Shakespeare’s plays fall into three categories.They are（）,（）and history plays.

For any Englishman, there can never be any discussion as to who is the world’s greatest dramatist (剧作家).Only one name can possibly suggest itself to him: that of William Shakespeare.Every Englishman has some knowledge, however slight, of the work of our greatest writer.All of us use words, phrases and quotations from Shakespeare’s writings that have become part of the common property of the English-speaking people.Most of the time we are probably unaware of the source of the words we used, rather like the old lady who was taken to see a performance of Hamlet and complained that it was full of well-known proverbs and quotations.

Shakespeare, more perhaps than any other writer, makes full use of the great resources of the English language.Most of us use about five thousand words in our normal use of English; Shakespeare in his works used about twenty-five thousand.

There is probably no better way for a foreigner to appreciate the richness and variety of the English language than by studying the various ways in which Shakespeare used it.Such a study is well worth the effort (it is not, of course, recommended to beginners) even though some aspects of English usage, and the meaning of many words, have changed since Shakespeare’s day.

1).English people _______.

A.have never discussed who is the world’s greatest dramatist

B.never discuss any issue concerning the world’s greatest dramatist

C.are sure who is the world’s greatest dramatist

D.do not care who is the world’s greatest poet and dramatist

2).Every Englishman knows _______.

A.more or less about Shakespeare

B.Shakespeare, but only slightly

C.all Shakespeare’s writings

D.only the name of the greatest English writer

3).Which of the following is true?

A.We use all the words, phrases and quotations from Shakespeare’s writings.

B.Shakespeare’s writings have become the property of those who are learning to speak English.

C.It is likely to be true that people often do not know the origins of the words they use

D.All the words people use are taken from the writings of Shakespeare.

4).What does the word “proverb” mean?

A.Familiar sayings.

B.Shakespeare’s plays.

C.Complaints.

D.Actors and actresses.

5).Why is it worthwhile to study the various ways in which Shakespeare used English?

A.English words have changed a lot since Shakespeare’s time.

B.By doing so one can be fully aware of the richness of the English language.

C.English words are now being used in the same way as in Shakespeare’s time.

D.Beginners may have difficulty learning some aspects of English usage.

Passage Three

Romeo and Juliet was probably written in 1595, when Shakespeare was a young successful playwright. He had already written comedies and history plays, but had not yet developed his shill in tragedy.

The power of fate is strong to Shakespeare’s play. Chance and evil eventually join to bring tragedy. Chance involves Romeo in a murder, chance prevents a message from reaching Romeo in time, chance brings about a deadly meeting in a cemetery.

Many Elizabethans were followers of astrology(星相术) and believed that the stars could control events. Thus, Romeo and Juliet art referred to as” star-crossed lovers” whose stars doomed(命中注定)them to disaster.

Elizabethans also had a concept of fate in the person of Dame Fortune (命运女神). By spinning her wheel, she could raise the state of a beggar or a lower that of a king. One of the fascinations of Shakespeare is the way in which he put these ideas into the play.

One of the most difficult things to decide about this play is the question of responsibility. Did irresistible fate bring tragedy to Romeo and Juliet, or were they themselves to blame? The fact that this question is not resolved by the author also helps to make Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet a fascinating work.

44. According to Para.1, Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet ____.

A when he succeeded in comedy and history plays

B after he had developed his skill in tragedy

C before he wrote comedies and history plays

D when he was no longer young

此题为判断题(对，错)。

A、three quarters of an hour time

B、three quarter's of an hour time

C、three quarters of an hour's time

D、three quarters'of an hour's time

Who plays soccer every day in Leo’s family?

______________

A.the heroic couplet

B.the free verse

C.the blank verse

D.the Spenserian stanza

Text 2

Stratford-on-Avon, as we all know, has only one industry -- William Shakespeare -- but there are two distinctly separate and increasingly hostile branches. There is the Royal Shakespeare Company (ASC), which presents superb productions of the plays at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre on the Avon. And there are the townsfolk who largely live off the tourists who come, not to see the plays, but to look at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Shakespeare’s birthplace and the other sights.

The worthy residents of Stratford doubt that the theatre adds a penny to their revenue. They frankly dislike the RSC’s actors, them with their long hair and beards and sandals and noisiness. It’s all deliciously ironic when you consider that Shakespeare, who earns their living, was himself an actor (with a beard) and did his share of noise-making.

The tourist streams are not entirely separate. The sightseers who come by bus -- and often take in Warwick Castle and Blenheim Palace on the side -- don’t usually see the plays, and some of them are even surprised to find a theatre in Stratford. However, the playgoers do manage a little sight-seeing along with their playgoing. It is the playgoers, the ESC contends, who bring in much of the town’s revenue because they spend the night (some of them four or five nights) pouring cash into the hotels and restaurants. The sightseers can take in everything and get out of town by nightfall.

The townsfolk don’t see it this way and local council does not contribute directly to the subsidy of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stratford cries poor traditionally. Nevertheless every hotel in town seems to be adding a new wing or cocktail lounge. Hilton is building its own hotel there, which you may be sure will be decorated with Hamlet Hamburger Bars, the Lear Lounge, the Banquo Banqueting Room, and so forth, and will be very expensive.

Anyway, the townsfolk can’t understand why the Royal Shakespeare Company needs a subsidy. (The theatre has broken attendance records for three years in a row. Last year its 1,431 seats were 94 percent occupied all year long and this year they’ll do better.) The reason, of course, is that costs have rocketed and ticket prices have stayed low.

It would be a shame to raise prices too much because it would drive away the young people who are Stratford’s most attractive clientele. They come entirely for the plays, not the sights. They all seem to look alike (though they come from all over) -- lean, pointed, dedicated faces, wearing jeans and sandals, eating their buns and bedding down for the night on the flagstones outside the theatre to buy the 20 seats and 80 standing-room tickets held for the sleepers and sold to them when the box office opens at 10:30 a.m.

26. From the first two Paragraphs, we learn that ________.

[A] the townsfolk deny the RSC’s contribution to the town’s revenue

[B] the actors of the RSC imitate Shakespeare on and off stage

[C] the two branches of the RSC are not on good terms

[D] the townsfolk earn little from tourism

A、three minutes' away

B、three minutes' walk

C、three minute's away

D、three minute's walk

The author's opinion on Machiavelli's History of Florence is that

[A] history has much to do with the person who records it.

[B] the charm lies in the style. rather than in the content.

[ C] most people failed to read Machiavelli's intention in it.

[D] any history of this kind should be written in this way.

Let’s assume you ______ one of those categories.

A: fall down

B: fall off

C: fall into

D: fall in