泽熙美文Reading Comprehension
Chinese Buddhist Music Catches Audience in HK
中华佛教音乐吸引香港听众
The Hong Kong Cultural Center in Victoria Bay was packed on Thursday night, and loud applause periodically echoed through the neon lit sky. It was not rock music nor was it pop—it was traditional Chinese Buddhist music that made an instant hit in the modern metropolis.
Hong Kong is the fourth leg of the Buddhist music performance tour by a troupe consisting of more than 130 monks from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. And this is also the first time monks from across the Taiwan Strait had jointly set up a troupe to perform, on global stages.
Crowds of Hong King residents were lining up at the local port waiting to welcome members of the troupe who were sailing in from Macao, where they had just ended another successful performance on Wednesday night.
The monks returned the enthusiasm of the residents with a powerful performance. Almost without sleep, the monks drove to the concert hall preparing the stage and doing the rehearsals.
Buddhist music, which originated from ancient India, found its way into China some 2,000 years ago, and after absorbing elements of traditional Chinese folk music, court music and other religious music, a unique form which is now called Chinese Buddhist music came into being.
The monks of the troupe come from prestigious Buddhist temples including Fo Guang Shah Temple in Taiwan, Shaolin Temple in central Henan Province, Labrang Temple in northwestern Gansu Province, and General Temple in southwestern Yunnan Province, representing the three branches of Buddhism in China, namely Chinese Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism and Pali Buddhism.
The wind sweeping across the Victoria Bay was cool, but the atmosphere in the concert hall was hot. The audience was mesmerized by the great variety of genres of Chinese Buddhist music．
“It’s great to see so many genres of Chinese Buddhist music performed on the same stage,” said a female bank employee surnamed Chang, “It’s so fascinating,” she said．
Calling it a happy event in Hong Kong, the Venerable Kwok Kuang, president of the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, said that the concert served as a prelude to the display, in Hong Kong on May 26, of a relic from Famen Temple preserved in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.
He said that Buddhism and Buddhist music in the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong had the same roots, and through the performance by monks from across the Taiwan Strait, the traditional religious art would be further developed and bring more happiness to the Chinese.
Co-sponsored by the Chinese Buddhism Association of China and Fo Guang Shan Temple in Taiwan, the troupe was formed in February this year and has since staged four successful performances in Taiwan and Macao, and will move on to Los Angeles and San Francisco in the US and Vancouver of Canada from Friday.
Hailing the joint performance as a major event in the history of Buddhism, Hsin Ting, deputy chief of the troupe and abbot of Fo Guang Shan, said that both the monks and the support staff had been working together very harmoniously ever since the formation of the troupe, indicating their inherited strong ties.
“I hope the troupe’s tour to North America will help the world community better understand Chinese traditional culture, especially the harmonious relationships among the people across the Taiwan Strait,” he said．
1. How was the Chinese Buddhist music troupe received in Hong Kong?
A.It was welcomed like any other rock or pop music bands.
B.It was not as welcome as rock or pop music bands.
C.It was so welcome that it would visit Hong Kong for the fourth time.
D.It caused a great sensation among the local people.
正确答案：D
2. What, according to the author, is the significance of the troupe’s visit to Hong Kong?
A.It signifies a beginning of strengthening cultural exchanges across the Taiwan Straits.
B.It marks a beginning of reunification of the mainland and Taiwan.
C.It marks a successful religious cross-Strait exchange and cooperation at a global level.
D.It signifies that Taiwan and the mainland are of one country.
正确答案：C
3. The different genres of Buddhist music performed on stage represent
A.a long history of Chinese Buddhism
B.richess of Chinese Buddhist music
C.many different temples across China
D.the three branches of Buddhism in China
正确答案：B
4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A.The troupe will offer three more performances after the Hong Kong event.
B.There will be another religious activity in Hong Kong after the music performance.
C.The troupe will continue its tour to North America．
D.The troupe is about four months old．
正确答案：A
5. Hsin Ting and Fo Guang Shan attributed the success of the performance to
A.the good relationship between the monks and the support staff
B.the strong traditional ties that ensured the harmonious work for the performance
C.the long Chinese traditional culture
D.the long history of Buddhism in China
正确答案：B
With the sudden onset of severe psychotic symptoms, the individual is said to be experiencing acute schizophrenia (精神分裂症). “Psychotic” means out of touch with reality, or unable to separate real from unreal experiences. Some people have only one such psychotic episode. Others have many episodes during a lifetime but lead relatively normal lives during interim periods. The individual with chronic (continuous or recurring) schizophrenia often does not fully recover normal functioning and typically requires long-term treatment, generally including medication, to control the symptoms. These symptoms may include hallucinations (幻觉), incoherence, delusions, lack of judgment, deterioration of the abilities to reason and feel emotion, and a lack of interaction between the patient and his environment. The hallucinations may be a visual, auditory, or tactile. Some chronic schizophrenic patients may never he able to function without assistance of one sort or another.
6. Which of the following is NOT a symptom of schizophrenia?
A.Hallucinations.
B.Delusions.
C.Incoherence.
D.Vertigo.
正确答案：D
[解析] 细节题型。
见文章倒数第三句：These symptoms may include hallucinations(幻觉)，incoherence(语无伦次)，delusions(错觉)，lack of judgment，deterioration of the abilities to reason and feel emotion, and a lack of interaction between the patient and his environment．其中提到精神分裂症的症状，选项D．Vertigo(眩晕)不是，所以是答案。
7. It can be inferred from the passage that a person experiencing acute schizophrenia most likely ______.
A.cannot live without medication
B.cannot go on living
C.can hold a full-time job
D.cannot distinguish real from unreal
正确答案：D
[解析] 推断题型。
见文章前两句：With the sudden onset of severe psychotic symptoms, the individual is said to be experiencing acute schizophrenia(精神分裂症)．”Psychotic” means out of touch with reality, or unable to separate real from unreal experiences．一个人如突发严重的精神病则患有急性精神分裂症，而患有精神病则意味着与现实脱节或无法区分真实和虚幻的体验。由此可推论出选项D．cannot distinguish real from unreal正确。
8. According to this passage, thinking that one can fly might be an example of ______.
