Question

When you travel in China, you can often see some very special puppets (木偶) in many gift shops. They are thin, colorful, made of animal skin (皮) and in all kinds of shapes. They are traditional Chinese shadow puppets.

The Chinese shadow puppet play (皮影戲) is an old art. It's also called "the business of the five", because a shadow puppet play group is usually made up of five people. One moves the puppets, one sings and the other three play instruments.

How did this art start? There is a story behind it. It is said that more than 2 000 years ago, the wife of Emperor Wu of Han died from illness. The emperor was very sad. His minister (大臣), Li Shaoweng, one day saw children playing with dolls and the shadows of the dolls were dancing on the wall. Then Li went back home and made a puppet of emperor's wife. He put sticks (技條) on the puppet's hands and feet to make it easy to move.

When night came, he put up a curtain (簾), lit a candle, and invited the emperor to sit before the curtain. Li moved the puppet from behind the curtain. The emperor felt like he was seeing his wife again and was very happy. After that the shadow puppet play became the emperor's favorite pastime.

Over the past thousands of years, the shadow puppet play has won the hearts of many people in China. And now, more and more people around the world are showing interest in the art.

1.What is NOT the quality of Chinese shadow puppets?

A.Thin and colorful. B.Made of animals. C.Different kinds of shapes.

2.How many people are there in a shadow puppet play group?

A.1. B.3. C.5.

3.How did the wife of Emperor Wu of Han die?

A.Because of the illness. B.Because of the emperor. C.Because of the minister.

4.What is NOT necessary when we play the shadow puppets?

A.Spoons. B.Curtain. C.Sticks.

5.What can we infer (推斷) according to the passage?

A.The emperor is a very strict person.

B.The Chinese shadow puppet play is a symbol of China.

C.Chinese shadow puppet play has been popular around the world for 2,000 years.

Answer 1