National Theatre Backstage Tours
The National Theatre is a working building, producing over 20 new productions every year. Preparations for the shows all happen on site. No two tours are ever the same, so come and see what’s happening behind the scenes today.
◆ Schedules
Running Time: 75 minutes
Tours run Monday — Saturday, exploring the unseen areas of the theatre and stepping into the backstage world.
◆ Tickets
Individuals: £10
Entry Pass Members： £5 (not available (可购得的) to book online — Please email tours@ nationaltheatre. org. uk to book)
Groups of 8 or more： £8.75 each (not available to book online — Please email tours@ nationaltheatre. org. uk to book)
◆ Access
For those unable to hear well (including hearing aid users), the Contego system, an easy-to-use wireless listening device (装置), is now available for use on Backstage Tours. Please inform us at the time of booking if you would like to use the Contego system, or if you have any additional access requirements.
For further information on tour times, availability and group bookings, email nationaltheatre. org. uk.
◆ Comments
See what people think of theatre tours at NT below:
Lucy Lucy @ scampmedia Really enjoyed myself this morning! Funny, easy-going and some interesting facts | George George @ georgenewsome Really enjoyed the backstage tour of National Theatre today. Very interesting, highly recommend |
Ells Ells @ EllieTidyxo Had such an amazing time at National Theatre today. Amazing to see how much work is done behind the scenes. | Alice Alice @ NationalTheatre London has the best sights. Thank you! Outdoor sights in London are my favorites. A little bit boring to experience the backstage. |
1.Mow much will a group of 10 tourists pay to explore the backstage?
A. £50. B. £87.5.
C. £95. D. £100.
2.What does the National Theatre do for Backstage Tour?
A. Present a 75-minute show to tourists.
B. Offer listening devices to the disabled.
C. Produce over 30 new productions every year.
D. Keep the theatre open to tourists every day.
3.Who might feel disappointed at the Backstage Tour?
A. Alice. B. Ells.
C. Lucy. D. George.
第二节：书面表达（满分25分）
61. 假设你是晨光中学的高中生李华。你校拟选拔一批优秀学生，利用暑期到晨曦希望小学为学生辅导英语。你希望参加此活动。请根据以下提示，用英语给校评选组写一封申请信：
● 对此活动的认识（如对本人、学生级社会的益处等）
●个人优势（如性格、独立生活能力、语言能力等）
●你的计划（如怎样进行辅导等）
注意：
1.词数不少于100；
2.可适当加入细节，以使内容充实、行文连贯；
3. 信的开头和结尾已给出，不计入词数。
参考词汇：
晨曦希望小学 Chenxi Hope School
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am Li Hua from Class One, Senior Two.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours Sincerely,
Li Hua
第Ⅱ卷
注意事项：
1.用黑色墨水的钢笔或签字笔将答案写在答题卡上。
2.本卷共6小题，共35分。
第三部分：写作
第一节：阅读表达（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
阅读下面短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
When Dan Shaw gets up from the sofa in his home, Cuddles is never far away. When he wants to go outside, he doesn’t take Cuddles out for walk—Cuddles takes him for a walk. Cuddles is clearly no ordinary family pet. It is a two-foot-high miniature horse and serves as the guiding eyes of Shaw, who is blind.
When Shaw lost his sight, his wife suggested he apply for a guide dog. Shaw, an animal lover, said he couldn’t bear to part with a dog (which usually lives about eight to ten years) and get used to a new one, perhaps several times in his life.
Then Shaw heard of a program about the tiny guide horses. He learned that the horse possess many qualities that that make them an excellent choice for guiding people. They are clean friendly, smart and have great memories. They can be trained to remain calm in noisy and crowded places. Best of all, they live for 25-25years, which would enable Shaw to have the same guide companion for most or all of his life.
Shaw immediately applied to be and was accepted as the first person to receive a guide horse. The instant he met Cuddles, he knew he was making the right choice. Then he began his training.
Through training ,Shaw and Cuddles learned to find way on busy streets, step over curbs（便道沿儿）and find elevator buttons. Cuddles even demonstrated（显示）its ability to step in front of Shaw and block him, to prevent him from walking into a dangerous situation. The little horse also expertly led Shaw through busy shopping malls. They got along without any difficulties. Now Shaw is confident that Cuddles will change his life for the better.
56. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “miniature” in Paragraph 1?(No more than 2 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
57. Why didn’t Shaw want to choose a dog as his guide? (No more than 15 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
58. What does Paragraph 3 mainly tell us? (No more than 10 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________59. How does Shaw feel about his future life with the help of Cuddles? (No more than 10 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
60. In your opinion, what is the ideal relationship between man and animals? (No more than 20 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Tens of thousands of theatre tickets will be given away to young people next year as part of a government campaign to inspire a lifelong love for theatre.
The plan to offer free seats to people aged between 18 to 26—funded with £2.5 million of taxpayers’ money—was announced yesterday by Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary. It received a cautious welcome from some in the arts world, who expressed concern that the tickets may not reach the most underprivileged.
The plan comes as West End theatres are enjoying record audiences, thanks largely to musicals teaming up with television talent shows. Attendances reached. 13.6 million in 2007, up 10 percent on 2006, itself a record year. Total sales were up 18 percent on 2006 to almost £470 million.
One theatre source criticised the Government’s priorities(优先考虑的事) in funding free tickets when pensioners were struggling to buy food and fuel, saying: “I don’t know why the Government’s wasting money on this. The Yong Vic, as The Times reported today, offers excellent performances at cheap prices.”
There was praise for the Government’s plan from Dominic Cooke of the Royal Court Theatre, who said: “I support any move to get young people into theatre, and especially one that aims to do it all over England, not just in London.”
Ninety-five publicly funded theatres could apply for funding under the two-year plan. In return, they will offer free tickets on at least one day each week to 18 to 26-year-olds, first-come, first-served. It is likely to be on Mondays, traditionally a quiet night for the theatre.
Mr. Burnham said: “A young person attending the theatre can find it an exciting experience, and be inspired to explore a new world. But sometimes people miss out on it because they fear it’s ‘not for them’. It’s time to change this perception.”
Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Culture Secretary, said: “The real issue is not getting enthusiastic children into the theatre, but improving arts education so that more young people want to go in the first place. For too many children theatres are a no-go area.”
1.Critics of the plan argued that ______.
A. the theatres would be overcrowded
B. it would be a waste of money
C. pensioners wouldn’t get free tickets
D. the government wouldn’t be able to afford it
2.According to the supporters, the plan should ______.
A. benefit the television industry
B. focus on producing better plays
C. help increase the sales of tickets
D. involve all the young people in England
3.Which of the following is TRUE about the plan?
A. Ninety-five theatres have received funding.
B. Everyone will get at least one free ticket.
C. It may not benefit all the young people.
D. Free tickets are offered once every day.
4.We can infer from the passage that in England ______.
A. many plays are not for young people
B. many young people don’t like theatre
C. people know little about the plan
D. children used to receive good arts education
5.According to the passage, the issue to offer free tickets to young people seems ______.
A. controversial B. inspiring C. exciting D. unreasonable
I am a writer. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language—the way it can evoke(唤起) an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all—all the Englishes I grew up with.
Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” English. But feel embarrassed to say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than “broken”, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness. I’ve heard other terms used, “limited English,” for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions(认识)of the limited English speaker.
I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is ,because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
I started writing fiction in 1985. And for reasons I won’t get into today, I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as “broken”, and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese, her internal(内在的) language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure: I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show; her intention, her feelings, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.
1.By saying “Language is the tool of my trade”, the author means that ______.
A. she uses English in foreign trade B. she is fascinated by languages
C. she works as a translator D. she is a writer by profession
2.The author used to think of her mother’s English as ______.
A. impolite B. amusing C. imperfect D. practical
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3?
A. Americans do not understand broken English.
B. The author’s mother was not respected sometimes.
C. The author’ mother had positive influence on her.
D. Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts.
4.The author gradually realizes her mother’s English is _____.
A. well structured B. in the old style
C. easy to translate D. rich in meaning
5.What is the passage mainly about?
A. The changes of the author’s attitude to her mother’s English.
B. The limitation of the author’s perception of her mother.
C. The author’s misunderstanding of “limited” English.
D. The author’s experiences of using broken English.
Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits____, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.
Many roads and places in Singapore（新加坡）are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries ---- in both the West and the East.
Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus ---- obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.
Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Base Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay（马来语）. Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.
A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent（月牙） because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.
1.We learn from Paragraph 1 that _____.
A. the government is usually the first to name a place
B. many places tend to have more than one name
C. a ceremony will be held when a place is named
D. people prefer the place names given by the government
2.What does the underlined phrase “die hard” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
A. Change suddenly. B. Change significantly.
C. Disappear mysteriously. D. Disappear very slowly.
3.Which of the following places is named after a person?
A. Raffles Place. B. Selector Airbase.
C. Piccadilly Circus. D. Paya Lebar Crescent.
4.Bras Basah Road is named _______.
A. after a person B. after a place C. after an activity D. by its shape
5.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Some place names in Singapore are the same as in Britain.
B. Some places in Singapore are named for military purposes.
C. The way Singaporeans name their places is unique.
D. Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers.
