Today in Hollywood ______. A. more television films are produced B. man-mad

Passage Five

Hollywood (好莱坞) is a suburb of the city of Los Angeles (洛杉矶) in California. Until 1908 it was no more than a quiet village on the northern side of the city, but in that year William Selig, one of the first people to make films, set up a film-producing workshop (车间) in Los Angeles. By 1911 , David and William Horsely had set up another one in Hollywood, and at about the same time oil was discovered in the neighborhood. Thus Hollywood quickly became a big district given over to the film industry and to oil wells

The early makers of films found Hollywood a good place for their work because of its clear, sunny, rain-free weather, which allowed pictures to be taken all the year round. Also, it was known that every kind of scene needed for films, whether town, country, sea, desert or snow-capped mountains, could be found within the area of California. Today, when most films can be "shot" (拍摄) under cover by man made lighting, these advantages (优点) are not so important.

In spite of a drop in its importance, Hollywood remains a center of film production although now making more films for television than for the cinema.

52. David and William Horsely ______.

A. were the first to set up a film-producing workshop in Hollywood

B. discovered oil in and around Hollywood

C. followed William Selig to Hollywood and settled down there

D. turned Hollywood into a film producing center of the country

istorians will one day speak of the 20th century as America's "Disney era". Today, it's certainly difficult to think of any other single thing that represents modem America as powerfully as the company that created Mickey Mouse. Globally, brands like Coca-Cola and McDonald's may be more widely known, but neither concludes 20th-century America in quite the same way as Disney.

The reasons for Disney's success are quite a lot, but ultimately the credit belongs to one person - the man who created the cartoon and built the company from nothing, Walt Disney. Ironically, he could not draw particularly well. But he was a genius in other aspects. In business, his greatest skills were his insight and his management ability. After setting himself up in Hollywood, he single-handedly pioneered the concepts of branding and merchandising -- something his company still does brilliantly today.

But what really distinguished Disney was his ability to identify with his audiences. Disney always made sure that his films portrayed the "little boy". He achieved this by creating characters that reflected the hopes and fears of ordinary people.

Disney's other great virtue was the fact that his company -- unlike other big corporations had a human face. His Hollywood studio -- the public heard -- operated just like a democracy, where everyone was on first-name terms and had a say in how things should be run. He was also regarded as a great patriot because not only did his cartoons praise America, but, during World War II, his studios made training films for American soldiers.

The reality, of course, was not so perfect. As the public would later learn, Disney's patriotism had an unpleasant side. After a strike by cartoonists in 1941, he agreed to work for the FBI secretly, identifying and spying on colleagues who he suspected were anti-government.

But, apart from his affiliations with the FBI, Disney was more or less the genuine article. A new book, The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life, confirms that he was very definitely on the side of ordinary people. In the 30s and 40s he voted for Franklin Roosevelt, believing he was a leader of the workers. Also, Disney was not an apologist for the FBI, as some have suggested. In fact, he was suspicious of large, bureaucratic organizations, as is evidenced in films like That Darned Cat.

By the time he died in 1966, Walt Disney was as famous as Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers. To business people and filmmakers, he was a role model; to the public, he was "Uncle Walt" -- the man who had entertained them all their lives, the man who represented all that was good about America.

Walt Disney is believed to possess the following abilities EXCEPT

A．painting.

B．creativity.

C．management.

D．merchandising.

e of entertaining ourselves.

A hundred years ago, before all these devices were invented, if a person wanted to entertain himself with a song or a piece of music, he would have to do the singing himself or pick up a violin and play it. Now, all he has to do is turn on the radio or TV. As a result, singing and music have declined.

Italians used to sing all the time. Now, they only do it in Hollywood movies, Indian movies are mostly a series of songs and dances trapped around silly stories. As a result, they don't do much singing in Indian villages anymore. Indeed, ever since radio first came to life, there has been a terrible decline in amateur (业余的) singing throughout the world.

There are two reasons for this sad decline. One, human beings are astonishingly lazy. Put a lift in a building, and people would rather take it than climb even two flights of steps. Similarly, invent a machine that sings, and people would rather let the machine sing than sing themselves. The other reason is that people are easily embarrassed. When there is a famous, talented musician readily available by pushing a button, which amateur violinist or pianist would want to try to entertain family or friends by himself？

These earnest reflections came to me recently when two CDs arrived in the mail. They are historic recordings of famous writers reading their own works. It was thrilling to hear the voices from a long dead past in the late 19th century. But today, reading out loud anything is no longer common. Today, we sing songs to our children until they are about two, we read simple books to them till they are about five, and once they have learnt to read themselves, we become deaf. We're alive only to the sound of the TV and the stereo (立体声音响).

I count myself extremely lucky to have been born before TV became so common: I was about six before TV appeared. To keep us entertained my mother had to do a good deal of singing and tell us endless tales. It was the same in many other homes. People spoke a language; they sang it, they recited it; it was something they could feel.

Professional actors' performance is extraordinarily revealing. But I still prefer my own reading, because it's mine. For the same reason, people find karaoke (卡拉OK) liberating. It is almost the only electronic thing that gives them back their own voice. Even if their voices are hopelessly out of tune, at least it is meaningful self-entertainment.

The main idea of this passage is that ______.

A．TV and radio can amuse us with beautiful songs and music

B．TV and radio prevent us from self-entertainment

C．people should sing songs and read books aloud themselves

D．parents should sing songs and read books aloud to their children

Which of the following tourist sites is not a Hollywood landmark？

A.Beverly Hills

B.TCL Chinese Theatre

C.the Universal Studios

D.Millennium Dome

A.Hollywood

B.Miami

C.New York

D.Philadelphia

Which of the following reason accounts for the success of Hollywood ？

A.famous stars and directors

B.large amounts of investment

C.all of the options are correct

D.heroic leading roles and unpredictable plots