Everyone knows what it feels like to be hungry, though few of us

can imagine the pain of starvation． But the new movie Back to 1942,

directed by Feng Xiaogang, who is perhaps China's most clever

commercial movie director, brings this pain to life． For some, Feng may

be too commercial at timcs． But with his new movie Back to1942, Feng

might avoid such criticism． The film, based on a novel by Liu Zhenyun,

makes the audiences aware of China's history and the difficult times our

ancestors faced when more than 3 million people lost their lives in 1942,

a time when China was engaged in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression （1937—1945） ．

This historic background provides the perfect material to create a wonderful movie． And Feng is no stranger to using exciting elements, such as destructive natural disasters as seen in Aftershock（《唐山大地震》） and thrilling battle scenes as seen in Assembly（《集结号》）． Combined with a strong cast, which includes Xu Fan, Zhang Guoli, Chen Daoming and Zhang Hanyu, it is almost certain that these elements will ensure the movie becomes a major box office hit, at least in China．

But this time, Feng seems to have set his eyes on the international market as well．Joininng the strong Chinese cast are two big names from Hollywood: Tim Robbins who plays a Catholic priest and Adrien Brody who plays American journalist Theodore White． Many of the movie's scenes, like the ones showing the bombing attacks by the Japanese army, are very Hollywood-style, both in terms of their scale and technical level．

But somehow, the movie, like many of its kind, such as White Deer Plain（《白鹿原》）, falls short on generating an emotional impact． It seems to conflrm the old saying "one man dying is a tragedy, but a million deaths is a statistic figure"．

In the end, the movie pictures a legend that will undoubtedly be treasured at home and; most likely, be filed abroad as another lesson in modern Chinese history-but one well worth remembering and learning from．

Feng, famous for directing comedies, has spent 10 years preparing for his latest work． When asked why he had been so determined to make the movie, Feng told, "China has gone through numerous disasters, but the whole nation Jacks introspection（反省） on the sufferings, so I hope that audiences, especially young people, can learn more about the troubled history of the country．"

56． What is the passage mainly about?

　　　 A． An introduction to Feng Xiaogang's successful career．

　　　 B． A brief account of Feng Xiaogang's new movie Back to 1942．

　　　 C． An analysis of the reasons why Back to 1942 must also make a handsome profit．

D． A brief description of the difference between Back to 1942 and Feng's former works．

57． The underlined word "hit" in Para．2 probably means　　　　 ．　　　　 　　　　　

A．success　　 　 B．injury　　　 　 C．beat　　 D．progress

58． Feng's Back to1942 differs from his previous movies mainly in its　　　　　　 .

　　　 A． strong cast B． historic background

　　　 C． mtemational elements　　　　　　 　 D． emotional impacts

59． Which of the following best describes the author's attitude towards Back t0 1942 ?

　　　 A． Prejudiced． B． Objective． C． Cautious． D． Disappointed．

　　阅读理解：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项．

The Challenge

　　Nathan's second-hand bike was good enough to get him anywhere he wanted to go. Of course, it couldn't match Tim's in a normal speed race, but all the fancy gears in the world wouldn't get you up Black Mountain. The gradient was so steep in places that you had to get off your bike and push.

　　On this particular afternoon, the odds were all on Nathan's side. For a start, he was stronger. Tim had always been thin, but recently he'd started to grow so fast that his arms and legs were like pieces of spaghetti. As well as being considerably fitter than his friend, Nathan knew the shortcuts up Black Mountain.

　　So when Nathan accepted the challenge, he was sure he'd win. He nearly always did, in competitions with Tim. That was what was strange. Tim was so competitive, and yet he wasn't any good at physical things.

　　By the time the two boys were three quarters of the way to the top, Nathan was clearly ahead. While the road zig-zagged back and forth diagonally up the mountainside, in certain places there were also vertical tracks, where water rushing down the slope in winter had bitten erosion courses into the soil. These had in turn been so overgrown by bushes and long grass in the spring that they resembled tunnels through the bush. The trick was to know where you could cut off a whole bend in the road by leaving the road and pushing your bike up one of these semi-concealed pathways. If you chose the wrong one you'd struggle up for ten minutes and then suddenly reach a dead end. Then there was no alternative but to go back.

1．The hidden tracks on the mountain had been made by________.

[　　]

2．It was sometimes quicker to use the tracks rather than the road because the________.

[　　]

A．tracks were partly hidden

B．tracks were easier to ride bikes on

C．road had many bends in it

D．road was overgrown after the winter

3．Which of the following advantages did Nathan have over Tim?

[　　]

A．Nathan had a better bike and knew the shortcuts up the mountain.

B．Nathan was fitter and knew the quickest ways up the mountain.

C．Nathan was stronger and more competitive than Tim.

D．Nathan was stronger and had a better bike.

4．The underlined part “the odds were all on Nathan's side” means that ________.

[　　]

A．Tim would not try very hard in the race

B．Tim had not yet grown as big as Nathan

C．Nathan had a greater chance of winning the challenge

D．Nathan had more friends who thought he would win

阅读理解

　　Mathew lived in a big city, and he always had his hair cut by the same hairdresser once a month. The hairdresser had a very small shop near Mathew's office, and he worked alone, but he always cut Mathew's hair exactly as Mathew liked .

　　The hairdresser was an old man. One day he said, ‘Mathew, I'm going to sell my shop to a young man who wants to be a hairdresser or I'm going to retire next month.’

　　Mathew was very sad to hear this, because he enjoyed talking to the old man about football or cricket, and he was also worried that his hair would not be cut as well by the new young man as it had been for so many years by his old friend .

　　He went to the shop again. after the young man finished his work, Mathew looked into the mirror, disappointed.

　　The next month Mathew went into the shop again. The young man asked him how he would like his haircut, and Mathew answered, “Please cut it very short on the right side, but leave it as it is on the left. It must cover my ear. On top, cut all the hair away in the middle, but leave a piece at the front which can hang down to my chin(下巴).”

　　The young man was very surprised when he heard this, ‘But, sir,’ he said, ‘I can't cut your hair like that!’

　　‘Why not?’Mathew asked,‘That's how you cut it last time.’

1．Mathew always had his hair cut ________.

[　　]

A．in a small shop near his office

B．while he was doing some shopping

C．after he finished doing some shopping

D．in the office where he worked

2．The old hairdresser's age might be ________.

[　　]

3．Mathew felt unhappy at the news that a new young hairdresser would be here, because ________.

[　　]

A．he would lose his old friend

B．he was not sure whether the young man's work would satisfy him

C．he would have no man together with to watch football games

D．no one would play cricket with tim

4．How do you think the young hairdresser would cut Mathew's hair the second time?

[　　]

A．Better than the old hair dresser's work .

B．Even worse .

C．Much better.

D．It's hard to say .

5．What kind of haircut is the best according to Mathew's idea?

[　　]

A．The one Mathew enjoyed most.

B．The one the hairdresser liked .

C．Cut it very short on the right side .

D．Leave a piece at the front .