For a 400-year-old art form, opera had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which were hard to understand in one of those romantic languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $145 a performance, operagoers also had a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.

But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.

Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to associate opera with the common people. That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or bank-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such usual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program.

 

1.Which is the main idea of this passage?

A. Opera is famous for its long history.

B. Opera is only performed for rich people.

C. Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.

D. Young people are not interested in opera.

 

2.The underlined phrase in the second paragraph means _________.

A. breaking up the old rules            B. changing the dresses

C. making the audience at ease      D. advertising themselves

 

3.Opera companies prefer to perform short versions because _________.

A. they can be performed in public libraries                   

B. short versions are easy to perform

C. it is hard to find long versions

D. they can make people interested

 

4.The San Francisco Opera employs students in order to _________.

A. celebrate its 75th anniversary

B. reduce the cost

C. attract young people

D. make Cinderella popular

 

5. From the passage we can infer that _________.

A. the tickets for opera are very expensive

B. opera is performed in a difficult language

C. opera is not so popular an art form today

D. students enjoy performing opera very much

 

In an attempt to save money, some housewives like to go from shop to shop to search for real _______.

A comments            B. champions       C. bargains     D. traditions

 

For a 400-year-old art form, opera had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which were hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $145 a performance, opera goers also had a certain appearance in people's mind: rich, well-dressed and old.
But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.
Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. Because young people don't or won't come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.
The Houston Grand Opera's choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas” shortened versions(剧本) of child-friendly operas. This summer's production is Hansel ＆ Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists' Training Program.
【小题1】 Which is the main idea of this passage？

A． Opera is famous for its long history.

B． Opera is only performed for rich people.

C． Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.

D． Young people are not interested in opera.

【小题2】The underlined phrase in the second paragraph means ______.

A． breaking up the old rules	B． changing the dresses
C． making the audience at ease	D．advertising themselves

【小题3】Opera companies prefer to perform short versions because ______ .

A． they can be performed in public libraries

B． short versions are easy to perform

C． it is hard to find long versions

D． they can make more people come to opera

【小题4】The San Francisco Opera employs students in order to ______.

A． celebrate its 75th anniversary	B． reduce the cost
C． attract young people	D． make Cinderella popular

 

A small town in southwest Britain is banning(禁止) plastic bags in an attempt to help the environment and cut waste—a step that environmentalists believe is a first for Europe.

Shopkeepers in Modbury population 1500,agreed to stop handing out disposable plastic bags to customers on Saturday.They said paper sacks and cloth carrier bags would be offered instead.

Last month,San Franciso became the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags.Internationally,laws to discourage the use of plastic bags have been passed in parts of South Africa and Ireland,where governments either tax shoppers who use them or fine companies that hand them out.Bangladesh already bans them,and so do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages.

Modbury,about 225 miles southwest of London,has also declared a bag amnesty(宽限期),allowing local people to hand in plastic bags that have piled up at home.They will be sent for traveling.

The Modbury ban was the idea of Rebecca Hosking,who saw the effect of bags on marine life while working in the Pacific as a wildlife camerawoman.She said response(反应) in the town so far had been “really positive”.

“Modbury is quite an old-fashioned town and a lot of people have wicker baskets to go out shopping anyway,”Hosking told Sky News Television.

The Worldwatch Institute,an environmental research agency,states that 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year in the United States alone.More than 500 billion are used yearly around the world.

1.What was Rebecca Hosking?

A.A lawyer.                             B.An environmentalist.

C.A sailor.                             D.A photographer.

2.The underlined word “disposable” in the passage probably means _______.

A.acceptable                                B.valuable

C.throw-away                                D.long-lasting

3.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A.most of the people in Modbury continue to use plastic bags

B.fewer and fewer plastic bags will be used in the world

C.San Francisco is the first city to ban plastic bags in the world

D.most countries in the world have passed laws to ban plastic bags

4.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A.Environmental Protection

B.Big Cities Banning Plastic Bags

C.Effect of Plastic Bags on Sea Animals

D.British Town Banning Plastic Bags

 

On Thursday afternoon Mrs. Clarke, dressed for going out, took her handbag with her money and her key in it, pulled the door behind her to lock it and went to the over 60s Club. She always went there on Thursdays. It was a nice outing for an old woman who lived alone.

At six o’clock she came home, let herself in and at once smelt cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke in her house? How? How? Had someone got in? She checked the back door and the windows. All were locked or fastened, as usual. There was no sign of forced entry.

Over a cup of tea she wondered whether someone might have a key that fitted her front door — “a master key” perhaps. So she stayed at home the following Thursday. Nothing happened. Was anyone watching her movements? On the Thursday after that she went out at her usual time, dressed as usual, but she didn’t go to the club. Instead she took a short cut home again, letting herself in through her garden and the back door. She settled down to wait.

It was just after four o’clock when the front door bell rang. Mrs. Clarke was making a cup of tea at the time. The bell rang again, and then she heard her letter-box being pushed open. With the kettle of boiling water in her hand, she moved quietly towards the front door. A long piece of wire appeared through the letter-box, and then a hand. The wire turned and caught around the handle on the door-lock. Mrs. Clarke raised the kettle and poured the water over the hand. There was a shout outside, and the skin seemed to drop off the fingers like a glove. The wire fell to the floor, the hand was pulled back, and Mrs. Clarke heard the sound of running feet. 

1.Mrs. Clarke looked forward to Thursday because       .

A．she worked at a club on the day

B．she had visitors on Thursday

C．she visited a club on Thursday

D．a special visitor came on Thursday

2.What does the expression “a master key” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A．A key to all the doors.

B．A key only to the woman’s door.

C．A key only its master can use.

D．A key not everyone can use.

3.On the third Thursday Mrs. Clarke went out       .

A．because she didn’t want to miss the club again

B．to see if the thief was wandering outside

C．to the club but then changed her mind

D．in an attempt to trick the thief

4.The lock on the front door was one which       .

A．needed a piece of wire to open it

B．could be opened from inside without a key

C．couldn’t be opened without a key

D．used a handle instead of a key