Even people who don"t understand English can enjoy Chaplin"s films because they are mostly silent. It
isn"t what he says that makes us laugh. It depends upon actions which mean the same thing to people all
over the world. He is master of the art - a kind of world language.
As a young man, he and his brother traveled to America in a small company of actors. Chaplin was
then invited to join a new company that was making film comedies. Very soon he had made dozens of
short films for this company. And it was in his second film that he wore the clothes which made his
reputation - black hat, tight coat, baggy trousers, huge shoes, moustache and walking stick. He intended
simply to make people laugh. But the odd make-up made him look both comic and sad.
By the time he was thirty, Chaplin was the greatest, best known and best loved comedian in the world. He received thousands of dollars for each film he made. He had formed his own manner of acting. He was welcomed by excited crowds wherever he went. But he worked very hard and had few close friends.
Perhaps that is why the sad side of the little tramp began to show more clearly in the films he made. The
little man began to want more than food and a roof over his head. He began to want love.
In one of his most famous films "The Gold Rush" a girl plays tricks on the little man. Then she begins
to feel sorry for him and treats him kindly. He mistakes her pity for love. The girl in "City Lights" is blind. She thinks he is the most wonderful man she has ever met. But then she recovers her sight and sees what
a foolish figure he is. This sadness gives Chaplin"s films a depth of human experience which few comedians can equal.
After living in America for forty years he moved to Switzerland. There he died on Christmas Day
1977. He once described himself as a citizen of famous pictures that were made during the 1920s and
1930s, the time of the silent films. But, to many people all over the world Chaplin will always be the king
of comedy.
B. A man who is head of a house or a family.
C. A man of great skill in art or work.
D. A skilled workman with his own business.
A. was famous
B. didn"t want to have friends
C. was not good at making friends
D. spent most of his time in working and had no time to make friends
B. a girl and little man
C. a little man
D. a wonderful man
B. in the 1930s
C. in the 1970s
D. after the 1930s
B. Chaplin made a lot of money.
C. He didn"t live in the same country.
D. He became famous in a short time
Norah had a cottage on a cliff (悬崖) above a big bay. In winter it could be very unpleasant because
of strong winds and sea waves. In fact, when a gale was blowing, Norah and her husband got used to
sleeping in a small room downstairs, because their bedroom upstairs, which faced the gales, had a very
big window, and they were afraid that an extra violent wind might break it and blow pieces of broken
glass over them.
Also, the salt wave from the sea put an end to many of the colorful plants Norah planted in her garden. She tried putting up a fence to protect them, but the wind just hit it, went up over the top and then down
the other side, so in the end she filled the garden with trees and bushes that liked salt.
But most of the summer Norah enjoyed her cottage and garden very much. At weekends she could sit
out-of-doors in the sun, looking at the beautiful view, with interesting ships and boats passing by, and she
could very easily cycle down to the sea for a swim.
Now, Norah and her husband had plenty of friends and relations. In the summer lots of them used to
come to enjoy the beautiful place, and in the end it really became quite annoying for the couple. When
they were at home, they found friends and relations arriving, expecting to be given unlimited drinks and
meals, and to sit in the sun for hours, talking as if Norah and her husband had nothing else to do but
entertain and listen to them.
This went on for several years. Norah didn"t wish to appear rude by refusing to let her friends and
relations in, but on the other hand, she was getting tired every summer.
Then one day Norah was complaining about this to her hairdresser while she was doing her hair. "You"re
disturbed by too many uninvited guests, are you?" said the hairdresser. "Why don"t you try my way of
escaping?"
"What"s that?" asked Norah.
"Well," the hairdresser answered, "when the bell rings, I put on my coat and take my shopping bag. If
it"s someone I don"t want to see, I say innocently, "I"m sorry, but I"ve got to go out." But…
B. ship
C. sea
D. animal
B. few friends came to visit them in winter
C. friends came to visit them only for drinks and meals
D. Norah was a good cook
B. She walked there.
C. She swam there.
D. She went there by bicycle.
B. if it"s someone I like to see, I say "How lucky! I"ve just come in!"
C. if it is fine that day, I say, "I"m tired of this, but I"ll show you around the place."
D. if it"s someone I like to see, I say, "How happy to see you! But I was going shopping now ."
B. A Visit to Norah
C. A clever Way of Escaping
D. A Warm-hearted Couple
immediately and would have done anything to have 2 the words back.What she said hurt the friend so
much that this good woman was herself hu
rt for the 3 she caused.In an effort to 4 the bad effect of what she had done, she went to an older, wiser woman in the village, explained her situation, and asked
for advice.
The older woman listened patiently in an effort to determine just how 5 the younger woman was,
how far she was willing to go to correct the situation.She 6 the younger woman"s unhappiness and knew
she must help her.She also knew she could never 7 the pain, but she could teach.She knew the 8
would depend only on the character of the younger woman.She said, "Tonight, take your best feather
pillows and put a(n) 9 feather on the doorstep of each house in the town before the sun rises."
The young woman hurried home to prepare for her work, even though the feather pillows were very
10 to her.All night long, she 11 alone in the cold.Finally the sky was getting 12 , she placed the last
feather on the steps of the last house.Just as the sun rose, she 13 to the older woman."Now", said the
wise woman, "go back and 14 your pillows with the feathers you have put on the 15 , then everything
will be as it was before."
"You know that"s impossible! The wind 16 away each fe
ather as fast as I placed them on the doorsteps!" the young woman was 17 .
"That"s true," said the older woman."Never forget.Each of your words is like a feather in the wind. 18
spoken, no amount of effort, regardless how heartfelt or sincere, can never return them to your mouth. 19
your words well and guard them most of all in the 20 of those of you love".
| ( )1. A. admitted ( )2. A. brought ( )3. A. depression ( )4. A. have ( )5. A. sincere ( )6. A. understood ( )7. A. ease ( )8. A. relationship ( )9. A. simple ( )10. A. dear ( )11. A. waited ( )12. A. sunny ( )13. A. referred ( )14. A. refill ( )15. A. stairs ( )16. A. put ( )17. A. puzzled ( )18. A. Although ( )19. A. Speak ( )20. A. presence | B. denied B. taken B. misunderstanding B. forget B. sad B. sensed B. forget B. friendship B. average B. usual B. laboured B. light B. attended B. repair B. feathers B. gave B. dissatisfied B. While B. Choose B. eye | C. responded C. turned C. pain C. ignore C. innocent C. discovered C. solve C. outcome C. common C. ordinary C. struggled C. warmer C. appealed C. refresh C. steps C. blew C. disappointed C. Once C. Say C. case | D. regretted D. given D. conflict D. remove D. guilty D. shared D. handle D. situation D. single D. significant D. stayed D. dark D. returned D. reunite D. windows D. faded D. surprised D. Unless D. Guide D. charge | |||||||||||
| 完形填空。 | ||||||||||||||
| I saw the old man, with his untidy clothes and messy hair, as he dashed between the rows of the department store. He was trying to be ordinary but he was hard not to 1 . He 2 the saleswoman and with a slight 3_, possibly German, asked where the women"s shoes were sold. "Fourth floor." She responded in a voice I could hear 10 miles away. "Pardon? Where did you say they were?" he asked again, apparently 4_. Clearly the old man was somewhat 5 "Fourth floor, sir," the friendly saleswoman replied patiently, this time so _6_ that customers turned to see what was causing the _7 . I continued watching as the man thanked the saleswoman and 8 for what I assumed was the fourth floor. But rather than walk to the 9 or the lift, he dashed behind a shelf, took out a notebook and started writing hurriedly, with an almost mad 10 on his face. Then he went straight up to another saleswoman and asked where the women"s shoes were sold. Again he asked her to 11 the answer and once more he walked away and took down some notes. He did this three more times before a department store 12 , thinking him mad, removed him from the store. But rather than be 13 , the old man departed with a huge smile on his face. Although the incident was 14 , it was not until a year later, during my first year of university, that I gave it any further 15_. I walked into my language classroom and met my professor. It was that very same man. | ||||||||||||||
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