Question

  Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end. In many ways, this is __36__ for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same __37_ night after night. One would __3_8_ them to know their parts by heart and __39__ have cause to falter（结巴）. Yet __40_ is not always the case.

A famous actor in a __41_successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat __42_ had been imprisoned in Bastille for twenty years. In the last act, a jailer ( 监狱长，看守) would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner. __43_ the noble was expected to read the letter at each __44_ , he always insisted that it should be written out in full.

One night, the jailer decided to play a joke __45_ his colleague to find out if , after so many performances, he had managed to learn the __46_ of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed (使暴露) the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just  then, the jailer __47___ with the precious letter in his hands. He entered the __48__ and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in __49__ as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper. The jailer looked on eagerly, __50__ to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds. Then, squinting (眯着眼看) his eyes, he said, “ The light is __51_. Read the letter to me.” And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the jailer. __52_ that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the jailer replied, “The light is indeed dim , sir. I must get my __53_” With this, he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat’s __54_ , the jailer returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the __55__ copy of the letter which he proceeded (继续进行) to read to the prisoner.

36. A. fortunate	`B. unfortunate	C. happy	D. unhappy
37. A. lines	B. words	C. plays	D. roles
38. A. want	B. ask	C. expect	D. wish
39. A. always	B. never	C. sometimes	D. often
40. A. such	B. the thing	C. one	D. this
41. A. highly	B. high	C. poorly	D. poor
42. A. where	B. what	C. which	D. who
43. A. Because	B. Even though	C. When	D. Though
44. A. play	B. performance	C. role	D. case
45. A. with	B. in	C. on	D. to
46. A. pages	B. joke	C. lines	D. contents
47. A. appeared	B. disappointed	C. came out	D. came in
48. A. room	B. cell	C. stage	D. office
49. A. English	B. French	C. order	D. full
50. A. worried	B. surprised	C. anxious	D. afraid
51. A. bright	B. dim	C. dark	D. out
52. A. To see	B. To find	C. Seeing	D. Finding
53. A. glasses	B. lines	C. light	D. letters
54. A. surprise	B. satisfaction	C. anger	D. amusement
55. A. usua	B. old	C. unusual	D. new

Answer 1

36、选B。 剧目获得成功，以至连续上演好几年，这对可怜的演员来说可倒霉了。根据文中的poor及下文中所讲他们必须重复同样的台词，故选unfortunate (不幸的、倒霉的)。

37、选A。 lines = a row of written words on a printed page  此处指台词。

38、选C。 expect 表示“预料、预期”。人们总认为一定台词背得滚瓜烂熟了。

39、选B。人们认为演员们在舞台上台词记得很熟，是不会卡壳的。

40、选D。 this 代指前面所说的情况。

41、选A。 high意为“高的”，一般指具体高度；highly意为“高度的、极”，多用于动词派剩之形容词前。highly successful play 指一部获得相当成功的剧目。

42.D。 定语从句，先行词为人，故用who 引导。

43.B。此句意为： 尽管那个贵族每场戏都得念那封信，但他还是坚持要求将信的全文写在纸上。even though 引导让步状语从句，比though 语气更强。

44.选B。根据下文中的after so many performances可得出。

45.选C。 play a joke on sb 指“跟某人开玩笑”。

46选D。 learn the contents of the letter by heart指背住信的内容。contents表示“内容”。

47.选A。 appeared 此处指“出场、上场”。

48选A。 cell意为“牢房“，根据上下文可确定。

49选D。根据文中 He always insisted that it should be written out in full可确定。

50选C。 be anxious to do sth 指“急切的、渴望的“。扮演狱卒的演员急于想了解他的同事是否背熟了台词。

51选B。因为背不住台词，这名扮演贵族的演员只好用“光线太暗”来作托辞。

52选D。 扮演狱卒的演员也记不住台词，因此他找了个拿眼镜的借口。分词短语作状语，表示时间。

53选A。 根据下文 with a pair of glasses可确定。

54选D。“ to one’s + 表示情感的名词”这一结构，表示“使某人…..的”。此处指扮演狱卒的演员的表现使得扮演贵族的演员感到很可笑。

55选A。 the usual copy of the letter 指平时舞台上经常使用的那封信。