LONDON: The Edinburgh Festival, the biggest arts festival of its kind in the world, got under way in the Scotland capital on Sunday with a concert that included Hector Berlionz's To Deum, under the direction of Christoph von Dohnanyi.
The festival, which runs until August 31 this year, includes as its high points Peter Stein’s staging of Wagner’s Parsifal, with Claudio Abbado directing the Gustav Mahler youth orchestra. The concert programme includes American pianist Richard Goode, bass baritone Thomas Quasthoff and violinist Christian Tetzlaff. New to the programmes this year will be 25 late evening classical music concerts.
Earlier this month, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest show-case in the world for performance art, officially got under way with theatre, dance, poetry and music presentations.
Many of the fringe artists, who can enter the fringe festival upon payment of a small fee, were inspired this year by the event of September 11.
Thousands of people flock to Edinburgh from around the world during the festival, which is over 50 years old. It aims to promote and encourage arts and to reflect international culture. It consists of various dance, music, opera, and theatre presentation taking place across the city during the three-week run.
1.Who will perform in the concert on Sunday?
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A．Hector Berlionz |
B．Christoph von Dohnanyi |
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C．Claudio Abbado |
D．Christian Tetzlaff |
2.When did the Edinburgh Festival begin?
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A．August 10. |
B．August 15. |
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C．August 31. |
D．September 11. |
3. What did the Edinburgh Festival never have before?
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A．Youth orchestra’s performances. |
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B．Poetry and music presentations. |
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C．Late evening classical music concerts. |
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D．Performances of American pianists and violinists. |
4.Which of the following statements about the Edinburgh Festival is true?
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A．It is the only festival of its kind in the world. |
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B．The artists who want to take part in the festival have to pay a small amount of money. |
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C．People who attend the festival are all from Scotland. |
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D．It is actually a dance festival. |
People who have lost the ability to understand or use words due to brain damage are called aphasics(失语症患者). Such patients can be extremely good at something else. From the changing expressions on speakers’ faces and the tones of their voices, they can tell lies from truths.
Doctors studying the human brain have given a number of examples of this amazing power of aphasics. Some have even compared this power to that of a dog with an ability to find out the drugs hidden in the baggage.
Recently, scientists carried out tests to see if all that was said about aphasics was true. They studied a mixed group of people. Some were normal; others were aphasics. It was proved that the aphasics were far ahead of the normal people in recognizing false speeches — in most cases, the normal people were fooled by words, but the aphasics were not.
Some years ago, Dr. Oliver Sacks wrote in his book about his experiences with aphasics. He mentioned a particular case in a hospital. Some aphasics were watching the president giving a speech on TV. Since the president had been an actor earlier, making a good speech was no problem for him. He was trying to put his feelings into every word of his speech.
But his way of speaking had the opposite effect on the patients. They didn’t seem to believe him. Instead, they burst into laughter. The aphasics knew that the president did not mean a word of what he was saying. He was lying!
Many doctors see aphasics as people who are not completely normal because they lack the ability to understand words. However, according to Dr. Sacks, they are more gifted than normal people. Normal people may get carried away by words. Aphasics seem to understand human expressions better, though they cannot understand words.
1.What is so surprising about aphasics?
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A．They can fool other people. |
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B．They can find out the hidden drugs. |
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C．They can tell whether people are lying. |
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D．They can understand language better. |
2. How did the scientists study aphasics?
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A．By asking them to watch TV together. |
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B．By comparing them with normal people. |
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C．By organizing them into acting groups. |
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D．By giving them chances to speak on TV. |
3.What do we learn from this text?
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A．People poor at one thing can be good at another. |
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B．What one says reflects how one feels. |
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C．Aphasics have richer feelings than others. |
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D．Normal people often tell lies in their speeches. |
It was a cool October evening. Excitement and family members （36） the hall. I was only a 7-year-old girl, but I was the center of (37) . Finally, after weeks of preparation, I would (38) all my hard work in a dance of performance. Everything would be (39) —so I thought. I waited backstage all (40 ) in my black tights with a golden belt. In a loud and clear voice, the master of ceremonies (41) that my class was next.
My dance class was doing a routine on wooden boxes two feet by two feet, facing the (42). All I had to do in the next move was to put one foot on the box next to mine and keep my other foot on my box. It really was an (43) move. I was concentrating so much (44) the huge smile on my face and holding my head up that I did not look (45) I was going. I missed my partner’s box altogether and (46) .There I was standing on the stage floor when my classmates were on top of their boxes. I could hear giggles(咯咯笑) coming from the audience, and I felt the (47) rush to my face. I remembered my dance teacher had told us, “If you make a mistake, keep smiling so the audience will not (48) .I did my best to follow her (49) as I continued with the routine.
When the curtain dropped, so did my (50) for the evening. I (51) bitterly, tasting the salt from the tears that streamed down my face. I ran backstage, but no one could (52) me down.
Recently I realized I had been a (53) that night. I was (54) but I fought the urge to run off the stage. (55) I finished the routine with a smile on my face. Now when friends and family laugh about the time I slipped during a dance performance, I can laugh too.
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Not until the 11th century, when a young lady brought a fork to Italy, _______.
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A．and the custom reached Europe. |
B．that the custom reached Europe. |
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C．did the custom reach Europe. |
D．so did the custom reach Europe. |
On August 12,2009, Typhoon Morakot swept across Taiwan island, _____ a lot of villages _____.
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A．leaving; damaged. |
B．left; damaged. |
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C．left; damaging. |
D．leaving; damaging. |
It is so heavy a box _____ no one can move.
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A．that. |
B．which. |
C．as. |
D．what. |
