Ever since he got into the Hong Kong film industry in 1994 with He’s a Woman, She’s a Man, Hong Kong director, Peter Chan has been one of the industry’s most powerful voices. Later in 1996, another milestone Comrades: Almost a Love Story came into being. Chan’s latest film, American Dreams in China is a carefully-calculated film with an eye toward opening the mainland cinema market.
American Dreams in China is a film purely for Chinese audiences, but how it plays there remains to be seen. It sends the right messages, but whether that’s enough to make it a hit is everyone’s guess. Mainland audiences aren’t quite that easy to “speak” to.
The film began during the period of economic reforms in China in the 1980s. The bookish farm boy Cheng Dongqing (Huang Xiaoming), the ambitious and confident boy Meng Xiaojun (Deng Chao) and the poetic Wang Yang(Tong Dawei), were three friends at university in Beijing and preparing for American visa interviews. Wang was the first to be granted the visa but he gave it up for his western girlfriend, and Cheng was repeatedly denied. Only Meng actually got a study visa. As he was leaving, he told his friends that he wouldn’t come back.
Several years later, Cheng and Wang built a successful school, New Dream, from the ashes of Cheng’s misfortune(his girlfriend got a visa too, and Cheng lost his university teaching job) and Wang’s ability to connect with students often through Hollywood movies. In America, Meng suffered a lot. Disappointed, he went home and joined his friends at New Dream. Later, the three friends’ relationship became worsened, but finally was improved under the weight of their common goals.
1.Which of the following films made Peter Chan a most influential director in Hong Kong?
A. American Dreams in China
B. Comrades: Almost a Love Story
C. New Dream
D. He’s a Woman, She’s a Man
2.The underlined word “granted” (in paragraph 3) probably means “_________”.
A. prepared B. given C. involved D. permitted
3.When the three men made preparations for American visa interviews, how many was/were offered a visa?
A. None B. One. C. Three. D. Two
4.What led Cheng and Wang to start a business?
A. The connection with Hollywood movies.
B. The weight of their common goals.
C. Cheng’s misfortune and Wang’s ability.
D. Meng’s disappointment and sufferings.
Tracy Wong is a well-known Chinese-American writer. But her writing ____ was something she picked up by herself. After her first____, teaching disabled children, she became a part-time writer for IBM. ____, writing stories was simply a ____ interest. Tracy sent three of her stories to a publisher. ____, they immediately suggested that she put them together to make a single one long ____ and paid Tracy a $ 15,000 advance. “A pretty money,” said the publisher, “for ____ writer.”
____ Tracy’s characters are interesting, her stories sometimes ____ readers uneasy: those about the supernatural. “My mother believed I could ____ the afterlife world,” she told a close friend. “She used to have me speak with my grandmother, who died many years ago.”
“Can I ? I don’t think I can,” Tracy said with a laugh. “But I do have ____ when things come to me ____. “Once, she was wondering how to complete a ____ set in ancient China. ____ the doorbell rang. It was a FedEx delivery man, with a copy of a book on Chinese ____. It came without her having ____ it.
Though she has published 45 books, Tracy has remained ____ by her fame. She lives in the same ____ she lived 27 years ago — although in a more comfortable home. There’s more room for ____ in her life — and it wasn’t just __ __.
1.A. skill B. experience C. practice D. method
2.A. duty B. effort C. job D. task
3.A. Instead B. Normally C. Certainly D. Then
4.A. general B. deep C. personal D. lively
5.A. Interested B. Anxiously C. Seriously D. Encouraged
6.A. film B. story C. program D. article
7.A. a foreign B. a popular C. an unusual D. an unknown
8.A. Now that B. Even though C. Just because D. Except that
9.A. find B. turn C. leave D. hold
10.A. make up B. connect with C. control D. explain
11.A. events B. chances C. feelings D. moments
12.A. for no reason B. from a distance C. by accident D. as gifts
13.A. description B. condition C. scene D. talk
14.A. Surprisingly B. Suddenly C. Expectedly D. Fortunately
15.A. cooking B. history C. play D. medicine
16.A. known B. sent C. realized D. ordered
17.A. unchanged B. excited C. determined D. unmoved
18.A. life B. city C. house D. way
19.A. success B. work C. joy D. variety
20.A. writing B. reporting C. luck D. fun
Not only ______, but Hunan TV’s reality show, Dad, Where Are We Going, also has made the stars and their lovely kids more popular.
A. it has received one-sided praise B. has it received one-sided praise
C. it receives one-sided praise D. does it receive one-sided praise
The boy dived into the water and after ______ seemed to be a long time, he came up again.
A. what B. that C. it D. which
I don’t really work here; I ______ until the new secretary arrives.
A. just help out B. have just helped out C. am just helping out D. will just help out
---Why hasn’t Jane arrived yet?
---She ______ again in the morning.
A. shouldn’t have overslept
B. may have turned off the alarm clock
C. must have no one to call her
D. should have someone to wake her up
