Most people think a 11 is simply someone with a funny personality. In fact the job is closer to writing. A joke that takes eight seconds to 12 may have been rewritten twenty times, and a tiny change in 13 can decide whether a room laughs or stays silent. New performers test their material in small clubs, where one bored 14 in the front row teaches more than any class. Some record every show and study the 15 afterwards, counting the seconds of silence. Nowadays a good five-minute set can take a whole year to build.
Questions 11–15
11
Aeditor
Bcomedian
Capplicant
Dtranslator
✔ 正確答案：(B) comedian
解析someone with a funny personality 且全篇談笑話與表演，故為「喜劇演員 comedian」。editor 編輯、applicant 申請人、translator 譯者皆不上台講笑話。
12
Aexchange
Bpossess
Cperform
Dliberate
✔ 正確答案：(C) perform
解析A joke that takes eight seconds to ____ 指把笑話「表演、講出來 perform」。possess 擁有、liberate 解放、exchange 交換，皆與說笑話的動作無關。
A visitor who walks into a film 16 for the first time is usually disappointed. The famous street is only three walls of painted wood. Twenty people stand around one camera, and most of them are waiting. The whole 17, sometimes forty actors, may be called at six in the morning and appear in just ninety seconds of film. A 18 scene in which a house burns down can take four days to shoot. Later an 19 cuts all that work down to eleven minutes. The finished 20 feels effortless, which is exactly the point.
Twenty years ago a circus in Canada made a strange decision: no lions, no elephants, no horses. Some people predicted that it would close within a season.
Instead it grew. Its performers trained for years as dancers and gymnasts, and its shows told one story from beginning to end, more like an opera than a fair.
Today many old circuses have followed suit. Tickets cost more, and the audience is quieter. Children who once shouted at the elephants now sit very still, watching a woman climb a rope in silence, and clap only at the end.
21What unusual decision did the Canadian circus make?
ATo use no animals in its shows
BTo perform only in Canada
CTo hire only older performers
DTo lower its ticket prices
✔ 正確答案：(A) To use no animals in its shows
中譯這個加拿大馬戲團做了什麼不尋常的決定？
解析第一句 no lions, no elephants, no horses，即演出中完全不用動物。票價後來反而變貴。
22What did some people expect after that decision?
AThat the animals would be sold abroad
BThat the circus would close within a season
CThat other circuses would copy it at once
DThat tickets would become cheaper
✔ 正確答案：(B) That the circus would close within a season
中譯在那個決定之後，有些人預期會怎樣？
解析Some people predicted that it would close within a season。其他馬戲團跟進是二十年後的事。
23How are the circus performers trained?
AThey learn their skills in a few weeks
BThey come from opera companies
CThey were all clowns before
DThey train for years as dancers and gymnasts
✔ 正確答案：(D) They train for years as dancers and gymnasts
中譯這個馬戲團的表演者受過什麼訓練？
解析Its performers trained for years as dancers and gymnasts；文中只是說演出「像」歌劇，不是說演員來自歌劇團。
24How has the audience changed?
AIt shouts more than before
BIt has become much smaller
CIt has become much younger
DIt is quieter and claps at the end
✔ 正確答案：(D) It is quieter and claps at the end
中譯觀眾有了什麼改變？
解析the audience is quieter ... and clap only at the end。文中說馬戲團是成長的，觀眾並未變少。
AD
Old Town Cinema - Weekend Film Festival
Three days of classics. One screen. Real popcorn.
Friday 8 p.m. - a silent comedy from 1925, with live piano
Saturday 8 p.m. - a Japanese film about a fisherman and his son
Sunday 2 p.m. - family afternoon: short clips from fifty years of animation
Tickets for the coming weekend are NT$180 each, or NT$450 for all three shows. Students pay half price on Sunday only.
The Sunday show is the only one suitable for children under ten. Doors open thirty minutes before each show, and latecomers must wait for the first break.
全文中譯
三天經典電影。一個放映廳。真正的爆米花。
週五晚間八點－ 一九二五年的默片喜劇，搭配鋼琴現場伴奏
週六晚間八點－ 一部關於漁夫與兒子的日本電影
週日下午兩點－ 家庭時光：五十年動畫的精選片段
本週末的票價為每張 NT$180，三場合購則為 NT$450。學生僅限週日享半價。
週日場是唯一適合十歲以下兒童的場次。開演前三十分鐘開放入場，遲到者必須等到第一次中場休息才能進場。
Questions 25–28
25Which show has live music?
AThe Saturday show
BThe Friday show
CThe Sunday show
DAll three shows
✔ 正確答案：(B) The Friday show
中譯哪一場有現場音樂？
解析Friday 8 p.m. - a silent comedy from 1925, with live piano，只有週五有鋼琴現場伴奏。
26How much is a ticket for all three shows?
ANT$540
BNT$180
CNT$90
DNT$450
✔ 正確答案：(D) NT$450
中譯三場一起買的票價是多少？
解析or NT$450 for all three shows；NT$180 是單場票價。
27Who can pay half price?
AChildren under ten
BFamilies of four or more
CStudents on Sunday
DAnyone who comes early
✔ 正確答案：(C) Students on Sunday
中譯誰可以用半價購票？
解析Students pay half price on Sunday only，其他日子沒有折扣。
28What must people who arrive late do?
AWait for the first break
BPay an extra fee
CSit in the back row
DCome back another day
✔ 正確答案：(A) Wait for the first break
中譯遲到的人必須怎麼做？
解析latecomers must wait for the first break。
NOTICE
Notice: Auditions for the Spring Play
The drama club will cast its spring play on 3 and 4 April in Studio B.
Any student may try out, including those with no stage experience.
Prepare one short speech of about two minutes; a list of suitable speeches is on the club website.
Bring your own copy of the speech. No music is needed this year.
Important: the play is a tragedy, and three of the eight parts are for older characters. Students who are willing to play these parts should say so at the door.
Results will be posted outside the office on 7 April. Please do not phone the teacher.