1 . As an epic (史诗) which brings back to life some of the most famous poets from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) , on July 2, the animated movie Chang’an held its first release in what was once called Chang’an, now known as Xi’an.
Produced by Light Chaser Animation, a Beijing-based animated studio known for its focus on tales inspired by traditional culture and mythology (神话), the film is scheduled for a nationwide release on Saturday.
With a total time of 168 minutes — the longest of any Chinese animated movie to date — Chang’an mainly chronicles the decades-long friendship of Li Bai, arguably the country’s most beloved poet, and Gao Shi, his close friend and a well-known poet.
In an interview, Zou Jing, the director of the movie, discussed the challenges faced in bringing their story to the screen. The biggest challenge we faced was deciding how to present the impressive prosperity (繁荣) of the Tang Dynasty. Before production began, our team studied historical materials, read as much as possible about Tang Dynasty culture and the poets’ lives. We invited experts from different fields to guide us to make sure the content was correct and reliable, and we also learned thoroughly about the poems in this film.
Zou Jing added that in this film, animation gave us a strong expressive means to present Chinese poetry culture in a more impressive way so that the audience could better understand the poetic mood and artistic concepts of the poets.
Chang’An is set up as the first in a series of New Culture films that Light Chaser plans to produce. Speaking with Global Times, Zou Jing explained, ”The New Culture series will be based on actual historical figures in China. This is the key of the series.”
As of Saturday, the movie had gained over 27 million yuan ($3.7 million), topping the country’s presale box office.
1. What do we know about
Chang’an from the passage?
| A．It was the longest movie so far. |
| B．It was a movie about mythology. |
| C．It held its nationwide release on July 2. |
| D．It involved some famous poets from the Tang Dynasty |
2. What does the underlined word “chronicles” in paragraph 3 probably mean?
| A．Guides. | B．Records. | C．Creates. | D．Educates. |
3. What was the biggest challenge faced in making the movie
Chang’an?
| A．Displaying the splendid Tang Dynasty. |
| B．Understanding the culture of the Tang Dynasty. |
| C．Telling the whole story in limited time. |
| D．Ensuring the movie’s credible. |
4. What is the purpose of this article?
| A．To explain the success of a movie. | B．To promote a new animated movie. |
| C．To introduce Chinese poetry culture. | D．To discuss the challenges of making a film. |
