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The old man fished alone in a small rowboat and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy’s parents had told him that the old man was now bad luck, and ordered the boy to join another boat, which caught three good fish the first week. It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his boat empty and he always went down to help him carry in the fishing lines or take down the old, patched sail.
“Santiago,” the boy said to him as they dragged up the boat to the sand. “I could go with you again. I’ve made some money.” the old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him. “No,” the old man said. “You’re with a lucky boat. Stay with them. You must obey your father.” “We can be lucky again too. Remember when we didn’t catch a fish for 10 days, then caught a big one each day for a month?” said the boy. “Can I offer you a beer on the balcony and then we’ll take the stuff home,” said the boy. “Why not?” the old man said.
“Santiago,” the boy said as they sat on the balcony, “If I cannot fish with you, I would like to serve in some way.” “You bought me a beer,” the old man said, lifting the bottle to his mouth. “Do you remember the first time I took you out to fish?” the old man asked. “I was five. I remember the tail of a huge fish slapping against the boat, the noise of you clubbing him and the sweet blood smell. I remember everything from when we first went together,” the boy said. The old man looked at him with his sun-burned, loving eyes.
“May I get some sardines for tomorrow? Let me get four fresh ones,” said the boy. “One,” the old man said. His hope and his confidence had never gone. But now they were freshening like a sea breeze. “Two,” the boy said. “Thank you,” the old man said. He was too simple to wonder when he had attained modesty. But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride. “Tomorrow is going to be a good day with this wind,” he said. “I will row far out before it is light. There will going to be a good day with this wind,” he said. “I will row far out before it is light. There will be a big fish?” asked the boy. “I think so. And I know many tricks.”
36. When did the boy stop working with the old man?
A. 40 days ago. B. 44 days ago. C. 80 days ago. D. 84 days ago
37. Why was the boy forced to stop working for the old man?
A. It was too dangerous to continue fishing.
B. It was time for the boy to return to school.
C. The old man was thought to be a poor teacher.
D. The boy couldn’t earn enough money with the old man.
38. In paragraph 2, the boy probably mentioned their past fishing experiences in order to __________.
A. convince the old man that he should not retire
B. explain why he had to stop working for the old man
C. persuade the old man to let him return as his assistant
D. warn the old man about the danger of fishing in the deep sea
39. Which of the following did the boy NOT do for the old man?
A. Buy him a beer. B. Repair the sail.
C. Drag up the boat. D. Take in the fishing equipment.
40. What can we learn about the old man from the last paragraph?
A. He remained optimistic about catching fish.
B. He was the most skillful fisherman in the village.
C. He would stay out longer than any other fisherman.
D. He would usually go out further than any other boat.
D
At the start of the 20th century, a new city was beginning to grow on some flat land near the sea in southern California; its name was Los Angeles. At the same time, a new industry was just being born: the cinema.
America’s movie industry began life in New York; but by 1910, movie-makers were moving to Los Angeles. In New York, everything was too expensive: workers, land, taxes. Moreover, it was difficult to make movies in winter, because it was too cold.
The Los Angeles region, on the other hand, was full of advantages. In California, they could make films all through the year; and everything was cheaper. In particular, there was lots of land for sale, especially in the Los Angeles suburb called Hollywood.
Movies quickly became very popular, and this popularity exploded after “talkies” first appeared in 1925. Nevertheless, movies were expensive to produce, and film companies needed money-lots of it. For this reason, Hollywood rapidly became controlled by a small number of big companies such as MGM, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Paramount.
Since then, the big companies’ fortunes have ebbed and flowed, but most of them are still there. Some old names have disappeared, but some new ones have appeared, companies like Walt Disney and Steven Spielberg’s company Amblin. Today the biggest studios belong to huge international firms. For instance, News Corporation, which now owns Fox, also owns newspapers on three continents, and TV networks in America, Europe and Asia.
It is only huge companies like Fox that can afford to make today’s very expensive films; and for Titanic-at the time the most expensive film ever mad-Fox had to get help from another big company, Paramount!
Once Hollywood mad films just for America; today it makes them for the world. It’s the center of a global dream-machine. Perhaps we dreamed differently in the past. Today, thanks in part to Hollywood, people everywhere have similar dreams.
We now live in the age of global culture. Hollywood did not invent this culture-but for better or for worse, it has become one of the most powerful elements in it. Like it or not, we all now live on planet Hollywood.
41. What attracted the film industry to Los Angeles?
A. Cheaper costs and pleasant weather.
B. More talented actors and mild climate.
C. More skilled workers and plentiful land.
D. Large movie companies and lower wages.
42. Why did a few companies come to control the American film industry?
A. They were already experienced in film production.
B. They were able to employ the most creative people.
C. These companies were the first to make talkie films.
D. Small companies could not afford the film production costs.
43. The underlined “ebbed and flowed” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to __________.
A. improved rapidly B. gone up and down
C. remained very stable D. worsened gradually
44. Which of the following is true about the Hollywood movie companies?
A. They sometimes work together to produce movies.
B. They produce expensive movies far less often than in the past.
C. The same companies have controlled the industry for almost 100 years.
D. There are many large companies competing against each other for success.
45. What does the writer think about the international influence of Hollywood?
A. It has encouraged people to dream like Americans.
B. It has made foreigners love American people more.
C. It has become a driving force in shaping global culture.
D. It has damaged the local film industry in other countries.
