Mary tiptoed over and took the clock away because she hated to hear it() when she was trying to go to sleep.
C
「句意」玛丽蹑手蹑脚走过来把钟拿走了,因为她讨厌在自己想睡觉的时候听它滴哒地响。
「难点」sound意为“作声,发声,响”;ring意为“鸣,发出清脆响亮的声音“;tick意为“发出滴哒声”;hum意为“发连续低沉的声音(如蜜蜂、马达的嗡嗡声)”。
PASSAGETWO
(1)TheNobelsaretheoriginals,ofcourse.AlfredNobel,themanwhoinventeddeadlyexplosives,decidedtotryanddosomethinggoodwithallthemoneyheearned,andgaveprizestopeoplewhomadeprogressinliterature,science,economicsand—perhapsmostimportantly—peace.
(2)NotallrewardsareasnobleastheNobels.Eventhoughmostcountrieshaveasystemofrecognizing,honoringandrewardingpeoplewhohavedonesomethinggoodintheircountries,therearenowhundredsofawardsandawardceremoniesforallkindsofthings.
(3)TheOscarsareprobablythemostfamous,atimeforthe(mostly)Americanfilmindustrytotellitselfhowgooditisandanannualopportunityforlotsofbigstarstogiveeachotherawardsandmaketearfulspeeches.AswellasthattherearealsotheGoldenGlobes,evidentlyforthesamething.
(4)Butit’snotonlyfilms---therearealsoGrammies,Brits,theMercuryPrizeandtheMTVformusic.InBritain,awriterwhowinstheBookerPrizecanexpecttoseetheirdifficult,literarynovelhitthebestsellerlistsandcompetewiththeDaVinciCodeforpopularity.TheTurnerPrizeisanawardforBritishcontemporaryartists—eachyearitcausescontroversybyapparentlygivinglotsofmoneytoartistswhodothingslikedisplayingtheirbeds,puttinganimalsinglasscasesor—thisyear—buildingagardenshed.
(5)Awardsdon’tonlyexistforarts.TherearenowawardsforSportsPersonalityoftheYear,forEuropeanFootballeroftheYearandWorldFootballeroftheYear.Thisseemsverystrange—sometimesawardscanbegoodtogiverecognitiontopeoplewhodeserveit,ortohelppeoplewhodon’tmakealotofmoneycarryontheirworkwithoutworryingaboutfinances,butprofessionalsoccerplayersthesedayscertainlyaren’tshortofcash!
(6)Manysmalltownsandcommunitiesallovertheworldalsohavetheirownawardceremonies,forlocalwritersorartists,orjustforpeoplewhohavegraduatedfromhighschoolor,gotauniversitydegree.EventheBritishCouncilhasitsownawardsfor“InnovationinEnglishLanguageTeaching”.
(7)Whyhavealltheseawardsandceremoniesappearedrecently?Shakespeareneverwonaprize, nordidLeonardoDaVinciorAdamSmithorCharlesDickens.
(8)Itwouldbepossibletosay,however,thatinthepast,scientistsandartistscouldwin“patronageformrichpeople”—akingoralordwouldgivetheartistsorscientistsmoneytohavethempainttheirpalacesorhelpthemdevelopnewwaysofmakingmoney.Withthechangeinsocialsystemsacrosstheworld,thisnolongerhappens.Alotofscientificresearchisnoweitherfundedbythestateorbyprivatecompanies.
(9)Perhapsawardceremoniesarejustthemostrecentphaseofthisprocess.
(10)However,thereismoretoitthanthat.WhenafilmwinsanOscar,manymorepeoplewillgoandseeit,orbuytheDVD.WhenawriterwinstheNobelPrize,manymorepeoplebuytheirbooks.WhenagroupwinstheMTVawards,theceremonyisseenbyhundredsofthousandsofpeopleacrosstheworld.Theresult?Thegroupsellslotsmorerecords.(11)Mostawardceremoniesarenowsponsoredbybigorganizationsorcompanies.Thismeansthatitisnotonlythepersonwhowinstheawardwhobenefits---butalsothesponsors.TheMTVawards,forexample,aregreatforpublicizingnotonlymusic,butalsoMTVitself!
(12)Onthesurface,itseemstobea“Win-win”situation,witheveryonebeinghappy,butletmeaskyouaquestion—howfardoyouthinkthatpublicityandmarketingarewinninghere,andhowmuchgenuinerecognitionofachievementistakingplace?
1.Whatistheauthor’stonewhenhementionsawardssuchastheOscars,theGoldenGlobesand
Grammies(Paras.3&4)
A.Amused.
B.Appreciative.
C.Sarcastic.
D.Serious.
2.AccordingtoPara.4,whatwouldhappentoawardwinningwriters?
A.Theywouldenjoyamuchlargerreadership.
B.Theywouldturntopopularnovelwriting.
C.Theywouldcontinuenon-fictionwriting.
D.Theywouldtrycontroversialformsofart.
3.WhichofthefollowingstatementsbestsumsupPara.6?
A.Awardsceremoniesareheldforlocalpeople.
B.Awardsceremoniesareheldonimportantoccasions.
C.Awardsceremoniesareheldincertainprofessions.
D.Awardsceremoniesareheldforallsortsofreasons.
4.AccordingtoPara.8,onedifferencebetweenscientistsandartistsinthepastandthoseatpresent
liesin_____________.
A.natureofwork
B.personalcontact
C.sourceoffunding
D.socialstatus
5.ItcanbeconcludedfromPara.12thattheauthorthinksawards________.
A.promotemarketratherthanachievements
B.dogoodtobothmarketandpopularity
C.helpthosewhoarereallytalented
D.areeffectiveinmakingpeoplepopular
Ofcourse,()mostimmigrantsdidnotgetrichovernight,buttheofthemwereeventuallyabletoimproveupontheirformerstandardofliving.
There_____nothingmorefordiscussion,themeetingcametoanendhalfanearlier.
Priceshaverecentlyriseninorderto__________theincreasedcostofrawmaterials.
John'sscoreonthetestisthehighestintheclass;()helastnight.