words which were hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school.And with tickets costing as much as $145 a performance, opera goers also had a certain appearance in people's mind: rich, well-dressed and old.

　　But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.

　　Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to associate opera with the common people.That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or bank-breaking ticket prices.And because young people don't or won't come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such usual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

　　The Houston Grand Opera's choice is the public library, where it performs "mobile operas", shortened versions of child-friendly operas.This summer's production is Hansel&Gretel.By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level.The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists'Training Program.

26. Which is the main idea of this passage?

　A. Opera is famous for its long history.

　B. Opera is only performed for rich people.

　C. Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.

　D. Young people are not interested in opera.

27. The underlined phrase in the second paragraph means _______.

　A. breaking up the old rules B. changing the dresses

　C. making the audience at ease D. advertising themselves

28. Opera companies prefer to perform short versions because _______.

　A. they can be performed in public libraries

　B. short versions are easy to perform

　C. it is hard to find long versions

　D. they can make people interested

29. The San Francisco Opera employs students in order to _______.

　A. celebrate its 75th anniversary B. reduce the costs

　C. attract young people D. make Cinderella popular

五、七选五（每小题3分，共15分）

Top Poetry Writing Tips

Tips 1: Poetry involves work, rest and play.

　　 30 It involves hard work, especially in the early stage when you are deciding on the overall form and tone of the poem, and getting the bones of it onto the page. But writing poetry should be a playful activity, too. Have fun playing around with the language, the ideas and the music inside the poem.

Tip 2: 31

　　Poetry has been defined as "the best words in their best order". Choose your words carefully for their sounds and meaning. But poetry is also about silence. Just as the white space on the page is needed to shape the pattern of words, so the thoughts that are left unsaid, the pauses, the quiet hints, will add to something extra to your poem. 32 If you have created enough solid stepping stones in words and thoughts, then the reader will follow you to the end of the poem.

Tips 3: 33

　　Poets often turn to writing a poem when they experience a strong emotion and have the need to express it. The reading of other people's poetry can also give comfort or a sense that you are not alone in how you are feeling. But be careful not to swamp your poem with abstract emotions and don't tell your readers how to think or feel.

Tip 4: Writing poetry can be difficult to start and hard to let go.