“BEIJING, Sep. 10 (Xinhuanet)—The extra-large model baby in the Spain Pavilion (馆) was ‘conceived (构思)’ by a Spanish filmmaker,” Shi Yingying reports.
Visitors admiring the 6.5-meter-high giant baby, Miguelin, in the Spain Pavilion may be surprised to realize that it was not the concept of a famous designer or a group of groundbreaking engineers. It came from one filmmaker’s interpretation of the meaning of “Better City, Better Life”.
Spanish director Isabel Coixet developed the idea after being asked to contribute to Expo 2010 Shanghai.
“They asked me to do something to tell the Chinese audience about Spain in the future and the first thing jumping to my mind was a baby,” said Coixet. “If we really fight to have better cars, better cities and better lives, it’s for them—for our children.”
Despite her Spanish heritage, Coixet doesn’t focus on making Spanish films or using Spain as the setting. Fans of her various award-winning films, including My Life Without Me, The Secret Life of Words and Elegy, may not even be aware of Coixet’s Spanish background.
“The borders between countries are just illusion (假象),” said Coixet. “Some directors feel really comfortable telling stories that belong to their territory.”
But Coixet feels the opposite: “I’m more comfortable outside my country. It gives me a strange freedom.”
One of her favorite things about being a director is the freedom. “The thing is that the world is wide and this freedom lets you make films everywhere,” she said.
Coixet’s curiosity took her latest exploration and movie work to Japan. In the movie Map of the Sound of Tokyo, the Catalan actor Sergi Lopez is the owner of a wine shop in Tokyo, and Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi is a young woman who works both as a fishmonger and as a hired killer.
The clash (冲突) of the two people’s very different worlds and the tango-like relationship they develop is just one representation of what Coixet is able to produce by mixing cultures.
While she doesn’t know if she will shoot a film in Shanghai, two things have caught her attention: Shanghainese women and crickets (蟋蟀).
After just arriving in the city, she was surprised by the mix of old Chinese culture in a booming metropolis. “Behind the skyscrapers, there is a flower and bird market with heaps of crickets and birdcages in,” she said. “I’m totally amazed with the city.”
1.The huge baby represents the idea that .
A.our children are the new generation full of imagination
B.our children will develop the friendship between China and Spain
C.our children are our future
D.our children will understand the meaning of “Better City, Better Life”
2.We learn from the passage that Coixet’s award-winning films were set .
A.only in Spain
B.only in Japan
C.mainly in the countries outside Spain
D.mainly in the countries within Europe
3.According to Isabel Coixet, a flower and bird market behind the high rises .
A.shows people in Shanghai are living a rich life spiritually and materially
B.reflects prosperity of the market
C.indicates the Chinese people are leading a peaceful life
D.represents the traditional culture of China
4.From the passage we can learn that .
A.Isabel Coixet is dissatisfied with the design of the extra-large model baby
B.a mix of different cultures is reflected in Isabel Coixet’s films
C.Isabel Coixet feels less comfortable while making films all over the world
D.Isabel Coixet designed the huge baby according to the requirement of a group of engineers
Even though Danish students have equal access to education, their choice of studies is still influenced by social class. Young people from working class backgrounds are ______by studies with a clear job profile and high income, ______prestige and studies with a strong identity interest young people of parents with university degrees when choosing which studies to ______. This is what researchers from the University of Copenhagen ______in a new study. Students who have chosen to study medicine, architecture, economy and sociology often come from homes where the parents have ________higher education, whereas business studies and pharmacy often ______young people with a working class background. This is ______by a research team from the University of Copenhagen and Aalborg University in a new study.
“There is a ______between the studies chosen by young Danes and their ______background. Even for the young people who have very good grades in their A-level exams, and who could successfully ______admission to a large variety of studies, the parents’ ______of education and social class play an important role in their choice,” says Education Sociologist Jens Peter Thomsen, who is one of the researchers behind the study.
The study “The Educational Strategies of Danish University Students from Professional and Working-Class Backgrounds” is ______60 interviews with Danish students from six different university level study programmes: Medicine, architecture, sociology, economy, pharmacy and business studies.
The young people bring with them the ______they get from their families. If you grow up in a home with parents who are doctors or architects with a strong professional ______, it is an obvious choice to follow the ______path as your parents when you grow up.
“For young people whose parents are university educated, ______such as fame and mastery of expert knowledge are important. They are ______by an educational culture in which you are a diligent student, and where leisure activities are ______to the identity that lies within your studies. These young people have also grown up with ______discussions around the dinner table which also prepare them for their lives as students,” says Jens Peter Thomsen.
He also added, “Young people who come from a working class background, and have good grades have to ______the full range of opportunities they have. But the effort to reach this goal must start early”.
1.A.monitored B.motivated C.motioned D.multiplied
2.A.while B.although C.when D.if
3.A.pursue B.engage C.involve D.conduct
4.A.calculate B.suspect C.conclude D.achieve
5.A.required B.confirmed C.refused D.completed
6.A.subscribes to B.caters to C.sticks to D.appeals to
7.A.inquired B.proved C.extended D.acquired
8.A.connection B.comparison C.difference D.contradiction
9.A.educational B.political C.social D.professional
10.A.balance B.develop C.identify D.seek
11.A.situation B.judgment C.level D.preference
12.A.connected with B.based on C.committed to D.combined with
13.A.resources B.experiences C.finance D.memory
14.A.degree B.identity C.success D.responsibility
15.A.perfect B.usual C.common D.same
16.A.changes B.problems C.factors D.characters
17.A.disturbed B.moved C.puzzled D.attracted
18.A.tied B.accustomed C.transferred D.copied
19.A.practical B.topical C.physical D.medical
20.A.take charge of B.take control of C.take advantage of D.take care of
It’s terrible. My car break down just as we were going on our holiday.
A.might B.would C.could D.must
In my opinion, the idea of a family is much narrower than for many of us.
A.that used to be B.it is used to
C.it was used to D.it used to be
—When is he willing to lend somebody some money?
—Only when hard enough.
A.to press B.pressing C.pressed D.presses
—Could you possibly tell me what to do with such sort of situation?
—It’s no good asking me all the time, Anna. You’ll have to learn to think yourself.
A.of B.to C.by D.for
