Unit 12   Art and literature

 d. hollywood began to make films for television after the first world war.

d
    about the year 1900, a small, dark-hair boy named charlie chaplin was often seen waiting outside the back entrances of london theatres. he looked thin and hungry. he was hoping to get work in show business. he could sing and dance, and above all, he knew how to make people laugh. but he couldn’t get work and therefore wandered about the city streets. sometimes he was sent away to a home for children who had no parents.
    but twenty years later this same charlie chaplin became the greatest, best known, and best loved comedian in the world. any regular visitor to the cinema must have seen some of chaplin’s films. people everywhere have sat and laughed at them until the tears ran down their faces. even people who don’t understand english can enjoy chaplin’s films because they are mostly silent. it isn’t what he says that makes us laugh. his comedy doesn’t depend upon words or language. it depends on little actions which mean the same thing to people all over the world. acting out without words, of common human situations plays an important part in the dances and plays of many countries. it’s a kind of world language.
    chaplin lived most of his life in america and died in switzerland on christmas day 1977, at the age of eighty-eight. there was sadness all over the world at the news of his death.
55. chaplin was born in ________.
 a. america   b. switzerland  c. england  d. france
56. little does chaplin’s comedy depend on ________.
 a. actions       b. acting out  
c. common human situations    d. words and language
57. one of the reasons that people all over the world can enjoy chaplin’s films is that _______.
 a. most of them have been translated into different languages
 b. most of them are silent films
 c. they are good comedies
 d. most of them are good sound films
58. _______ is a kind of world language according to the passage.
 a. comedy       b. acting out without words
 c. silence       d. films
59. chaplin is regarded as master of comedy mainly because _______.
 a. he acted out the common human situations best in his comedy
 b. his films are mostly silent
 c. he knew how to make people laugh
 d. any regular visitor has seen some of his films