Passage 2

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage.

Hollywood produces dozens, if not hundreds, of movies annually. Although a significant number of them are meant solely for entertainment and possess little-to-no artistic value, there are also movies in which actors’ performance, plot, camera work, atmosphere, and other components are so brilliant that they deserve to be awarded.

In the beginning of the 20th century, such an award had been established; nowadays known as the Oscar Award, it has become a mass culture event year by year throughout almost a century. The Oscar Awards ceremony was initiated(创始）by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science (AMPAS), formed in 1927 with the goal to honor talented actors, directors, cameramen, and other people involved in the cinema industry.

The first ceremony of awarding was held in May, 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Surprisingly, the initial ceremony was a rather private event, with only a little over a hundred people being invited, and with the price for tickets equalling only ＄5. Originally, there were 12 categories and two special honors, and there was no intrigue in the ceremony itself: the names of all the winners were announced in advance, and the ceremony itself served only for handing out the awards and for the banquet.

To start with, its name is not Oscar; officially it is called “ The Academy Award of Merit,” and “Oscar” is just a nickname. Nowadays, the Oscar is traditionally made of gold-covered metal. At the same time, despite its cultural value, an Oscar statue is incredibly cheap-it costs only ＄1. If an actor or another award nominee wanted, for some reason, to sell their Oscar statue, they are obliged to sell it only to the Academy, for the estimated price of ＄1. Such practice has been enabled since 1950, and every winner announces whether he or she wants to keep or to sell the statue. In 1989, the heirs of a producer Mike Todd wanted to sell the Oscar statue he received for his movie” Around the World in 80 Days,” but the Academy successfully blocked the deal. However, those Oscars that were awarded before 1950 can be sold and bought freely; for example, the statue received by Orson welles for “ Citizen kane” was sold in 2011 for ＄861,542.

The Academy Award of Merit is a sign of recognition of actors, directors, and other people related to the production of a movie, for their contribution and talent. The ceremony has gradually become one of the main annual events in world culture.

Every year Hollywood produces a large number of movies      .