Would you jump off the Great Wall of China for 300 pounds a day?
A stunt (特技表演)person is a man or woman who does all the dangerous bits of acting work in films or on TV. This can be anything from a simple fall into a swimming pool, or walking off the top of a tall building. It sounds like a job that you would have to be made to try, but there are actually lots of people who want to do it.
Sarah France, twenty-four, is one of Britain’s sixteen professional stunt women ---there are one hundred and sixty stunt men in the country. We asked Sarah how she came to be a stunt woman.
“When I was young I was trained to be a dancer, and for seven years after school I was hardly out of work. A dancer’s life is pretty short, though, and my father suggested I should think about doing stunt work after I’d given up dancing. I thought about it for the next two years and decided to have a go. For six months, I worked really hard every day. I had to learn different skills---swimming, jumping, horse -riding, etc.”
Sarah finished the course in just five months and applied to the office which decides whether you’re accepted as a professional stunt person or not. Two weeks after she was accepted, Sarah was throwing off the Great Wall of China in Superman IV.
“I was very lucky to get work so quickly. I had a small part, playing a traveler who fell off the Wall after an earthquake. The traveler’s life was saved by Superman, of course! Actually, I fell forty-five feet into a pile of cardboard boxes! You can’t use anything softer than that or you will be brought back into view of the cinema. Instead you just have to learn to fall properly. It’s quite dangerous but I enjoy it.”
【小题1】Quite a number of people want to do dangerous acts in films because .A．they are madB．they don’t think them dangerous C．no training is neededD．they can earn much money【小题2】Sarah gave up dancing because .A．her father persuaded her to do stunt workB．she could not go on dancing foreverC．she had to work hard every dayD．she was often out of work【小题3】Soon after Sarah got her new job as a stunt person, .A．an earthquake took place near the Great WallB．she fell off the Great Wall and hurt herselfC．she was asked to act in Superman IVD．she learned how to fall properly【小题4】Which of the following words best describes Sarah?A．HealthyB．AdventurousC．SkillfulD．Successful【小题5】The purpose of the first sentence of the passage is to .A．draw the readers’ attention to the whole passageB．invite you to try jumping off the Great Wall for money C．ask you to be a stunt personD．raise a question for the readers to think aboutD
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(答案→)D
解析：文章介绍了一种充满冒险的工作--特技表演。Sarah小时候学习的是舞蹈，毕业几年以后，她不再适合跳舞，父亲建议她去学特技，经过刻苦训练，Sarah成为了一名特技演员，并出演电影《超人4》。特技表演充满危险性，但表演者很享受那个过程。
【小题1】根据第四段“I had to learn different skills---swimming, jumping, horse -riding, etc.”和最后一段“It’s quite dangerous but I enjoy it.”可知，特技演员需要刻苦的训练，特技表演是很危险的，排除B、C；特技演员做的事情具有危险性，但不能说明他们很疯狂，排除A；根据第一句“Would you jump off the Great Wall of China for 300 pounds a day?”可知，特技演员能赚很多钱，故选D。
【小题2】根据第四段“and for seven years after school I was hardly out of work. A dancer’s life is pretty short, though,”可知，舞蹈演员的演艺生涯是很短暂的，随着年龄的增长，身体不再适合跳舞，故选B。
【小题3】根据第五段“Two weeks after she was accepted, Sarah was throwing off the Great Wall of China in Superman IV.”可知，Sarah被聘用两周之后就在《超人4》中扮演角色了，故选C。
【小题4】根据最后一段“I fell forty-five feet into a pile of cardboard boxes! You can’t use anything softer than that...It’s quite dangerous but I enjoy it.”可以看出，从事特技工作需要很大的勇气和胆量，Sarah具有冒险精神，故选B。
【小题5】文章首句“Would you jump off the Great Wall of China for 300 pounds a day?”提到了“从长城上跳下去”，通过后文可知，这是电影《超人4》中的场景，作者用首句来吸引读者的注意力，故选A。