Tens of thousands of theatre tickets will be given away to young people next year as part of a government campaign to inspire a lifelong love for theatre.
The plan to offer free seats to people aged between 18 to 26—funded with £2.5 million of taxpayers’ money—was announced yesterday by Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary. It received a cautious welcome from some in the arts world, who expressed concern that the tickets may not reach the most underprivileged.
The plan comes as West End theatres are enjoying record audiences, thanks largely to musicals teaming up with television talent shows. Attendances reached. 13.6 million in 2007, up 10 percent on 2006, itself a record year. Total sales were up 18 percent on 2006 to almost £470 million.
One theatre source criticised the Government’s priorities(优先考虑的事) in funding free tickets when pensioners were struggling to buy food and fuel, saying: “I don’t know why the Government’s wasting money on this. The Yong Vic, as The Times reported today, offers excellent performances at cheap prices.”
There was praise for the Government’s plan from Dominic Cooke of the Royal Court Theatre, who said: “I support any move to get young people into theatre, and especially one that aims to do it all over England, not just in London.”
Ninety-five publicly funded theatres could apply for funding under the two-year plan. In return, they will offer free tickets on at least one day each week to 18 to 26-year-olds, first-come, first-served. It is likely to be on Mondays, traditionally a quiet night for the theatre.
Mr. Burnham said: “A young person attending the theatre can find it an exciting experience, and be inspired to explore a new world. But sometimes people miss out on it because they fear it’s ‘not for them’. It’s time to change this perception.”
Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Culture Secretary, said: “The real issue is not getting enthusiastic children into the theatre, but improving arts education so that more young people want to go in the first place. For too many children theatres are a no-go area.”
Critics of the plan argued that ______.
| A．the theatres would be overcrowded |
| B．it would be a waste of money |
| C．pensioners wouldn’t get free tickets |
| D．the government wouldn’t be able to afford it |
According to the supporters, the plan should ______.
| A．benefit the television industry |
| B．focus on producing better plays |
| C．help increase the sales of tickets |
| D．involve all the young people in England |
Which of the following is TRUE about the plan?
| A．Ninety-five theatres have received funding. |
| B．Everyone will get at least one free ticket. |
| C．It may not benefit all the young people. |
| D．Free tickets are offered once every day. |
We can infer from the passage that in England ______.
| A．many plays are not for young people |
| B．many young people don’t like theatre |
| C．people know little about the plan |
| D．children used to receive good arts education |
According to the passage, the issue to offer free tickets to young people seems ______.
| A．controversial | B．inspiring | C．exciting | D．unreasonable |
Life is difficult.
It is a great truth because once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult.
Most do not fully see this truth. Instead they complain about their problems and difficulties as if life should be easy. It seems to them that their difficulties represent(代表) a special kind of suffering especially forced upon them or else upon their families, their class, or even their nation.
What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one. Problems,
depending on their nature, cause in us sadness or loneliness or regret or anger or fear. These are uncomfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain. And since life causes an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.
Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the serious test that tells success from failure. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we encourage the human ability(能力) to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Those things that hurt, instruct.” It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems.
1.From the passage, it can be inferred that __________.
A. everybody has problems
B. we become stronger by facing and solving the problems of life
C. life is difficult because our problems bring us pain
D. people like to complain about their problems
2.The main idea of paragraph 3 is __________.
A. most people feel life is easy B. the writer feels life is easy
C. the writer likes to complain about his problems
D. most people complain about how hard their lives are
3. According to the passage, we give school children difficult problems to solve in order to __________.
A. encourage them to learn
B. teach them to fear the pain of solving problems
C. help them learn to deal with pain
D. teach them how to respect for problems
4.The saying from Benjamin Franklin “Those things that hurt, instruct.” suggests that __________.
A. we do not learn from experience B. we do not learn when we are in pain
C. pain teaches us important lessons D. pain cannot be avoided
第二部分阅读理解（共15小题；第一节每小题2分，满分30分）
第一节阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Primary source Holiday Shopping Night at Ten Thousand Villages Brookline
●Shop for four holiday gifts and give back go primary Source at TenThousand Village on Friday, December 4! 15% of all sales from 3:00p.m.---7:00p.m. that day will be donated to Primary Source. Join us for light refreshments and enjoy beautiful handmade gifts from artisans around the world. All are welcome!
Primary Source’s Holiday Shopping Night
Friday, December 4,2009
3:00p.m.---7:00p.m.
Ten Thousand Villages
226 Harvard Street, Brookline, Massachusetts (Coolidge Corner)
Download our flyer and tell your friends!
Ten Thousand Villages provides vital, fair income for the people from developing countries by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America. Learn more and preview toys, home décor（家庭装修）, jewelry, and other gifts online.
●Can’t join us on Dec.4? At Goodshop, 30% of your spending will be given go to Primary Source. The next time you’re ready to make an online purchase, visit www.goodshop.com and enter “Primary Source” in the space provided. Click “verify” and choose from more than seven hundred popular stores and sites, from Apple to Zappos. Goodshop is free and easy to use, and each purchase you make will help Primary Source provide global education materials for schools all over New England.
1．What is ten thousand villages?
A．A town B．A website C．A shop D．An organization
2．The underlined word “flyer” probably means ________.
A．a software B．an e-book C．a ticket D．an advertisement
3．If you pay $10 for a gift at GoodShop , ________ in the end.
A．7 dollars will go to GoodShop B．3 dollars will go to GoodShop
C．7 dollars will go to Primary Source D．10 dollars will go to schools in New England
Life is difficult.
It is a great truth because once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult.
Most do not fully see this truth. Instead they complain about their problems and difficulties as if life should be easy. It seems to them that their difficulties represent(代表) a special kind of suffering especially forced upon them or else upon their families, their class, or even their nation.
What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one. Problems,
depending on their nature, cause in us sadness or loneliness or regret or anger or fear. These are uncomfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain. And since life causes an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.
Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the serious test that tells success from failure. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we encourage the human ability(能力) to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Those things that hurt, instruct.” It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems.
1．From the passage, it can be inferred that __________.
A. everybody has problems
B. we become stronger by facing and solving the problems of life
C. life is difficult because our problems bring us pain
D. people like to complain about their problems
2.The main idea of paragraph 3 is __________.
A. most people feel life is easy B. the writer feels life is easy
C. the writer likes to complain about his problems
D. most people complain about how hard their lives are
3. According to the passage, we give school children difficult problems to solve in order to __________.
A. encourage them to learn
B. teach them to fear the pain of solving problems
C. help them learn to deal with pain
D. teach them how to respect for problems
4.The saying from Benjamin Franklin “Those things that hurt, instruct.” suggests that __________.
A. we do not learn from experience B. we do not learn when we are in pain
C. pain teaches us important lessons D. pain cannot be avoided
Primary source Holiday Shopping Night at Ten Thousand Villages Brookline
●Shop for four holiday gifts and give back go primary Source at TenThousand Village on Friday, December 4! 15% of all sales from 3:00p.m.---7:00p.m. that day will be donated to Primary Source. Join us for light refreshments and enjoy beautiful handmade gifts from artisans around the world. All are welcome!
Primary Source’s Holiday Shopping Night
Friday, December 4,2009
3:00p.m.---7:00p.m.
Ten Thousand Villages
226 Harvard Street, Brookline, Massachusetts (Coolidge Corner)
Download our flyer and tell your friends!
Ten Thousand Villages provides vital, fair income for the people from developing countries by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America. Learn more and preview toys, home décor（家庭装修）, jewelry, and other gifts online.
●Can’t join us on Dec.4? At Goodshop, 30% of your spending will be given go to Primary Source. The next time you’re ready to make an online purchase, visit www.goodshop.com and enter “Primary Source” in the space provided. Click “verify” and choose from more than seven hundred popular stores and sites, from Apple to Zappos. Goodshop is free and easy to use, and each purchase you make will help Primary Source provide global education materials for schools all over New England.
1．hat is ten thousand villages?
A．A town B．A website C．A shop D．An organization
2．he underlined word “flyer” probably means ________.
A．a software B．an e-book C．a ticket D．an advertisement
3．f you pay $10 for a gift at GoodShop , ________ in the end.
A．7 dollars will go to GoodShop B．3 dollars will go to GoodShop
C．7 dollars will go to Primary Source D．10 dollars will go to schools in New England
A T-shirt a day has kept unemployment away for an American man who is making about $85,000 a year by selling advertising space on his shirt．
Jason Sadler, 26, was once a former marketing expert from Florida. In 2008, he founded his own company, “iwearyourshirt”, with the idea to wear a T-shirt supplied by any company and then use social media tools to develop the company . Sadler charges the “face value”of the day for his human billboard (广告牌) service. So January 1 costs $1, while December 31 costs $365. He said this may not sound like a lot, but it adds up to $66,795 a year if he sells out every day, which he did this year. He also sells monthly sponsorships(赞助) for $1,500, adding another $18,000 to his income.
“I walk around, take photos, wear the shirt all day … I blog about those photos, I put them up on Twitter, I change my Facebook introduction…and then I do a Youtube video. I made about $83,000 this year,” he told Reuters Television. The average U.S income is about $615 a week or about $32,000 a year ,according to the U.S government.
Sadler has already begun to plan for his year 2010. He is making services larger by hiring another person to wear a shirt a day on the west coast of the United States.
1．hat is Sadler’s “face value” of the day December 30?
A．$364. B．$365. C．$615. D．$1,500.
2．t can be inferred that Sadler didn’t advertise on ________.
A．Twitter B．Facebook C．Youtube D．Reuters
3．ason Sadler has a new plan to ________ for the year 2010.
A．employ another person to replace him B．start his business on the west coast
C．stay at home on the east coast D．double the charge for the service
4．he passage is mainly about ________ in a new way.
A．taking photos B．writing blogs C．making money D．selling T-shirts