Passage Four

　　Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:

　　Practically speaking, the artistic maturing of the cinema was the single-handed achievement of David W Griffith (1875-1948). Before Griffith, photography in dramatic films consisted of little more than placing the actors before a stationary camera and showing them in full length as they cet6w.com on stage. From the beginning of his career as a director, however, Griffith, because of his love of Victorian painting, employed composition. He conceived of the camera image as having a foreground and a rear ground, as well as the middle distance preferred by most directors. By 1910, he was using close-ups to reveal significant details of the scene or of the acting. Extreme long shots were adopted to achieve a sense of spectacle and distance. His exploration produced amazing dramatic effects. By splitting an event into fragments and recording each from the most suitable camera position, he could significantly make the emphasis change from camera shot to camera shot.

　　Griffith also achieved dramatic effects by means of creative editing. By juxtaposing images and varying the speed and rhythm of their presentation, he could control the dramatic intensity of the events as the story progressed. Despite the reluctance of his producers, who feared that the public would not be able to follow such a story, Griffith persisted and experimented and these practices have become standard ever since.

　　Besides developing the cinema’s language, Griffith immensely broadened its range and treatment of subjects. His early movies included not only the standard comedies, melodramas, westerns, and thrillers, but also adaptations from Browning and Tennyson, and treatment of social issues. When he made a new movie in 1911, he insisted that a subject of importance could not be treated in the then conventional length of one reel. One of his movies reached the unprecedented length of four reels, or one hour’s running time. Griffith’s cet6w.com American-made multi-reel picture began an immense revolution.

　　36.The primary purpose of the passage is to ____.

　　A) discuss the importance of Griffith to the development of cinema

　　B) describe the impact on cinema of the flashbacks and other editing innovations

　　C) show Griffith’s impact on the choice of subject matter in American films

　　D) criticize the state of American cinema before the Griffith

　　37.The author suggests that Griffith’s film innovations had a direct effect on all of the following except ____.

　　A) film editing C) camera workB) scene composing D) sound editing

　　38.It can be inferred from the passage that before 1910 the normal running time of a film was ____.

　　A) 15 minutes or less

　　B) between 30 and 45 minutes

　　C) between 15 and 30 minutes

　　D) one hour or more

　　39.It can be inferred that Griffith would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?

　　A) The good director will attempt to explore new ideas as quickly as possible.

　　B) The most important element contributing to a film’s success is the ability of the actors.

　　C) The camera should be considered an integral and active element in the creation of a film.

　　D) The cinema should emphasize serious and sober examinations of fundamental human problems.

　　40.The author’s attitude toward photography in the cinema before Griffith can be best described as ____.

　　A) sympathetic B) amusedC) nostalgic D) condescending

　　内容概要: 本文描述了著名导演David W Griffith为电影发展作出的巨大成就。Griffith创新了电影的拍摄手法，使用远景和近景，长镜头和特写，制造出令人称奇的戏剧效果。他还通过富有创意的电影剪辑，糅和各种意象，变换表现速度和节奏，控制故事展开的戏剧效果。除了对电影表现手法的改革，Griffith还拓宽了电影题材。他引入了名作改编电影和关于社会问题的作品，并首次将一部电影的长度延长到四盘电影胶片，而通常电影的长度只有一盘胶片长。

　　36.【答案】A。

　　【译文】本文的主旨在于论述Griffith对于电影发展的重要性。

　　【试题分析】综合判断题，本题要求考生通读全文，抓住主题句，了解文章大意。

　　【详细解答】本文第一段是关于Griffith在电影摄影方面的创新，第二段是关于他的独特电影剪辑，第三段则是他对电影题材和长度的革新，总体看来，全文都在展示Griffith对于电影发展的重要性，所以答案A)是正确的。答案B)本文是为了描述倒叙和其它电影剪辑创新对电影业的重大影响,答案C)本文是为了展示Griffith对美国电影题材选择的重大影响都只反映了文章的部分内容，答案D)批评Griffith以前的美国电影状况与原文不符。

　　37.【答案】D。

　　【译文】作者提出Griffith的电影创新对下列各个方面都产生直接作用，除了音响剪辑。

　　【试题分析】细节考察题，在文中找出相关细节，排除不相干的答案。

　　【详细解答】原文第二段提到：“Griffith also achieved dramatic effects by means of creative editing”，Griffith通过富有创意的电影剪辑获得戏剧效果，所以答案A)电影剪辑应该排除。第一段提到：“By 1910, he was using close-ups to reveal significant details of the scene or of the acting. Extreme long shots were adopted to achieve a sense of spectacle and distance”，他运用特写镜头表现场景的细节，长镜头表现壮观的场景和远景，因此Griffith在场景安排和摄影方面都有创新，这样答案B)场景安排和答案C)摄影都应予以排除，只剩下D)音响剪辑是正确答案，因为文中没有提及Gfriffith在这方面的成就。

　　38.【答案】A。

　　【译文】从文中可以推断出1910年前通常一部电影的放映时间是15分钟或更短。

　　【试题分析】细节推理题，通过简单计算得出答案。

　　【详细解答】见原文最后一段，“When he made a new movie in 1911, he insisted that a subject of importance could not be treated in the then conventional length of one reel. One of his movies reached the unprecedented length of four reels, or one hour’s running time”，1911年，Griffith拍了一部新片，他坚持说一部重大题材影片不应该只有传统的一盘胶片的长度，他的一部新片达到了前所未有的四盘胶片的长度，即一个小时。传统的电影只有一盘胶片的长度，而四盘胶片放一个小时，那么据此可计算出传统电影的长度不超过15分钟，因此正确答案应该是A)。

　　39.【答案】C。

　　【译文】从文中可以推断出Griffith最可能同意如下观点：摄影应当被看作是电影创作中一个不可或缺的、活跃的要素。

　　【试题分析】判断推理题，根据原文细节判断观点正误。

　　【详细解答】答案A)好导演会尽快尝试探索新思想，尽管Griffith尝试创新，但这并不能直接推理出A)观点;答案B)使电影成功的最重要要素是演员的能力在文中并未提及;答案D)电影应该强调对人类根本问题的探索与原文不符，因为Griffith的电影题材非常广泛，文中最后一段说“His early movies included not only the standard comedies, melodramas, westerns, and thrillers, but also adaptations from Browning and Tennyson, and treatment of social issues”，他的早期影片不仅包括标准的喜剧、情节剧、西部片和惊险片，还包括勃朗宁和丁尼生的作品改编电影和社会问题题材的电影。答案C)摄影应当被看作是电影创作中一个不可或缺的、活跃的要素是正确答案，因为Griffith在摄影方面作了很多努力，以获得更好的戏剧效果。

　　40.【答案】D。

　　【译文】作者对Griffith之前的电影摄影的态度是带着优越感的。

　　【试题分析】细节判断题。

　　【详细解答】原文这样在第一段提到Griffith之前的电影摄影：“Before Griffith, photography in dramatic films consisted of little more than placing the actors before a stationary camera and showing them in full length as they cet6w.com on stage”，那时的电影摄影仅仅是把演员放到静止的摄像机前，拍下他们的全身像，就象他们站在舞台上的样子。从这句话的语气来看，作者暗示这样做很落后，很呆板，所以他的态度是带着优越感的，认为现代的摄影技术要高得多，所以正确答案是D)。答案A)同情感情色彩过浓，答案B)有趣的和答案C)怀旧的显然与原文不符。