4. Do you think home is important for Chinese to celebrate the Spring Festival?Why or why not? (Please answer within 30 words. )

3. Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?You may not be a necessary part in society, but in your family, you are very important and no one else can take the place of you.

2. Fill in the blanks with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence. (Please answer within 10 words. )

1. What's the passage mainly talking about? (Please answer within 10 words. )

9.　 It can be inferred from the passage that____________________.

　　　　 A. human beings loved to tell stories

　　　　 B. people could do nothing about nature

　　　　 C. religious leaders tried to develop the effective form of drama

　　　　 D. religious activities played a very important role in the evolvement of drama

第27 天　　　　　　　　　　　　　 A

Every year, whenever Spring Festival arrives, a lot of Chinese people cannot wait to go home. They queue for long hours in front of the ticket offices in railway stations, or do whatever they can in order to get a ticket. They tolerate the long journey on the train only to want to ______ with their near and dear ones.

　　 According to The Beijing Youth Daily, most Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival not only because they want to follow tradition, there are also some practical reasons to explain Chinese people's fever for the holiday. Compared with one's workplace, home provides a more humane environment for one to relax oneself.

　　 Society may do with or without you, but at home, you become unique and indispensable. You may be the father or mother, daughter or son, grandfather or grandmother in the family and the family will be incomplete if anyone is absent, because every member in the family is bound together, and everyone in the family is pleased with the feeling that he or she is unique and irreplaceable.

　　 In addition, family provides an ideal environment for one to fully relax oneself. At home, one can take one's time do whatever he or she wants, and one can spend money whenever one likes. In society, however, one needs to do everything fast and with high efficiency, because society always reqiores efficiency and maximum profits. Such company principles make people merely a tool in modern society.

　　 Chinese people's strong desire for Spring Festival shows that they feel oppressed and have a sense of predicament(困境) of existence in modern society. The Spring Festival provides a chance for them to escape from such anxiety and treasure the long-lost tradition of community spirit. With the Spring Festival, people can find back the warm, family atmosphere often seen in days gone by.

8. 　In tracing the beginning of drama, which of the following is not mentioned?

　　　　 A. Planting.　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Religious ceremonies.

　　　　 C. Gymnastic.　　　　　　 　　　　　D. Storytelling.

7. 　What do drama and ancient ceremonies have in common according to the passage?

　　　　 A. Both of them were performed in theaters.

　　　　 B. Music, dance, masks, costumes and so on were contained in both of them.

　　　　 C. Religious leaders were in charge of both of them.

　　　　 D. Both of them were concerned about natural power.

6. 　According to the passage, drama_______________.

　　　　 A. was played in memory of ancient Greek ceremonies

　　　　 B. was a form of ceremony played by ancient Greeks to control unknown powers

　　　　 C. evolved out of ancient Greek ceremonies with time passing by

　　　　 D. is one of the measures Ancient Greeks took to view natural forces

5. 　Which is the best title of the passage?

　　　　 A. Religious activities in ancient Greece.　　　　 B. The ceremonies in ancient Greece.

　　　　 C. Drama theories.　　　　　　　　　 　　　　D. The origin of Greek Drama.

4. 　You should afford　 ____Euro dollars for a book to know about the recent progress in economic policies in the OECD countries.

　　 A. 60　　　　　　　 B. 15　　　　　 C. 55　　　　　 D. 80

B

　　　 There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama evolved (演化) from ceremony. The argument for this view goes as follows.

　　　 In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world -even the seasonal changes - as unpredictable, and they sought through various means to control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then kept and repeated until they hardened into fixed ceremonies. Eventually stories arose which explained the mysteries of the ceremonies. As time passed some ceremonies were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, remained and provided material for art and drama.

　　　 Those who believe that drama evolved out of ceremony also argue that those ceremonies contained the seed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used. Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances and when the entire community did not participate, a clear division was usually made between the "acting area" and the "auditorium " . In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the performing of ceremonies, religious leaders usually took that task.. Wearing masks and costumes, they often acted other people, animals, or supernatural beings, and imitated the desired effect -- success in hunt or battle, the coming rain, etc. as an actor might. Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious activities.

　　　 Another theory traces(追溯) the theater's origin from the human interest in storytelling. According to this view, tales (about the hunt, war, etc) are gradually developed, at first through the use of action and dialogue, and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely related theory traces theater to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds.