湖北专升本英语每日一练（5月18日）

Passage 2

In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.

It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras (交响乐团). It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.

At the same time, the “Fringe” (艺穗节) appeared as a challenge to the official festival. Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years.

Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.

Today the “Fringe”, once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959, with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big.

A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries and more than 1.25 million tickets were sold.

86. Why was Edinburgh Festival held in 1947?

A. To attract theatre groups in Europe.

B. To bring Europe together again.

C. To introduce symphony orchestras.

D. To honor the Second World War.

【答案】B

【解析】细节题。题干：为什么要在1947年举办爱丁堡艺术节?根据文章第一段内容最后一句，“这个想法是为了在二战之后重建欧洲”。故答案选B。

87. Who joined the “Fringe” after it appeared?

A. University students. B. Popular artists.

C. Famous theatre groups. D. Big symphony orchestras.

【答案】A

【解析】推断题。题干：“艺穗节”问世后谁加入了?根据第三段第一句话At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival.和第四段，可以得出“艺穗节”是作为官方节目的对立面出现的，而后吸引了一些大学生的加入。故答案选A。

88. How long does the Edinburgh Festival last?

A. Half a month B. The whole month of August.

C. All year round. D. Three weeks.

【答案】D

【解析】细节题。题干：爱丁堡艺术节持续了多长时间?根据第五段第一句Today the ‘Fringe’, once less recognized has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts.可以得出，“艺穗节”持续时间为21天。故答案选D。

89. Which of the following is NOT true about the Edinburgh Festival in 1947 according to the passage?

A. People held an international festival in Edinburgh.

B. Some uninvited groups took part in the Edinburgh Festival.

C. About 400,000 people were attracted by the Edinburgh Festival.

D. There were no paid administrators in Edinburgh Festival

【答案】C

【解析】细节题。题干：根据文章，关于1947年的爱丁堡艺术节，下列哪项是不正确的?根据第一段第一句In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Australian conductor decided to hold and international festival of music, dance and the theatre in Edinburgh.得出A正确。根据第三段第二句Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947得出B正确。根据最后一段第一句A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971得出第一个雇佣管理者是1971年才出现的，因此，1947年还没有雇佣管理者，D正确。根据文章第二段第二句It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.可以看出是现在吸引了400,000人，而不是1947年，C错误。故答案选C。

90. What can be inferred about Edinburgh Festival from this passage?

A. It has gone beyond an art festival. B. It gives shows all year round.

C. It keeps growing rapidly. D. It has become a non-official event.

【答案】C

【解析】推断题。题干：从这篇文章中我们可以推断出爱丁堡艺术节的什么?全文并没有说“艺穗节”已经超过了艺术节的范畴，A错误。“艺穗节”的演出时间为每年八月份，持续时间为21天，并不是全年，B错误。“艺穗节”是以非正式节日出现，之后慢慢发展成正式节日，D错误。根据全文可知，“艺穗节”从非正式节日发展成为正式节日，演出人员、演出节日逐年增加，可以说发展迅速。故答案选C。