A poet and artist ________ coming to speak to us about Chinese literature and painting tomorrow afternoon.（2006年江苏高考）

A. is             B. are            C. was         D. were

A poet and artist _____ coming to speak to us about Chinese literature and painting tomorrow afternoon.

A. is               B. are          C. was             D. were

A poet and artist ____ coming to speak to us about Chinese literature and painting tomorrow afternoon.

A.is                 B.are               C.was               D.were

阅读表达。阅读下面的短文，并根据文章后的要求答题。（请注意问题后的词数要求）

A poet is in his words

The writings of William Shakespeare are today little read by young people in Britian. His young readership is limited to those who choose to study literature at university.

 Still, in British schools, ____________ to study the poet, and when something is made compulsory, usually the result is boredom, resentment or both. Shakespeare, Chareles Dickens, Jane Austen－for many of the young, reading them can seem like being forced to eat medicine, especially when people are at an age when they are beginning to discover themselves and wanting to claim their independence.

 This was my experience of the classics at school. But when I reached my late teenage years, I had a change of heart. Like every other young person since the dawn of time, the world confused me. I wanted answers, so I turned to books to find them.

 I went on to take a PhD in literature and have taught the subject in universities in Britain and China. I have never regretted it. There is something in literature that people want, even if they don’t read books.

 You see this in the popularity of TV and movie adaptations of great works, the recent film version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice being a case in point. These popular adaptations may help increase people’s interest in the classic.

 Reading a simplified Romeo and Juliet may perhaps lead to a reading of Shakespeare’s actual play. If that is the case then I welcome the trend. But do not make the mistake of thinking that it is the same thing. Shakespeare is a poet and his greatness is in his language. Reading someone else’s rewriting of his work is like peeling (剥皮) a banana, throwing away the fruit, and eating the skin. Take on the original. It really is worth the effort.                                                                             

Find a sentence from the text which can explain the title.

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Fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words to complete the sentence. (within 5 words)

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Why are the adaptations of great works popular?

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Do you think it necessary to read the original? Why? (within 30 words)

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Translate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph into Chinese.

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 A poet and artist ________ coming to speak to us about Chinese literature tomorrow.

A. is　　　B. are　　　C. was　　　D. were