英語四級(jí)閱讀練習(xí)附答案-100 欲望之都—新加坡

　　Sex And The City-state

 

　　On a small downtown stage, two men kiss passionately. Visitors to a nearby museum look at provocative nudes on the wall, while readers scour local magazines for the best place to buy sex toys. Think you're in New York? Guess again. This is Singapore, the famously uptight city-state better known for banning films like Eyes Wide Shut and Lolita, 2 not to mention magazines like Playboy3.

　　There's not exactly a free -love revolution going on, but Singapore has in recent years loosened its restrictions on sex in the arts. And more freedom is on the horizon: this month the government's Censorship Review Committee ( CRC) is expected to issue a report further easing the guidelines governing what Singaporeans read, watch and listen to. That means it may not be long before Singaporeans can enjoy Cosmopolitan magazine, and maybe even racy TV shows like HBO's Sex and the City.

　　The new rules are part of Singapore 's efforts to bolster its art scene . In 2002, it opened a world-class performing-arts center, the Esplanade -Theatres on the Bay, which has quickly become a visual icon and is tackling ambitious programs like the 19-hour opera The Peony Pavilion4 .

　　Singapore still has a long way to go to become a true bastion of artistic freedom. Sexually explicit scenes were recently cut from Chicago to give it a PG rating5. Certain topics remain very sensitive .

　　In the end, the CRC is expected to recommend relatively small changes: loosening controls on pay-per-view TV6 and clarifying the rating system for films and plays so viewers know exactly what to expect. Such incremental change seems to be in step with public tastes. Indeed, a recent survey by the CRC found that most people favored remaining true to existing Asian values. So don't expect to see Penthouse on newsstands any time soon.

　　練習(xí)題：

　?、? True or False:

　　1. Singapore has been famous for its conservative attitude towards its sex.

　　2. There is exactly a free -love revolution in the city.

　　3. The new report means that Singaporeans can enjoy Cosmopolitan magazine at once .

　　Ⅱ. Questions:

　　1. Why the CRC issues new rules to ease the guidelines governing what Singaporeans read and watch?

　　2. Is there artistic freedom in Singapore? What is the present situation?

　　3. What is the CRC expected to do?

　　答案：

　?、? 1. T 2. F 3 . F

　　Ⅱ. 1 . To bolster its arts scene.

　　2 . Yes, there is. It still has a long way to go to become a true bastion artistic freedom.

　　3 . It is expected to issue report further easing the guidelines governing what Singaporeans read, watch and listen to.

　　參考譯文：

　　欲望之都——新加坡

　　在市區(qū)一個(gè)小臺(tái)階上, 兩名男子正在熱吻。到附近的博物館參觀的游客們看著貼在墻上的煽情的裸像, 讀者則在瀏覽當(dāng)?shù)仉s志搜索購買性玩具的最佳地點(diǎn)。以為你身在紐約?

　　再猜猜。這里是新加坡, 一個(gè)聞名遐邇的保守城市, 曾禁查過《大開眼界》、《洛麗塔》之類的電影, 更不用提像《花花公子》那樣的雜志。

　　雖然沒有發(fā)生性解放運(yùn)動(dòng), 但近幾年來, 新加坡放寬了對(duì)藝術(shù)中“ 性”的限制。而且將有更多的自由: 預(yù)計(jì)這個(gè)月新加坡制度審核委員會(huì)將發(fā)布一個(gè)報(bào)告, 進(jìn)一步放寬管理新加坡人民的書籍、電視、廣播的規(guī)定。那將意味著, 不久新加坡人也能閱讀《大都市》雜志, 甚至收看到像美國有線電視頻道播放的《欲望城市》那樣有失體統(tǒng)的電視節(jié)目。

　　這些新規(guī)則是新加坡為支持本國藝術(shù)發(fā)展所作努力的一部分。2002 年, 新加坡一家世界級(jí)的表演藝術(shù)中心——— 濱海藝術(shù)中心開放了, 它迅速成為一個(gè)視覺圖標(biāo), 長達(dá)19 個(gè)小時(shí)的歌劇《牡丹亭》也在此隆重上演。

　　新加坡要成為一個(gè)真正的藝術(shù)自由的堡壘, 仍有很長一段路要走。電影《芝加哥》中的大膽赤裸場景都被剪切成為適合兒童觀看級(jí)別的電影。某些話題仍十分敏感。最后, 新加坡制度審核委員會(huì)預(yù)計(jì)將會(huì)做出相對(duì)小的變化: 放寬對(duì)按次收費(fèi)電視的管制, 明確電影、電視劇級(jí)別的劃分, 使觀眾對(duì)節(jié)目有所預(yù)期。這些漸進(jìn)式的變化看來與民眾 味步調(diào)一致。的確, 制度審核委員會(huì)新近的一次調(diào)查顯示: 大多數(shù)人都喜歡保持現(xiàn)存的亞洲價(jià)值觀。因此, 別期望不久會(huì)在報(bào)亭看到《閣樓》雜志。