LastSeptember,thepubliclibraryatSaint-OmernearCalaisinF...

问题详情：

Last September, the public library at Saint-Omer near Calais in France was preparing an exhibit on English literature. While going through the library’s collections, Rémy Cordonnier came across a copy of Shakespeare’s plays, listed in their records as a reprint from the 18th century. It was missing close to 30 pages, including the title page.

       This is the first and most comprehensive collection of Shakespeare’s plays. As we know, Shakespeare became popular only much after his death in 1616 and his original manuscripts (手稿) never survived. About 20 of his works are available to us today only because of the efforts of John Heminge and Henry

Condell. These two men were close friends and fellow actors of Shakespeare, and they decided in 1623 to publish 36 of his plays — this is what we call today as the First Folio.

       This was the first time a folio edition was used only for plays in England. Earlier folios were just used for influential works such as encyclopedias (百科全书) and reference books. Plays were frivolous, since they were considered “entertainment”. The original edition consisted of 750-800 copies, of which only a quarter are available today. When published, they were only sold for around 15 shillings to a pound (20 shillings) each. It was thought that the books were originally brought out for use by theatre groups.

       Evidence suggests that some copies available today were compiled (汇编) in the mid-19th century by owners who only then began to realize their importance. Several books are known to have been lost.  The British Library owns 4 copies. In the early 20th century, Henry Folger, President of Standard Oil, collected the largest number of 82 folios.

       The First Folio at Saint-Omer is believed to be the 233rd discovery and could be worth between $6-7 million. Meanwhile, Saint-Omer has made plans to digitize the book and make it available online. The original will be locked up in their safe along with other rare books in their library.

9. Last September, Rémy Cordonnier _____.

A. read a copy of Shakespeare’s plays         B. attended an exhibit at Saint-Omer

C. made an important discovery                  D. studied English literature

10. What can we learn about Shakespeare’s earliest folios?

A. Most of them can be found in the British Library.

B. Most of them were brought out for encyclopedias.

C. They were published at the request of Shakespeare.

D. Their importance was not recognized when first published.

11. The underlined word “frivolous” in Paragraph 3 probably means “_____”.

A. unusual                     B. unimportant            C. uninteresting              D. unpleasant

12. The author’s purpose in writing the text is to _____.

A. ask people to visit the public library at Saint-Omer  B. introduce a new-found folio by Shakespeare

C. show the importance of the First Folio                  D. sing the praises of Shakespeare

【回答】

CDBB

知识点：阅读理解

题型：阅读理解