1 . On October 20th comes “Killers of the Flower Moon” from the director Martin Scorsese. At nearly three and a half hours, its length is nearly double that of the average film last year. Even movie fans struggle to concentrate for that long. During the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, some viewers dozed off. Afterwards there was a mad dash (and long queue) for the toilets. When did watching a film become such a labor?

Film-makers started producing long-lasting movies at a rapid pace in the early 1960s. Cinema was booming and filmmakers wanted to distinguish their art from television. Epics surpassing the three-and-a-half hour mark graced the silver screen. Back then, audiences enjoyed an interval while the projectionist prepared the reels for the next act. Runtimes of popular films experienced ups and downs over subsequent decades. But they have ballooned since 2018.

Movie series is one driver of this trend. Studios want to squeeze the most out of their costly intellectual property, but they are competing with streaming platforms for eyeballs. The hope is that a spectacular, drawn-out blockbuster (大片) will tempt audiences away from the small screen and into cinemas. This approach has often paid off: “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), which showcased Marvel superheroes remarkably with a runtime of three hours, achieved the highest box office revenue among all films in that year.

Anything that attracts people away from their sofas to see a film in theatres is good news for cinemas. But lengthy runtimes also pose a “fundamental problem”, complains Clare Binns of Picturehouse, a British cinema group and film distributor. Long movies can mean abandoning two showings per night, which hurts ticket sales and profits.

Another explanation for longer films has to do with directors’ growing influence. Who would dare tell the likes of Mr Nolan to shorten his masterpieces? Streamers, which do not have to worry as much about concision because viewers can pause whenever they like, may attract big names with deep pockets and promises of creative freedom. “Killers of the Flower Moon” will debut on AppleTV+ after its theatrical release.

1. What can we learn from paragraph 1?

A．Movie fans tend to have a dislike for long movies.

B．Movie theaters should provide adequate restrooms.

C．The average movie fan cannot focus for over three hours.

D．Long movies affect audience engagement and physical comfort.

2. What does the underlined word “ballooned” mean in paragraph 2?

A．Expanded with air.	B．Made great profits.
C．Enjoyed great popularity	D．Increased rapidly in length.

3. Why does the author mention the movie “Avengers: Endgame”?

A．To demonstrate the trend of longer movies.

B．To highlight the success of Marvel series.

C．To illustrate the strong appeal of movie series.

D．To emphasize the studio-streaming platform contest.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Movie Marathons: Past and Present	B．Long Movies: Impacts and Reasons
C．Filmmaking: Challenges and Rewards	D．Streaming Platforms: Promising and Profitable

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Originated in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Kunqu Opera is said to be the mother of all Chinese operas and is one of the oldest forms of opera still    1     (exist) in China. This traditional art was named for its birthplace, Kunshan,    2    is near the city of Suzhou in today’s Jiangsu Province.

The development of Kunqu Opera went through several    3     (stage). In the early days, the songs were    4     (main) composed of long and short lines. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644),     5     (reform) by Wei Liangfu, Kunqu Opera became mild, smooth and    6     (attract). The performers attached great    7     (important) to clear recitation, correct singing and pure tunes. Meanwhile, the composers wrote the musical scores after working out the tunes, and the songs    8     (write) in seven-character or ten-character lines. Moreover, three types of musical instruments (stringed instruments, bamboo flutes, and drums and clappers) formed the accompaniment.

Kunqu Opera is acknowledged as    9    elegant opera. Carrying forward the tradition of ancient poetry and common speech, the art is also    10    very high literary value.

In 2001, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 1601599 announced Kunqu Opera as a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of humanity.