Before the First World War，the dominant force in cinem a was European．The European filmmakers were the ones really experimenting with visual im agery and taking it to its limits．The Am ericans，admittedly， had DW Griffith ，an extraordinary filmmaker，but he was the exception rather than the rule in Hollywood．Film-makers like the Lum ière Brothers from France filmed some of the most beautiful im ages of Parisian life using a light-weight camera they had invented them selves．This cam era allowed the user to be more mobile，therefore enabling them to film anywhere they pleased．Many film historians also claim that the Lum ière brothers were the first to use slapstick comedy as a film style．
However，the First World War put an end to Europe's short-lived domination in cinem a．The scale of the war，never before seen in the history of humankind，left behind a continent in ruins．The film-making facilities that had survived were minimal．This was when Hollywood stepped in and took over．
Between the wars，Hollywood film sundoubtedly became very popular in Europe． Large studio companies such as MGM and Warner Brothers became very influential． However，the serioustheoretical and artistic work was being done in countries like Germany and Russia．The films made in these countries were very important，as they tended to look at cinem a more as an art form than as a commercial venture．There were Hollywood directors who respected the revolutionary discoveries being made by the Germans and the Russians and did use some of these ideas in their films．
The Second World War，however，was another terrible blow to Europe's small but important cinem a industry．In 1945，Europe was completely bankrupt and so looked to America for help and guidance．This came in the form of the“Marshall plan”，which provided the necessary finance to help kickstart the Western European economies．It also allowed American culture and Hollywood in particular to become the dominating cultural force in Western Europe．
Europe was not in a position to offer anything of substance to the cinem a world until the late 1950s and early 1960s．French and Italian directors led the way with the new wave and neo-realist movements respectively．They were opposed to Hollywood's“blockbuster”mentality．The Europeans brought back experim entation and developed them es related to post-war Europe．Many European film-makers openly accused Hollywood of being too concerned with producing money-making films，but at the same time they were unable to attract many people to their own more“philosophical”type productions．
Up until the present time，Hollywood still continues to produce“blockbusters”in order to attract a very large audience．Nevertheless，things have been changing over the last few years and an alternative film scene has come into being．This is based in the New York area and is com posed of film-makers who have been deeply influenced by European directors．
On the other side of the Atlantic，Europeans and particularly the French are creating films that are more“audience-friendly” and less experim ental，in order to attract crowds．These changes on both sides of the Atlantic have brought about a“minirenaissance”in the film industry as a whole． As a result，the number of cinemas as well as that of cinem a-goers in both Europe and the USA have steadily increased．
If this trend continues，the future will see less conflict between these two traditional rivals．This can only be seen as a good thing for cinem a．
Choose the best answer according to the passage．
1．DW Griffith was the exception in Hollywood because __________
A．he was an American
B．he experimented
C．he established new rules
D．he was a European
2．Why were most European cinem as showing films made in Hollywood after the end of World War I？
A．These films were superior．
B．These films were more artistic in nature．
C．The Europeans were not making many films．
D．The Americans took over the European studios．
3．Who was mainly responsible for attem pting new approaches to film-making between the wars？
A．MGM and Warner Brothers
B．European cinem a audiences
C．A number of Hollywood directors
D．German and Russian film-makers
4．What does“it”in Line 8 Para．4 refer to？
A．the Western European econom y
B．the Marshall plan
C．World War II
D．the cinem a industry
5．Why were Hollywood films more popular in Europe just after World War II？
A．They were similar to French and Italian films．
B．They provided financial help to Europe．
C．They had no competition．
D．They used German and Russian ideas．
答案：
1—5 BCDBC
