A
As a teenager working at part-time jobs in New York City in 1939, Stan Lee never expected to become a legendary talent behind some of the world’s most memorable superheroes.
“I never looked that far ahead, ”says Lee. “In fact, I never thought I’d get into the comic-book business. I applied for a job at a publishing company and I thought they published regular magazines, which they did also. But the one place they had an opening was in the comic-book department, so that’s where I went. ”By the time the company became known as Marvel Comics, in the 1960s, he was an art director and about to revolutionize comics.
Unlike the perfect comic-book superheroes of other companies, Lee made Marvel’s new characters faulty, more human. “And I tried to show that even though they had super power, everything wasn’t perfect in their lives. They still had to worry about earning a living, about their relationship with other people, about their families and their health and so forth, ”Lee says. The characters that Lee and the Marvel artists created are so popular that more than two billion comic books based on their adventures have been published, in 75 countries and 25 languages.
Looking back over his 70 years in comics, Lee sees other changes, too. “When we did the comics years ago, we tried to make them so they were suitable for every age. We had a lot of action, but we didn’t really have what we’d call violence, ”he says. “I tried to write them, so they were intelligent enough for an older reader, but a young kid could also understand them and enjoy them. ”
Interest in stories about Marvel’s superheroes is growing, especially in Hollywood. Next year, Captain America and The Mighty Thor will bring their adventures to the big screen, following in the super footsteps of The X-Men and Spiderman.
Lee is no longer surprised at the popularity of the characters he helped create. “Now I expect it. In fact, if people talk about some of the great characters in the world today and they don’t mention Marvel’s characters, I get very upset. ”
【文章大意】本文是一篇人物介绍。文章主要讲述了超级英雄之父——斯坦·李。斯坦·李在纽约市打零工时还是一个少年, 根本没有想到有朝一日他会创作出世界上一些最伟大的漫画英雄人物来。
1. What do we know about Stan Lee?
A. He is not satisfied with his characters.
B. He will appear on the big screen.
C. He is noted for the gift for comic artwork.
D. He wrote over two billion comic books.
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第一段“become a legendary talent behind. . . ”及全文可知, 斯坦·李因为创作了无数著名动漫英雄人物而闻名于世。故选C。
2. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?
A. Stan Lee happened to enter comics industry and made it.
B. Stan Lee applied for a job at a publishing company but failed.
C. Stan Lee got into the comic-book department with large goals.
D. Stan Lee ran Marvel Comics and reformed comics in the 1960s.
【解析】选A。推理判断题。根据第二段中的“I never looked that far ahead, ”says Lee. “In fact, I never thought I’d get into the comic-book business. . . ”可知, 他是碰巧进入漫画界, 一步一步成功了。故选A。
3. The characters made by Marvel Comics _________.
A. were perfect comics heroes
B. led readers to live a perfect life
C. satisfied the taste of readers of all ages
D. exposed the violence and darkness of the world
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第四段“. . . they were suitable for every age. ”可知, 他们制作的动漫适合各个年龄段的观众。故选C。
4. What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Comic Superheroes of Marvel Comics
B. Comic Films Created by Marvel Comics
C. Superheroes Comics Company in Big Screen
D. Father of Greatest Comic Superheroes—Stan Lee
【解析】选D。主旨大意题。根据第一段“As a teenager working at part-time jobs in New York City in 1939, Stan Lee never expected to become a legendary talent behind some of the world’s most memorable superheroes. ”及全文内容可知, 文章主要讲述了斯坦·李的漫画创作以及他创作的漫画英雄。故选D。
【知识拓展】难句解读
The characters that Lee and the Marvel artists created are so popular that more than two billion comic books based on their adventures have been published, in 75 countries and 25 languages.
分析: 本句是一个复合句。that Lee and the Marvel artists created为that引导的定语从句; based on their adventures为过去分词短语作定语。
翻译: 由李和Marvel艺术家们创作的人物很受欢迎, 有超过20亿本基于他们冒险的漫画书在75个国家, 用25种语言被出版。
