Exploring Jim Henson

孙启禄

主题语境：艺术人物 篇幅：345词建议用时：7分钟

1 The Maryland Center for History and Culture （MCHC） is cur?rently hosting “The Jim Henson Exhibition： Imagination Unli?mited”. The exhibition spotlights Henson's unique contributions tochildrens education， including his creation of the Muppets.

2 Born in 1936 in Mississippi， Henson grew up in Maryland.His creative talents were evident when he was a student at highschool. He loved cartooning and creating sets for school theaterproductions. While a freshman at university， Henson made puppetsfor a local TV station. The stations producers were so impressed that they asked him toproduce his own puppet show. Called Sam and Friends， the program debuted in 1955.Viewers loved Henson's playful characters， including an early version of Kermit the Frog.

3 While at university， Henson majored in home economics. At the time， it was the onlymajor that offered classes in sewing and textiles. Henson honed his creative skills at univer?sity， but he also excelled at marketing and business.“ He was an entrepreneur who hap?pened to get into puppetry，” said Deborah Wood， MCHCs learning manager.

4 In 1959， Henson married Jane Nebel， whom he had met at university. The coupleestablished Muppets Inc.， which later became the Jim Henson Company. It was there that Bert， Ernie， Miss Piggy， and other Muppets were created for Sesame Street， a popularchildrens television program. Generations of children around the world have grown upwatching and learning from the Muppets.

5 Henson， who died in 1990 after a brief illness， created not just the Muppets， but alsofilms， TV commercials， variety shows， and more. The exhibition sheds light on everyaspect of his career. This includes some lesser?known works， including The Cube， a short，experimental film that was nominated for an Academy Award.

6 Visitors also get a chance to appreciate Hensons creative process and inventivenessthrough hands?on displays. They can even make their own Muppets with items from a cos?tume box.“ For me， I think the really powerful message of this exhibition is the fact that itcovers Henson's whole life and his whole career，” said Chloe Green， public programs andoutreach manager at the MCHC.

Reading

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1. What's paragraph 2 mainly about？

A. An interesting exhibition about Henson.

B. Characters in Henson's famous works.

C. Henson's creative talents.

D. Viewers' attitude to Henson's works.

2. What does the underlined word“ honed” mean in paragraph 3？

A. Changed. B. Improved.

C. Doubted. D. Shared.

3. What can be learned about Sesame Street？

A. It was an early version of Kermit the Frog.

B. It was first played in 1955.

C. Its target viewers are children.

D. Its popularity needs improving.

4. What's the attitude of Chloe Green to the exhibition？

A. Favorable. B. Ambiguous.

C. Skeptical. D. Indifferent.

Language

Study

Ⅰ. 日积月累

host v. 主办

exhibition n. 展览

contribution n. 贡献

puppet n. 木偶

freshman n.（ 大学）一年级新生

debut v. 首次登台

major v. 主修

textile n. 纺织品

appreciate v. 欣赏

Ⅱ. 语法填空

The Maryland Center for History and Culture is hosting“ The Jim Henson Exhibition：Imagination Unlimited”， 1._______ （showcase） Jim Henson's contributions to children's2._______ （educate） and his creation of the Muppets. Henson's 3. _______（create）talents were evident in high school and he 4. _______（make） puppets for a local TVstation at university， leading to his own puppet show called Sam and Friends. While5._______ （study） home economics at university， Henson had a good command ofmarketing and business.

Henson 6. _______his wife established Muppets Inc.， creating iconic characterslike Bert， Ernie， and Miss Piggy for Sesame Street. The 7._______ （exhibit） explores Hen?sons entire career， including 8._______ （he） films， TV shows， and lesser?known workslike the Academy Award?nominated short film The Cube. 9._______ （visit） can also par?ticipate in hands?on displays and create their own Muppets. The exhibition highlights thepower of Henson's life and career， leaving a lasting impact 10. _______generations ofchildren worldwide.