Pantomime

E) prison

Many foreigners think that pantomime is the same as mime, but in Britain they are two different things. Everyone knows that " mime" means acting without speaking, but " pantomime" has changed in its form over the centuries and British pantomime is now a very noisy show full of shouting and singing from the audience as well as the actors.

We do not have pantomime all through the year. It is a winter show which begins in late November or early December and continues for a couple of months after Christmas. All schoolchildren have their winter holiday sometime in this period, and if they are lucky, their parents will take them to see the local pantomime. In London there are several to choose from.

The story of a pantomime is always well-known. There are about half a dozen traditional stories like " Sleeping Beauty', " Cinderella", and " Peter Pan" and " Snow White" and most children all over the world know them by heart. The famous American animator and film-maker, Walt Disney, was quick to recognize their popularity and made several of them into full-length cartoon films.

The strangest thing about pantomime is that the handsome young man or " principal boy" is always played by a woman and the old lady or " pantomime dame" is always played by a man! This creates a funny situation with two women singing lovesongs to each other - because the handsome prince is always a woman. But this is a very old tradition and the audience expects it to be like this. To make it stranger still, the girl in boy's costume always looks and sounds completely like a girl - and similarly, everyone can easily see that the old woman is really a man.

79. In Britain pantomime is... nowadays.

A) is the same as mime

B) full of light effects

C) silent

D) a very noisy show

E) only singing without speaking

80. What do schoolchildren usually have during this period?

A) autumn holiday

B) summer holiday

C) winter holiday

D) feast

E) spring holiday

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81. A dsome young man or " principal boy " in pantomime is always p ayed by....

A) young people

B) a man

C) a traditional actor

D) a woman

E) a child

82. Winter show continues for... after Christmas

A) two months ·

B) a month

C) three months

D) several months

E) few months

83. " Mime" means...

A) acting without moving

B) acting without speaking

C) only singing

D) singing and shouting

E) speaking without acting

84. " A set of twelve" means...

A) dozen

B) pair

C) dosen

D) trio

E) couple

85A.)Plyin women roles by men and vice versa is an old s1tuat10n ···

B) problem

C) tradition

D) task

E) competition

86. Everyone can.. th h

A) sincerely see at t e old woman in costume is really a man.

B) approximately

C) easily

D) hardly

E) not

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