December 21, 2012 marks the completion of the 5,125 year Great Cycle of the Ancient Maya Long Count Calendar.

Rather than being an end－point, this cycle that is closing is naturally I followed by the start of a new cycle. What this new cycle has in store for humanity is a mystery that has yet to unfold...

The recent 2012 movie serves to alert a targeted 140 million people, in case they too haven't already heard the news. Unfortunately, however, the movie does a disservice because it distorts the message of this ancient prophecy (預(yù)言) by associating it with fear and destruction, as described by the movie's global disaster scenario (場(chǎng)景), rather than the themes of transformation and renewal the prophecy is actually based on.

In other words, the global scenario of the 2012 movie is not based on any facts. As Emmerich clarifies，“We only used the fact that the Mayan calendar ends. That gave us the year.” Emmerich said after checking out the range of 2012 books on Amazon, he realized, “...there are so many (theories) that, in a way, you can just create your own.” He shares that “2012” was tacked on as a title to his disaster movie because it is something “people believe” and it made the movie seem more “real.”

Interestingly, Emmerich's underlying motivation for the movie seems to be genuine concern about the course we are all on as modern society. As he states, “I hope we are not ruining our planet. I really believe that, if we keep going and doing what we are doing, we will not be leaving the planet how it should be, for our kids. That has been going on for generations. It just very sad to see and read the news, every day, and see what these people are fighting over. It's like they don't  understand that the clock is ticking.”

6. According to the Ancient Maya Long Count Calendar, December 21,2012 is the day on which ________.

A. the world will end with many disasters

B. the old age will end and a new one will begin

C. there will be a world flood

D. the world can survive many disasters

7. Which of the following is TRUE about the movie 2012?

A. It is intended to explore what is in store in the new cycle.

B. It tells us about the Ancient Maya Long Count Calendar as it is.

C. It is just based on the director's ideas.

D. It describes the ancient prophecy vividly.

8. What Emmerich says suggests that ________.

A. he is quite concerned about the present situation on the earth

B. he is regretful that people have misunderstood his movie

C. he himself believes what is described in the movie

D. he just wants to attract viewers by the disaster scenario

9. By this passage, the author intends to ________.

A. tell us about what the movie 2012 is all about

B. help the director to promote his film

C. tell us what we should learn from the movie 2012

D. explain whether we can trust the ancient prophecy

10. The underlined word “distort” in the third paragraph probably means ________.

A. change something in a wrong way

B. convey the original meaning

C. describe something clearly

D. give more proof to something

6. 解析：選B。細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從文章前兩段可知，根據(jù)瑪雅古日歷，2012年12月21日，僅僅是一個(gè)輪回的結(jié)束，另一個(gè)輪回的開始。

7. 解析：選C。細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從文章第四段可知，電影導(dǎo)演僅僅是根據(jù)自己對(duì)瑪雅日歷的理解來(lái)執(zhí)導(dǎo)的電影，并沒有事實(shí)依據(jù)。

8. 解析：選A。推理判斷題。從文章最后一段可知，電影導(dǎo)演的話說(shuō)明了他對(duì)當(dāng)前現(xiàn)狀的擔(dān)憂和對(duì)地球的保護(hù)意識(shí)。

9. 解析：選C。推理判斷題。綜合分析文章信息，電影《2012》并沒有反映現(xiàn)實(shí)，但其中描述的災(zāi)難場(chǎng)景對(duì)我們也有一定的啟示，我們應(yīng)該好好保護(hù)地球，文章最后一段第一句反映了本文的寫作目的。

10. 解析：選A。詞義猜測(cè)題。綜合全文可知：電影并沒有真實(shí)反映古瑪雅日歷，而是扭曲了其中的信息。故可推測(cè)出，distort意為“扭曲；曲解”。

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1. Which is the correct order of the events in the passage?

a. Murbach’s thoughts turn to a perfectly shaped tree.

b. 2.5 million people watch the Christmas tree.

c. The tree is flown to New York.

d. It was lighted on December 2.

e. The tree is chopped up.

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A. taking care of Christmas trees

B. deciding on the perfect evergreens

C. sorting the letters from people

D. deciding the TV programs

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A. Because he wants everyone to be happy with his choice.

B. Because he hopes to make everybody unable to breathe.

C. Because he enjoys showing off.

D. Because he wishes to attract people's attention to himself.

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A. be evergreen

B. have lots of space between their branches

C. be tall enough not to see through

D. be equally balanced

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A. A person always ignoring his family.      

B. A person full of love.

C. A person devoted to his work.

D. A person with great anxiety.

 

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