Question

In high school, “cool” is the rule, so teenagers will do anything to avoid possibly embarrassing situations.

But not Samantha Elton, 15. She seeks them out. And if she can make a fool of herself as in the process, well, that’s even better.

For the past two years, Elton, has been a practitioner of improvisation, doing things that others would be embarrassed to consider.

Elton is a member of High School Jesters, a group that teaches improvisation techniques to students. The group was founded two years ago by Nicholas Kopatich, himself a keen improviser.

“I was sitting in my dorm room and some friends were having chats about comedy and improvisation,” Kopatich recalls. They asked for lessons after Kopatich told them he had improvisation experience. The small group turned out to be pretty good at it, so they did a show for the dorm. And things snowballed.

While even her mother marvels at Elton’s ability to get up in front of audience without a script to fall back on, the teen enjoys such opportunities. Performing improvisation comes with a certain freedom that theater doesn’t provide.

“What I like about it the most is that I don’t have to be a certain character or a certain way, and because of that I can’t get anything wrong,” Elton says, “I get to write the story while I’m doing it.”

Monica Elton, Samantha’s mom, thinks the workshops are a valuable outlet that a lot of students may not get in their schools. High school kids don’t usually like to act silly or look uncool, she says, but improvisation teaches them that it’s OK to have flaws.

“I like to think we give kids positively that allows them to gain confidence,” says Brent Mukai, a High School Jesters instructor. The great thing about improvisation is that it is an art form that is open to anyone. But there’s more to it than getting up in front of audience and telling jokes or acting silly.

“You don’t need to be the most amazing actress to be an improviser,” Samantha Elton says, “It’s really a place where I can show people my creativity. I can paint pictures for people and entertain others.”

It’s really free.

1.What do we know about improvisation?

A. Performers act as a certain character.

B. Performers need a script to act on.

C. Performers intend to make audience embarrassed.

D. Performers develop the story as they are playing.

2.According to Monica, practicing improvisation made Elton _______.

A. treat flaws as normal things

B. accept cool as the rule

C. avoid doing embarrassing things

D. care about what others comment on her

3.It can be inferred that Kopatich formed High School Jesters _______.

A. on purpose    B. by accident

C. for business     D. out of curiosity

4.The passage mainly tells us that ________.

A. teens make a fool of themselves

B. teens perform improvisation to be cool

C. teens express creativity through arts

D. teens gain confidence in the improvisation

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：在高中，同学们行为处事都以“酷”作为标准。因此，青少年往往会尽力避免让自己陷入尴尬的境地。然而，15岁的Elton却不是这样的人，Elton是一名即兴表演者。即兴表演在给观众带去快乐的同时，也让表演者变得更加自信。

1.I don’t have to be a certain character...I get to write the story while I’m doing it.”可知，在即兴表演中，演员没有既定的角色，他们可以一边创作，一边表演，故选D。

2.but improvisation teaches them that it’s OK to have flaws”可知，Monica认为，即兴表演教会孩子们接受缺陷或不足，故选A。

3.They asked for lessons after Kopatich told them he had improvisation experience. The small group turned out to be pretty good at it, so they did a show for the dorm. And things snowballed.”可知，Kopatich的朋友向他请教有关即兴表演的经验，他们非常擅长即兴表演，于是就在宿舍里表演了节目，事情一发不可收拾，就像滚雪球一样，这个剧社逐渐地发展壮大起来，由此可知，Kopatich机缘巧合创办了剧社，故选B。

4.I like to think we give kids positively that allows them to gain confidence”和倒数第三段“It’s really a place where I can show people my creativity. I can paint pictures for people and entertain others.”可知，即兴表演能展示表演者的创作才能，为人们描绘各种画面并给他人带去快乐，从而让人变得更加自信，故选D。

考点：教育类短文阅读