Happy Shakespeare Day!
The 23rd April is World Book Day, but did you know that it is also Shakespeare Day? Everybody has heard of Shakespeare, but do you know many plays he wrote? Have you heard of many of his poetry?
Shakespeare’s plays fit into three categories: tragedies, comedies and histories. Perhaps his most famous play is the tragedy story of Romeo and Juliet, which deals with two young lovers who are forbidden to marry by their parents. Other tragedies include Hamlet, a play about a vengeful ghost Othello, about an army general who is manipulated(操纵) into killing his wife, and Macbeth(麦克白). If you’ve seen Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban written which is sung in the Great Hall after the Sorting Ceremony. These words come from the Witches in Macbeth!
Shakespeare’s comedies include Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night is a play about confusing identities. Two twins are shipwrecked and the sister, Viola, dresses up as her brother, Sebastian, who she thinks is dead. It’s hilarious, because the brother reappears without Viola realizing and there’s a big love triangle going on: Viola is in love with the Duke Osino, who is in love with Olivia, who falls in love with Sebastian, except she doesn’t realize that Sebastian is actually Viola dressed up! Everybody falls in love with the wrong person, but it is all made right in the end.
The history plays, such as Antony and Cleopatra, Richard III and Henry V are based on the lives of real historical people. Antony and Cleopatra is a story about a doomed romance in ancient Egypt. Cleopatra becomes Antony’s mistress and Antony becomes so obsessed with her that he loses his military might. Cleopatra kills self by letting a snake bite her after Egypt’s army has been defeated by Octavius and Antony kills himself too.
Shakespeare’s plays can be very heavy going sometimes. Some of the themes they deal with are heavy and complex, so they almost always contain a lighter subplot with characters who aren’t closely linked to the characters in the main plot. They are often used in tragedies to lighten the mood of the play and to keep the audience interested in the main plot.
1.What can we learn about Shakespeare’s tragedies?
A. Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the most famous play of all time.
B. Hamlet tells us a story of two young lovers dead in the end.
C. The army general Othello kills his wife in person purposely.
D. Macbeth gives J.K. Rowling some inspiration in her writing.
2.What is not a probable ending in Twelfth Night?
A. Viola and Sebastian reunited. B. Osino and Viola got marred.
C. Osino and Olivia got married. D. Sebastian and Olivia got married.
3.Characters in the lighter subplot of Shakespeare’s plays are often used to_____.
A. deal with the heavy and complex themes
B. distinguish the characters in the main plot
C. make the mood of the play softer than before
D. interest the audience in the subplot to the great extent
Top 5 smart wearable vendors in the world
Market research company IDC’s latest data showed that a total of 21 million smart wearables were shipped in the third quarter of 2015, up by 197.6% year-on-year.
As a rather new area, market players change positions frequently. China’s BBK, owner of a children’s phone watch brand Xiaotiancai, outperformed Samsung and broke into the top five clubs, gaining a market share of 3.1 percent.
Let us have a look at the top 5 vendors.
No 5 BBK
Shipment volume: 0.7 million
Market share: 3.1%
People can watch a video on the website of Guangdong Xiaotiancai Tech Company Limited to know more about its phone watches.
No 4 Garmin
Shipment volume: 0.9 million
Market share: 4.1%
Garmin’s new fenix 3 multi-sport GPS training watch is displayed at the 2015 International CES, a trade show of consumer electronics, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jan 7, 2015.
No 3 Xiaomi
Shipment volumes: 3.7 million
Market share: 17.4%
The Mi Bands, developed by Xiaomi’s ecosystem company Huami Co Ltd, has a function to track the user’s heart beat while in motion.
No 2 Apple
Shipment volume: 3.9 million
Market share: 18.6%
Customers try to use an Apple Watch in an Apple retail store in Hangzhou city, East China’s Zhejiang province, April 24, 2015. The watch went on sale on April 24 around the world.
No 1 Fitbit
Shipmen volume: 4.7 million
Market share: 22.2%
Various Fitbit devices were displayed outside the New York Stock Exchange on Jun 18, 2015, when the company got listed.
1.What is the shipment volume of the rest of the brands?
A. 21 million B. 13.9 million
C. 7.1 million D. 6.7 million
2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. China’s BBK outperformed Samsung and became the top five clubs.
B. Garmin’s new product is fenix 3 multi-sport GPS training watch.
C. The Mi Band S has a function which tracks the users’ heart troubles.
D. That the company got listed made Fitbit devices become popular.
My father was a self-taught mandolin player. He was one of the best string instrument players in our town. Dad loved to play the mandolin for his families, who enjoyed listening to his play and_______the Tennessee Waltz, Hatbor nights, Silver Bells, and so on. Dad was always there, _______his time and efforts to see that his family had _______in their life. If he could give pleasure to others, he_______, especially his families. I had to mature into a man and have children of my own_______I realized how much he had sacrificed.
I _______ the United States Air Force in January of 1962. Whenever I come home on_______, I would ask Dad to play the mandolin. He could touch your soul with the _______ that came out of that old instrument. He seemed to _______when he was playing you could see his pride in his ability to play so well for his family.
While working at Todd Steel, Dad was __________in an accident. He got the third index finger of his left hand ________ between two pieces of steel. The doctor who operated________the finger could not save it, and Dad ended up having the tip of the finger________. He didn’t lose enough of the finger, ________it wouldn’t stop him picking up anything, but it did________his ability to play the mandolin.
After the accident, Dad would make________for why he couldn’t play. We wore him down and________he said “Okay, but remember, I can’t hold down on the strings________I used to”. ________, for the family it didn’t make any __________that Dad couldn’t play as well.
1.A. playing B. practicing C. singing D. dancing
2.A. donating B. devoted C. sacrificing D. speared
3.A. richness B. money C. fortune D. enough
4.A. could B. would C. might D. should
5.A. after B. before C. until D. unless
6.A. joined B. joined in C. attended D. participated in
7.A. leave B. vocation C. business D. Christmas
8.A. songs B. tones C. strings D. voices
9.A. say B. sing C. express D. shine
10.A. involved B. anchored C. engaged D. buried
11.A. examined B. fixed C. hidden D. broken
12.A. in B. for C. on D. with
13.A. cut down B. cut in C. cut off D. cut up
14.A. in that B. now that C. on which D. for which
15.A. make B. create C. impact D. increase
16.A. causes B. reasons C. excuses D. explanations
17.A. eventually B. constantly C. occasionally D. frequently
18.A. the way B. on the way C. in a way D. in one way
19.A. Instead B. However C. Still D. Moreover
20.A. sense B. difference C. mistake D. decision
—How do you find ‘Reading is to our mind what exercise is to our body’?
—I couldn’t read enough, because ________.
A. one can’t read enough B. one can read too many books
C. all that one reads is not bad D. all that one reads is enough
Now, I doubt if there’s anybody here who is indifferent between the choices, indifferent _______the choice between these two lives.
A. in favor of B. in honor of
C. in place of D. in regard to
Researchers _______ to study mice from early ages but came across technical difficulties, so they weren’t sure they could expect clear results.
A. intended B. were intended
C. had intended D. had been intended
