just need to remember to spare some time to be with myself．

56.The underlined words“few and far between”mean     .

  A. rare    B. much    C. busy    D. hard

57. What does the writer do when she is alone at home before?

  A．She will do what she likes．

  B．She will go to see a film．

  C．She will fill that time with much work．

  D．She allows herself to have a good rest．

58．How did the writer feel before she entered the cinema?

  A．Relaxed．    B．A little excited．

  C．Hopeful．    D．A little worried.

59．What is the biggest benefit that the writer got from her decision?

  A．She has her husband share the housework．

  B．She no longer overloads herself too much．

  C．She has the time to develop her own hobbies．

  D．She learns to put her own needs in the first place．