阅读理解。
The writings of Shakespeare are today little read by young people in Britain.His young
readership is limited to those who choose to study literature at university.
Shakespeare's work,together with most other classics,is seen as remote,and written in a
400yearold version of English that is about as inviting as toothache.
Still,in British schools,it is compulsory to study the bard(诗人),and when something is
made compulsory,usually the result is boredom,resentment(憎恨) or both.
This was my experience of the classics at school.But when I reached my late teenage
years,I had a change of heart.Like every other young person since the dawn of time,the
world confused me.I wanted answers,so I turned to books to find them.
I went on to take a PhD in literature and have taught it in Britain and China.I have never
regretted it.There is something in literature that people want,even if they don't read books.
You see this in the popularity of TV and movie adaptations of great works,the recent film
version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice being a_case_in_point.These popular
adaptationsmay help increase people's interest in the classics.
Reading a simplified Romeo and Juliet may perhaps lead to a reading of Shakespeare's
actual play.If that is the case,then I welcome the trend.But do not make the mistake of thinking
that it is the same thing.Shakespeare is a poet.His greatness is in his language.Reading
someone else's rewriting of his work is like peeling a banana,throwing away the fruit,and
eating the skin take on the original.It really is worth the effort.
1．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．The language used in classics is no longer in use today.
B．British students usually find compulsory reading dull.
C．Only those studying literature read Shakespeare's works.
D．For British people,Shakespeare's works are no longer classics.
2．According to the passage,the writer________.
A．has liked literary classics since an early age
B．was forced to read the classics for a PhD
C．turned to literature to seek answers in his teens
D．thinks only people who read books like literature
3．The popularity of TV and movie adaptations of great works may help people________.
A．learn more about tradition
B．get a PhD in literature
C．seek their answers about the world
D．become more interested in the classics
4．The underlined phrase "a case in point" in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to "________"．
A．a great hit
B．a good example
C．a movie adaptation
D．a popular phenomenon
5．What does the writer intend to tell us in the last paragraph?
A．The fruit of a banana is more useful than its skin.
B．The rewriting trend does more harm than good.
C．Readers should try to read the original versions.
D．Readers need to learn the language in the classics.
6．用30词左右概括文章大意
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