Film Critic
Mark Adams looks back over the last ten years of his work
as a film critic for a newspaper called The Front Page
Writing articles about films for The Front Page was my first proper joB.Before then I had done bits of reviewing — novels for other newspapers, films for a magazine and anything I was asked to do for the radio. That was how I met Tom Seaton, the first arts editor of The Front Page who had also written for television. He hired me, but Tom was not primarily a journalist, or he would certainly have been more careful in choosing his staff.
At first, his idea was that a team of critics should take care of the art forms that didn't require specialized knowledge: books, TV, theatre, film and radio. There would be a weekly lunch at which we would make our choices from the artistic material that Tom had decided we should cover, though there would also be guests to make the atmosphere sociable.
It all felt like a bit of a dream at that time: a new newspaper, and I was one of the team. It seemed so unlikely that a paper could be introduced into a crowded market. It seemed just as likely that a millionaire wanted to help me personally, and was pretending to employ me. Such was my lack of self-confidence. In fact, the first time I saw someone reading the newspaper on the London underground, then turning to a page on which one of my reviews appeared, I didn't know where to look.
Tom's original scheme for a team of critics for the arts never took off. It was a good idea, but we didn't get together as planned and so everything was done by phone. It turned out, too, that the general public out there preferred to associate a reviewer with a single subject area, and so I chose film. Without Tom's initial push, though, we would hardly have come up with the present arrangement, by which I write an extended weekly piece, usually on one film.
The Luxury of this way of working suits me well. I wouldn't have been interested in the more standard film critic's role, which involves considering every film that comes out. That's a routine that would make me stale in no time at all. I would soon be sinking into my seat on a Monday morning with the sigh, “What insulting rubbish must I sit through now?”— a style of sigh that can often be heard in screening rooms around the world.
1. What do we learn about Tom Seaton from the first paragraph?
2. A weekly lunch was arranged for critics to ___.
3. When Mark started working for The Front Page, he___.
4. In the end, the organization of the team was influenced by___.
5. Mark takes the new way of working as “luxury” (paragraph 5) because___.
1.细节事实题。根据题干关键字the first paragraph可以定位到文章首段 “That was how I met Tom Seaton, the first arts editor of The Front Page who had also written for television.”中文翻译为：我就是这样认识了汤姆•西顿(Tom Seaton)的，他是《纽约时报》头版的第一位艺术编辑，同时也为电视撰稿。可以判断只有C项“他在为电视台工作时遇到了马克”正确。
2.细节事实题。由题干关键字A weekly lunch可以定位到原文第二段 “There would be a weekly lunch at which we would make our choices from the artistic material that Tom had decided we should cover…” 中文大意为：每周会有一次午餐，我们会从汤姆决定我们应该报道的艺术材料中做出选择。因此可知C选项“接受新的评论工作”正确，符合题意。
3.推理判断题。由题干可定位到原文第三段 “It seemed so unlikely that a paper could be introduced into a crowded market. ”中文翻译为：一份报纸似乎不太可能被引入一个拥挤的市场。判断A选项“怀疑这份报纸能否成功”正确。
4.推理判断题。由题干可定位到原文第四段“It turned out, too, that the general public out there preferred to associate a reviewer with a single subject area, and so I chose film. ”中文翻译为：结果也证明，公众更喜欢把一个评论家和一个单一的主题领域联系起来，所以我选择了电影。可知选项A“读者的偏好”正确。
5.推理判断题。由题干可以定位到原文倒数第二段 “Without Tom's initial push, though, we would hardly have come up with the present arrangement, by which I write an extended weekly piece, usually on one film.” 中文翻译为：如果没有汤姆最初的推动，我们很
难达成现在的安排，我每周写一篇文章，通常是关于一部电影。以及最后一段 “I wouldn't have been interested in the more standard film critic's role, which involves considering every film that comes out.” 中文翻译为：我不会对更标准的影评人这个角色感兴趣，这个角色需要考虑每一部上映的电影。判断出B选项“这使他能够做出选择”符合题意。
