六、阅读与回答问题。
主题群:文学、艺术与体育 子主题:影视符号 语篇类型:说明文 难度:★★
Have you seen circles, squares and triangles(三角形) everywhere in your daily life? Have you thought about their meanings in films? Much like colours, different shapes can show different features(特征) of characters in the scenes.
Circles represent things that are soft and natural. The round shape reminds us of things that appear in nature, like the sun, flowers and raindrops. We can also connect circles with beautiful eyes, babies' round faces ... All these things make us feel happy and warm. Many cartoon characters' bodies—heroes, kids, good people—are round in shape, because circles represent goodness, happiness and friendliness.
Squares show things that are unnatural or man-made, or things that are boring or old-fashioned. In Up, Carl, an elderly man, has a square face and wears square glasses, while Russell, an 8-year-old boy with a round face, always wears round medals. These shapes show the characters' personalities. Carl is stubborn(执拗的) and lonely, while Russell is lovely and full of energy.
The angriest shape is the triangle. Kids who draw a monster with sharp teeth draw a row of triangles, don't they? That's because the shape represents fear, distrust and doubt in some way. If you look at the bad guys in cartoons, you'll find they're drawn with plenty of points and triangles. And triangles are stable and don't easily fall down. In films, this feature makes bad people difficult to deal with.
Not only in cartoons, but also in other kinds of films, different shapes are used for the same purpose. So, next time you see a film, try to find the hidden shapes and you will know what the characters are like.
1. What do circles represent according to the passage?
Goodness, happiness and friendliness.
2. Why is Carl designed with a square face and square glasses in the movie Up?
To show he is stubborn and lonely.
3. Why do kids draw triangles when drawing a monster?
Because they represent fear, distrust and doubt in some way.
4. What do triangles often suggest about bad people in films?
They are difficult to deal with.
5. How do you like using different shapes to show characters' personalities in movies?（请自拟一句话作答）
It helps us understand characters more easily. /These shapes make movies more attractive.（言之有理即可）
