单选题 Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several questions about it. You are to choose ONE best answer, A. B. C. or D. to each question.
When Harvey Ball took a black felt-tip pen to a piece of yellow paper in 1963, he never could have realized that he was drafting the face that would launch 50 million buttons and an eventual war over copyright. Mr. Ball, a commercial artist, was simply filling a request from Joy Young of the Worcester Mutual Insurance Company to create an image for their "smile campaign" to coach employees to be more congenial in their customer relations. It seems there was a hunger for a bright grin—the original order of 100 smiley-face buttons were snatched up and an order for 10,000 more was placed at once.
The Worcester Historical Museum takes this founding moment seriously. "Just as you'd want to know the biography of General Washington, we realized we didn't know the comprehensive history of the Smiley Face," says Bill Wallace, the executive director of the historical museum where the exhibit "Smiley—An American Icon" opens to the public Oct. 6 in Worcester, Mass.
Worcester, often referred to by neighboring Bostonians as "that manufacturing town off Route 90," lays claim to several other famous commercial firsts, the monkey wrench and shredded wheat among them. Smiley Face is a particularly warm spot in the city's history. Through a careful historical analysis, Mr. Wallace says that while the Smiley Face birthplace is undisputed, it took several phases of distribution before the distinctive rounded-tipped smile with one eye slightly larger than the other proliferated in the mainstream.
As the original buttons spread like drifting pollen with no copyright attached, a bank in Seattle next realized its commercial potential. Under the guidance of advertising executive David Stern, the University Federal Savings & Loan launched a very public marketing campaign in 1967 centered on the Smiley Face. It eventually distributed 150,000 buttons along with piggy banks and coin purses. Old photos of the bank show giant Smiley Face wallpaper.
By 1970, Murray and Bernard Spain, brothers who owned a card shop in Philadelphia, were affixing the yellow grin to everything from key chains to cookie jars along with "Have a happy day". "In the 1970s, there was a trend toward happiness," says Wallace. "We had assassinated a president, we were in a war with Vietnam, and people were looking for [tokens of] happiness. [The Spain brothers] ran with it."
The Smiley Face resurged in the 1990s. This time it was fanned by a legal dispute between Wal-Mart, who uses it to promote its low prices, and Franklin Loufrani, a Frenchman who owns a company called SmileyWorld. Mr. Loufrani says he created the Smiley Face and has trademarked it around the world. He has been distributing its image in 80 countries since 1971.
Loufrani's actions irked Ball, who felt that such a universal symbol should remain in the public domain in perpetuity. So in a pleasant proactive move, Ball declared in 1999 that the first Friday in October would be "World Smile Day" to promote general kindness and charity toward children in need. Ball died in 2001.
The Worcester exhibit opens on "World Smile Day", Oct. 6. It features a plethora of Smiley Face merchandise—from the original Ball buttons to plastic purses and a toilet seat and contemporary interpretations by local artists. The exhibit is scheduled to run through Feb. 11.
单选题 According to the passage, the Worcester Historical Museum ______.
  • A. concentrates on the collection of the most famous commercial firsts the city has invented
  • B. has composed a comprehensive history of the Smiley Face through the exhibition
  • C. treats Smiley Face as the other famous commercial firsts the city has produced
  • D. has organized the exhibit to arouse the Americans' patriotism
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 对文章基本内容的理解，主要集中在第二段。Worcester Historical Museum的executive director Bill Wallace介绍了该馆举办Smiley—An American Icon展览的宗旨和过程，选项A和C与文中的介绍并不吻合。选项D则“立意”过高，属过度阐释，也应予排除。
单选题 When the author used the expression "spread like drifting pollen" (para. 4) to describe the gradual distribution of Smiley Face, he implies that ______.
  • A. Harvey Ball did not claim the copyright of the yellow grin button
  • B. the Smiley Face was immediately accepted by the public
  • C. the button was not sold as an ordinary commercial product
  • D. Harvey Ball had the intention to abandon the copyright of Smiley Face
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 根据上下文正确理解词语和作出推测的能力。该短语出现在第四段。作者用spread like drifting pollen(像花粉一般飘散)这一比喻来形容Harvey Ball设计制作的Smiley Face的流传情况，以形象的方式表明该徽章是很自然地、逐渐为大众喜欢和接受的，另一方面也隐含设计制作者并未就此去申请专利以取得商业利益。选项B有过度解释成分，选项C与文中所述事实不符，选项D的内容描述的是后来(20世纪90年代)发生版权争议后设计者采取的立场，在此处并不妥。其实，句中with no copyright attached即明确点题。
单选题 Why did Bill Wallace mention the assassination of the then American president and the Vietnam War in the 1970s?
  • A. To have a review of the contemporary American history.
  • B. To remind people that we should never forget the past.
  • C. To explain why Americans liked the Smiley Face during that period.
  • D. To show how the Spain brothers made a fortune through selling the yellow grin.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 对文章基本内容的理解。博物院执行主任提及美国当代历史上发生的重大事件，旨在说明Smiley Face徽章受民众欢迎的原因。年仅40多岁的总统肯尼迪被暗杀案、在长达十多年的时间里把美国拖入困境的越南战争，这些美国重大历史事件考生理应有所了解。选项A为过度阐释，选项B虽语义本身成立，也颇有道理，但与文中所述有别，选项D为错解。
单选题 In the expression "Loufrani's actions irked Ball" (para. 7), the Word "irked" can best be replaced by ______.
  • A. perplexed
  • B. provoked
  • C. irritated
  • D. challenged
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 根据上下文正确理解词语的能力。内容见第七段。从上下文可得知，西班牙人Loufrani声称Smiley Face出自他之手，并称他拥有发明专利。这当然不会使Harvey Ball感到高兴，但他坚持这一形象should remain in the public domain in perpetuity，自己并没有去申请专利。选项A，B，D或错解，或与文中意思相反。
单选题 Which of the following is NOT true about the "World Smile Day"?
  • A. It was established to commemorate the founder Harvey Ball.
  • B. It was to promote general kindness and charity toward children in need.
  • C. It was declared by Harvey Ball in 1999.
  • D. It was decided to be held on the first Friday in October each year.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 对文章基本内容的理解。选项B，C，D均与文中所述事实一致，应予排除。选项A称该纪念目的设立是为了纪念设计师Harvey Ball，而实际上该纪念日是设计者自己提意设立的。