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History of Broadway

When people think of Broadway, they may think of that part of the world-famous road in New York City that runs between 42nd and 53rd Streets. 1. It is a billion-dollar industry that includes theatrical shows in New York and live theater entertainment throughout the world.

New York's Theatre District has only 39 official Broadway houses. A play house must have 500 or more seats to be considered a Broadway theater. 2. Not all Broadway theatres are located on Broadway. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, buildings on Wall Street and places such as City Hall may have served as smaller theaters, and other locations in downtown New York City also did.

Today’s Broadway started when influential families contributed development of larger theaters away from the downtown area. Some people may have doubted these theaters would be successful, but they turned out to be. 3. With the rise of the new theater district, downtown changed forever as people happily traveled to the outskirts (郊区) of the city to see the best in live entertainment.

When these theaters began, many actors came from European countries. In 1857 actor Edwin Booth helped transform the Broadway theatre by popularizing a type of acting realism. Unlike actors before him, Booth did not stand still on the stage and simply deliver his lines. 4. Booth's style had a notable effect on the theater, and many considered him to be the greatest actor of his time.

5. Specifically, comedies and dramas often centred on then-current events such as women's right to vote, the Labor Movement, and war. Broadway developed again in 1866, and the Broadway musical was created. From then on, actors entertained their audiences by singing and dancing accompanied by an orchestra.

Now, Broadway is famous for various theatre productions and moving performances.

A.In fact, the shows have brought it fame throughout the world.

B.However, Broadway is much more than a geographical location.

C.Theatres, holding 100 to 499 people, are called Off-Broadway theatres.

D.Instead, he liked moving around and showing great emotion while acting.

E.Plays followed a popular style that encouraged typical characters and plots.

F.As this new style grew in popularity, the content of the shows began to change.

G.Madison Square Theater, built by the Mallory family in 1880, was one of them.

It’s common knowledge that the woman in Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting seems to look back at observers, following them with her eyes no matter where they stand in the room. But this common knowledge turns out wrong.

A new study finds that the woman in the painting is actually looking out at an angle that’s 15. 4 degrees off to the observer’s right-well outside of the range that people normally believe when they think someone is looking right at them. In other words, said the study author, Horstmann, “She’s not looking at you. “ This is somewhat ironic, because the entire phenomenon of a person’s gaze (凝视) in a photograph or painting seeming to follow the viewer is called the “Mona Lisa effect” . That effect is absolutely real, Horstmann said. If a person is illustrated or photographed looking straight ahead, even people viewing the portrait from an angle will feel they are being looked at. As long as the angle of the person’s gaze is no more than about 5 degrees off to either side, the Mona Lisa effect occurs.

This is important for human interaction with on-screen characters. If you want someone off to the right side of a room to feel that a person on-screen is looking at him or her, you don’t cut the gaze of the character to that side-surprisingly, doing so would make an observer feel like the character isn’t looking at anyone in the room at all. Instead, you keep the gaze straight ahead.

Horstmann and his co-author were studying this effect for its application in the creation of artificial-intelligence avatars(虚拟头像) when Horstmann took a long look at the “Mona Lisa” and realized she wasn’t looking at him.

To make sure it wasn’t just him, the researchers asked 24 people to view images of the “Mona Lisa” on a computer screen. They set a ruler between the viewer and the screen and asked the participants to note which number on the ruler intersected(和……相交) Mona Lisa’s gaze. To calculate the angle of Mona Lisa’s gaze as she looked at the viewer, they moved the ruler farther from or closer to the screen during the study. Consistently, the researchers found, participants judged that the woman in the “Mona Lisa” portrait was not looking straight at them, but slightly off to their right.

So why do people repeat the belief that her eyes seem to follow the viewer? Horstmann isn’t sure. It’s possible, he said, that people have the desire to be looked at, so they think the woman is looking straight at them. Or maybe the people who first coined the term “Mona Lisa effect” just thought it was a cool name.

1.It is generally believed that the woman in the painting “Mona Lisa”___________.

A.attracts the viewers to look back

B.seems mysterious because of her eyes

C.fixes her eyes on the back of the viewers

D.looks at the viewers wherever they stand

2.What gaze range in a painting will cause the Mona Lisa effect?

A. B. C. D.

3.The experiment involving 24 people was conducted to______.

A.confirm Horstmann’s belief

B.create artificial-intelligence avatars

C.calculate the angle of Mona Lisa’s gaze

D.explain how the Mona Lisa effect can be applied

4.What can we learn from the passage?

A.Horstmann thinks it’s cool to coin the term “Mona Lisa effect”.

B.The Mona Lisa effect contributes to the creation of artificial intelligence.

C.Feeling being gazed at by Mona Lisa may be caused by the desire for attention.

D.The position of the ruler in the experiment will influence the viewers’ judgement.

    For Western designers, China and its rich culture have long been an inspiration for Western creative.

“It's no secret that China has always been a source of inspiration for designers,” says Amanda Hill, chief creative officer at A+E Networks, a global media company and home to some of the biggest fashion shows.

Earlier this year, the China Through A Looking Glass exhibition in New York exhibited 140 pieces of China-inspired fashionable clothing alongside Chinese works of art, with the aim of exploring the influence of Chinese aesthetics(美学)on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries. The exhibition had record attendance, showing that there is huge interest in Chinese influences.

“China is impossible to overlook,” says Hill. “Chinese models are the faces of beauty and fashion campaigns that sell dreams to women all over the world, which means Chinese women are not just consumers of fashion - they are central to its movement. “Of course, only are today's top Western designers being influenced by China - some of the best designers of contemporary fashion are themselves Chinese. “ Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu are taking on Galiano, Albaz, Marc Jacobs - and beating them hands down in design and sales,” adds Hill.

For Hill, it is impossible not to talk about China as the leading player when discussing fashion. “The most famous designers are Chinese, so are the models, and so are the consumers,” she says. “China is no longer just another market; in many senses it has become the market. If you talk about fashion today, you are talking about China -its influences, its direction, its breathtaking clothes, and how young designers and models are finally acknowledging that in many ways. “

1.What can we learn about the exhibition in New York?

A.It promoted the sales of artworks. B.It attracted a large number of visitors.

C.It showed ancient Chinese clothes. D.It aimed to introduce Chinese models.

2.What does Hill say about Chinese women?

A.They are setting the fashion. B.They start many fashion campaigns.

C.They admire super models. D.They do business all over the world.

3.What do the underlined words “taking on” in paragraph 4 mean?

A.learning from B.looking down on C.working with D.competing against

4.What can be a suitable title for the text?

A.Young Models Selling Dreams to the World

B.A Chinese Art Exhibition Held in New York

C.Differences Between Eastern and Western Aesthetics

D.Chinese Culture Fueling International Fashion Trends

    Sweat rolled off my forehead as my younger brother and I sat under the tree.

“Hi, Jason,” said my brother, Chad. “Do you hear the train?” I listened, but I heard only thunder in the distance. It was still miles away, but I heard it. It grew stronger and louder as it gained speed and got closer. How could that be? I wondered.

We were about to grab our bikes to see what it actually was when we stopped. What looked like a flock of birds darkened the sky overhead. When I looked at it closer, I realized it wasn’t birds. It was a tornado(龙卷风). The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as the air turned green and heavy. The sun disappeared. The wind strengthened and roared. I grabbed Chad’s arm and pulled him toward the house.

I tried to open the door, but it was as if an invisible force pushed against me. The door refused to open. When we finally managed to get inside, we found it was as dark as night. Our family had practiced a tornado safety plan many times. But I had never imagined that it would be just Chad and me at home the first time we needed to use it.

“Inside the closet!” I yelled. It was small and crowded, but we got in it anyway. Chad began to cry. “It’s going to be all right. “ I told him. But I was worried about Mom. I hope she’d found a safe place to wait out the storm.

The storm continued to rage. I heard a thud on the roof. The whole house creaked and groaned. Then it was quiet. I opened the door and we inched our way out of the closet. Rain had got in through the open window and wet the carpets. A kitchen window had shattered, its screen blown away. I looked at the backyard. The tree was uprooted, and broken branches lay on the ground.

“Jason, I can’t get service,” Chad said as he held the phone in his hand. We had no electricity, either. I glanced at the wall clock. Had it been only 20 minutes since we’d first heard the thunder?

Then I heard footsteps toward the house. Mom had made it home safely. “Boys!” she yelled. “Are you all right?”

We ran out and hugged her. The sun came out, and this time it shone bright and clear.

1.When the tornado struck, ________.

A.the boys felt terrified and asked for help

B.a flock of birds darkened the sky overhead

C.the boys protected themselves in a safe place

D.the sound of the train grew stronger and louder

2.What can we learn from the passage?

A.Mom had trouble in finding the boys.

B.Jason knew how to deal with a tornado.

C.The tornado lasted for over half an hour.

D.Their house was flooded by the heavy rain.

3.Which of the following words can best describe Jason?

A.Calm and thoughtful. B.Cautious and curious.

C.Dependent and sensitive. D.Creative and active.

    “Daily Star, sir,” called Jason, carrying some newspapers under his arm. The little boy had been running up and down the street, but there were still twenty____left. His voice was almost gone and his heart was____. The shops would soon close, and all the people would go home. He would have to go home too, carrying the papers____money. He had hoped to sell more papers tonight to make more money to buy a____for his mother and some seeds for his bird. That was why he had bought the papers with all his money. He____as he thought of his failure to sell all his papers.

“You don’t know the____of selling papers. You must shout, ‘Hot news! Bomb bursting!’” another newsboy Chad told Jason. “____it’s not in the paper at all,” replied Jason. “Just run away quickly____they have time to see, and you’ll____out and get your money,” Chad said.

It was a new____to Jason. He thought of his bird with no____and the cake he wanted to buy for his mother, but was____that he would not tell a lie. Though he was____a poor newsboy, he had been____some good things.

The next afternoon Jason went to the office for his papers____. Several boys were crowding around Chad, who declared with a____smile that he sold six dozen the day before. He added that Jason____money because he would not tell a lie. The boys____at Jason. “You wouldn’t tell a lie yesterday, my boy?” A gentleman at the office came up and patted Jason’s shoulder____,   “You’re just the boy I am looking for. “ A week later Jason started his new____. He lost the sale of twenty papers because he would not tell a lie, but got a well-paid job because he told the truth.

1.A.shops B.coins C.people D.papers

2.A.open B.heavy C.pure D.weak

3.A.instead of B.in return for C.in spite of D.in exchange for

4.A.cup B.card C.comb D.cake

5.A.gave in B.broke down C.got away D.showed up

6.A.difficulty B.process C.goal D.secret

7.A.And B.But C.For D.So

8.A.before B.since C.though D.unless

9.A.call B.drop C.sell D.reach

10.A.edition B.idea C.policy D.task

11.A.bread B.insects C.seeds D.water

12.A.concerned B.amazed C.excited D.determined

13.A.still B.already C.just D.also

14.A.taught B.handed C.awarded D.allowed

15.A.at once B.by chance C.as usual D.on purpose

16.A.proud B.gentle C.warm D.polite

17.A.borrowed B.lost C.made D.saved

18.A.laughed B.shouted C.nodded D.stared

19.A.bravely B.gratefully C.fondly D.modestly

20.A.duty B.business C.job D.method