Question

Tell a story and tell it well,and you may open wide the eyes of a child,open up lines of communication in a business,or even open people’s mind to another culture or race.

People in many places are digging up the old folk stories and the messages in them.For example,most American storytellers get their tales from a wide variety of sources,cultures,and times.They regard storytelling not only as a useful tool in child education,but also as a meaningful activity that helps adults understand themselves as well as those whose culture may be very different from their own.

“Most local stories are based on a larger theme,”American storyteller Opalanga Pugh says,“Cinderella(灰姑娘),or the central idea of a good child protected by her goodness,appears in various forms in almost every culture of the world.”

Working with students in schools,Pugh helps them understand their own cultures and the general messages of the stories.She works with prisoners too,helping them know who they are by telling stories that her listeners can write,direct,and act in their own lives.If they don’t like the story they are living,they can rewrite the story.Pugh also works to help open up lines of communication between managers and workers.“For every advance in business,”she says,“there is a greater need for communication.”Storytelling can have a great effect on either side of the manager-worker relationship,she says.

Pugh spent several years in Nigeria,where she learned how closely storytelling was linked to the everyday life of the people there.The benefits of storytelling are found everywhere,she says.

“I learned how people used stories to spread their culture,”she says.“What I do is to focus on the value of stories that people can translate into their own daily world of affairs.We are all storytellers.We all have a story to tell.We tell everybody’s story.”

1.What do we learn about American storytellers from Paragraph 2?

A.They share the same way of storytelling.

B.They prefer to tell stories from other cultures.

C.They learn their stories from the American natives.

D.They find storytelling useful for both children and adults.

2.The underlined sentence(Paragraph 4) suggests that prisoners can _______.

A.start a new life

B.settle down in another place

C.direct films

D.become good actors

3.Pugh has practised storytelling with _______ groups of people.

A.2                 B.3                 C.4                 D.5

4.What is the main idea of the text?

A.Storytelling can influence the way people think.

B.Storytelling is vital to the growth of businesses.

C.Storytelling is the best way to educate children in school.

D.Storytelling helps people understand themselves and others.

Answer

1.D

解析:这是一道细节题。根据第二段中的“They regard storytelling not only as a useful tool in child education,but also as a meaningful activity that helps adults understand themselves as well as those whose culture may be very different from their own. ”可判断出讲故事对孩子和成年人都有用处。

2.A

解析:这是一道猜义题。第四段中的“If they don’t like the story they are living,they can rewrite the story.”的意思是“如果他们对自己生活的故事不满意，他们就可以重新写这个故事”。这句话暗示了囚犯也可以改变自己的生活。

3.B

解析:这是一道计算题。从第四段可知Pugh与学生、囚犯及经理和工人一起讲故事，所以是3组。

4.D

解析:这是一道主旨题。根据短文的内容可判断出这篇短文主旨是讲故事可以影响人们的思维方式。