Question

Storytelling

Storytelling has caught the human imagination for thousands of years. People everywhere have told stories to amuse, to teach, to remember, and just to pass the time. People started telling stories long before writing was invented.1.But people all over the world still tell one another stories out loud. A person who can tell a good story nearly always finds listeners.

Before people developed writing, storytelling was the most important way to pass along information. Anything a culture wanted to protect一its beliefs, its history, and its traditions—had to be told out loud. Each generation would tell the culture’s stories to the next.2.Knowledge passed on in this method is called the spoken tradition. Even cultures that know how to write still pass along some information in this way.

3.In other cultures only special storytellers were trusted to do this important job.A culture’s best storytellers had good memories. They could also make the stories very interesting, so people would listen and remember them. Sometimes people would sing the stories or tell them in the form of poems.4.

However, stories told aloud change over time as different people tell them. A storyteller might change a story in order to make it better. Or a teller may simply not remember all the details of a story. Unlike written stories, the spoken tradition is not created by any one person. 5.Sometimes the stories are collected and written down long after they have been created.

A.In this way the stories were passed along.

B.In some cultures everyone would pass along the stories.

C.Songs and poems can both make stories easier to remember.

D.Instead, a whole culture helps shape the changing stories throughout history.

E.Today stories are also written down in books and acted out in movies, TV shows, and plays.

Answer

1.E

2.A

3.B

4.C

5.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文，文章主要介绍故事讲述的方式的形成、演变以及文化的传递。

1.

句意：今天故事也被写在书里，在电影里、电视节目里和戏剧中表演出来。

根据前文“started”可知前一句在讲述过去，根据后文“still tell”可知此处在讲述现在，E选项“Today stories are also written down in books and acted out in movies, TV shows, and plays”符合。故选E。

2.

句意：以这样的方式，故事被传递下去。

根据前文“Each generation would tell the culture’s stories to the next”每一代将文化故事讲给下一代，这样让故事传递，A选项“In this way the stories were passed along”符合。故选A。

3.

句意：在一些文化里，每个人传递着这些故事。

根据后文“In other cultures”可知此处讲述的是“在一些文化里……在另一些文化里……”，B选项“In some cultures everyone would pass along the stories”符合。故选B。

4.

句意：歌曲和诗歌都能让故事更容易记住。

根据前文“people would sing the stories or tell them in the form of poems”人们会唱歌或者用诗歌的形式来讲故事，此处与歌曲和诗歌有关，C选项“Songs and poems can both make stories easier to remember”符合。故选C。

5.

句意：相反，整个文化帮助形成了贯穿历史的改变着的故事。

根据前文“the spoken tradition is not created by any one person”口头讲述的故事不是由任何一个人创作出来的，而是整个文化，D选项“Instead, a whole culture helps shape the changing stories throughout history”符合。故选D。