Question

In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The ida was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.

It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras(交响乐团). It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.

At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival. Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years.

Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.

Today the “Fringe”, once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959, with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big.

A paid administrator(管理人员) was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries . More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.

1.What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?

A. To honor heroes of World War II

B. To introduce young theatre groups

C. To attract great artists from Europe

D. To bring Europe together again

2.Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?

A. They came to take up a challenge

B. They thought they were also famous.

C. They wanted to take part in the festival

D. They owned a public house there

3.Who joined the “Fringe” after it appeared?

A. University students

B. Artists from around the world

C. Performers of music and dance

D. Popular writers

4.We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival       .

A. has gone beyond an art festival

B. gives shows all year round

C. keeps growing rapidly

D. has become a non-official event

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文介绍爱丁堡音乐节形成和发展的说明文。文章按照时间顺序，从创设目的，参与群体，发展规模等方面进行了简要而准确的叙述，回顾了爱丁堡音乐节的发展历程。

1.D 细节理解题。由“The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.”可知，这个主意是为了在二战后重新团结欧洲。故选D。

2.C 细节理解题。由“Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform,”这些队伍认为每个人都有表演的权力，所以他们想要参加节日。故选C。

3.A 细节理解题。由“Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.”可知爱丁堡大学，后来的牛津大学、剑桥大学等都加入了，所以是大学生。故选A。

4.C 推理判断题。由“ today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. ”可知它发展的非常快。B项不是全年都有。选项A文中未提及。选项D也未提及。故选C。

考点：考查说明文阅读