Question

    The ancient art of opera can be brilliant entertainment; it is a(n) _________ of music, drama, and sometimes dance, staged with elaborate(精心制作的) sets of costumes. Opera is often _________ by many, however, partly because of some of the stereotypes(成见) associated with it. Some of its critics say that the narratives are too complex. Others complain that operas cannot be understood because they are often performed in _________ languages. Stereotypes aside, opera is an art form enjoyed by many _________ lovers. Operas can be comedies or tragedies or stories taken from history.

The story of an opera is generally simple so as to avoid  _________ the audience from the music. The libretto, or script, sets each scene and describes the action in both words and stage directions. The music of an opera—the way it advances the action and the feelings it inspires in the listeners—is _________ important. The three principal musical _________ are the overture(前奏曲), the recitative(朗诵调), and the aria(咏叹调).

The overture is the instrumental introduction to the opera, the purpose of which has been _________ over time. During the nineteenth century, the overture began to combine snippets of melodies from arias, ballets, and other musical elements in a medley of the opera’s musical themes.

A recitative is less a song than a monologue(独白) that is sung rather than _________. A recitative is an element, older than the overture, which was invented at the beginning of the seventeenth century as a means of telling__________ in music; the first operas were actually a series of recitatives joined by musical interludes. Because an opera is basically a play set to music, the recitative is a means of telling the __________ what is going on and what is about to happen.

An aria is a solo performance—often one of the highlights of the opera. Arias can be declarations of love or __________ of hope, happiness, sorrow, or anguish. Many composers have written arias to __________ the vocal gifts of singers; some sopranos(女高音歌手) were indeed famous for the very high notes that they could sing. __________, arias are not the only songs in opera. Duets, compositions for three or four voices, and large-group numbers are also common. These diverse musical elements, __________ visual elements in costumes and sets as well as the dramatic content of the story, make the opera the complex art form that it is.

1.A.exploration B.mixture C.research D.experiment

2.A.unappreciated B.composed C.enjoyed D.favored

3.A.local B.native C.foreign D.official

4.A.gossip B.history C.movie D.music

5.A.releasing B.separating C.distracting D.disappointing

6.A.particularly B.rarely C.originally D.historically

7.A.tastes B.elements C.skills D.talents

8.A.stated B.described C.lacked D.evolved

9.A.imagined B.reminded C.spoken D.written

10.A.stories B.news C.jokes D.lies

11.A.musicians B.audience C.directors D.performers

12.A.rights B.reasons C.expressions D.expenses

13.A.improve B.show C.involve D.practise

14.A.Moreover B.Otherwise C.Therefore D.However

15.A.broken into B.applied to C.combined with D.matched with

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.D

5.C

6.A

7.B

8.D

9.C

10.A

11.B

12.C

13.B

14.D

15.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了歌剧这一古老艺术，它是一个音乐戏剧，舞蹈，艺术布景和服装的混合体。文章说明了人们对歌剧不欣赏的原因，歌剧的三个主要元素：序曲（包括两幕之间的小序曲），吟诵，咏叹调。并且介绍了三元素的具体内容。

1.考查名词词义辨析。句意：它是一个集音乐戏剧，舞蹈，艺术布景和服装的混合体。A. exploration 探测，探索；B. mixture 混合，混合物；C. research 研究；D. experiment 试验，尝试。结合后文of music drama, and sometimes dance, staged with artistic sets and costumes可知歌剧混合了音乐戏剧，舞蹈，艺术布景和服装，是一个混合体。故选B项。

2.考查动词词义辨析。句意：然而，很多人常常不欣赏歌剧，部分原因是人们对歌剧的一些固有印象。A. unappreciated 不喜欢；B. composed 作曲；C. enjoyed 喜欢；D. favored 支持，对…支持。结合后文because of some of the stereotypes associated with it可知很多人因为一些对歌剧的一些固有印象而不欣赏歌剧。故选A项。

3.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：另一些人抱怨歌剧不能被理解，因为它们经常是用外语表演。A. local 当地的；B. native 本国的；C. foreign 外国的；D. official 官方的。结合上文operas cannot be understood可知一些人抱怨听不懂歌剧，是因为歌剧是用外语表演的。搭配后文language可知应用foreign才符合语境。故选C项。

4.考查名词词义辨析。句意：抛开成见不说，歌剧是许多音乐爱好者喜爱的一种艺术形式。A. gossip 八卦；B. history 历史；C. movie 电影；D. music 音乐。结合上文第1题提到 “一个集音乐戏剧，舞蹈，艺术布景和服装的混合体” 可知，它的艺术形式是被很多音乐爱好者喜欢的。同时在第5题后也提及了“音乐”。上下文契合。故选D项。

5.考查动词词义辨析。句意：歌剧的故事一般都很简单，以免分散观众对音乐的注意力。A. releasing 排放，释放；B. separating 分隔，分离；C. distracting 使分心；D. disappointing 使…失望。结合上文The story of an opera is generally simple so as to avoid可知歌剧的故事必须简单，这样观众才不会被故事情节分了心 。故选C项。

6.考查副词词义辨析。句意：歌剧的音乐——提倡的动作以及它在听众心中激发的情感——尤为重要。A. particularly 特别地；B. rarely 罕见地；C. originally 原始地； D. historically 历史上地。此处强调歌剧对听众情感的激发特别重要。故选A项。

7.考查名词词义辨析。句意：三种主要的音乐元素是前奏曲，朗诵调，咏叹调。A. tastes 味道，品味；B. elements 元素；C. skills 技术；D. talents 天赋。根据划线后提到的前奏曲，朗诵调，咏叹调可知，这是主要的音乐元素。故选B项。

8.考查动词词义辨析。句意：句意：前奏曲是这部歌剧的器乐序曲，其目的随着时间的推移而改变。A. stated 陈诉，阐明；B. described 描述；C. lacked 缺乏；D. evolved逐渐形成，进化。根据后文During the nineteenth century, the overture began to combine snippets of melodies from arias, ballets, and other musical elements in a medley of the opera’s musical themes（在19世纪，前奏曲开始将咏叹调、芭蕾和其他音乐元素的片段结合在歌剧的音乐主题中）可知，前奏曲在不断的变化发展，进化。故选D项。

9.考查动词词义辨析。句意：朗诵调与其说是一首歌，不如说是一段独白，它是唱出来的，而不是说出来的。A. imagined 想象；B. reminded 提醒；C. spoken 说话；D. written 写。结合上文A recitative is less a song than a monologue that is sung可知咏叹调是唱出来的，而不是人嘴巴说出来的。故选C项。

10.考查名词词义辨析。句意：朗诵调是一种元素，比序曲更古老，序曲是十七世纪初发明的，作为在音乐中讲故事的一种手段。A. stories故事；B. news 消息，新闻；C. jokes 玩笑；D. lies 谎言。根据前文第4题后提到Operas can be comedies or tragedies or stories taken from history（歌剧可以是喜剧、悲剧或历史故事）可知，此处表示的是讲“故事”的手段。故选A项。

11.考查名词词义辨析。句意：因为歌剧基本上就是一种配上音乐的戏剧。所以说，朗诵调是一种告诉观众正在发生什么事和将要发生什么事的手段。A. musicians 音乐家；B. audience 观众；C. directors 主管，董事；D. performers 表演家。根据常识可知，歌剧是表演个观众看得，告诉观众们发生了什么事或者正在发生什么事的手段。故选B项。

12.考查名词词义辨析。句意：句意：咏叹调可以是爱的宣言，也可以是希望、欢乐、悲伤或痛苦的表达。A. rights 权利，权限；B. reasons 原因，理由；C. expressions 表达，表情；D. expenses 费用。划线前提到了爱的宣言，or前后并列。后句应是希望、欢乐、悲伤或痛苦的表达。故选C项。

13.考查动词词义辨析。句意：句意：许多作曲家写咏叹调来展示歌手的歌唱天赋。A. improve 改善；B. show 表现，展示；C. involve 包含，牵涉；D. practice 练习，实践。

根据划线后提到的“一些女高音确实以他们唱出的高音而闻名”可知，作曲家写咏叹调是为了展示歌唱的“天赋”。故选B项。

14.考查副词词义辨析。句意：然而，咏叹调并不是歌剧中唯一的歌曲。A. Moreover 而且；B. Otherwise 否则，其他；C. Therefore 因此；D. However 然而。根据下文，后句还提到了 “二重唱、三或四人声的乐曲” 。故可知，此处表示转折。故选D项。

15.考查动词短语辨析。句意：这些多样的音乐元素，再加上服装和布景中的视觉元素，以及故事的戏剧性内容，使歌剧成为一种复杂的艺术形式。A. broken into 闯入；破门而入；B. applied to 运用；C. combined with 结合，联合；D. matched with 使和……相匹配。根据上文，文章第1题已经提到，歌剧是一种混合体。故此处提及的多样音乐元素结合服装和布景的视觉元素与第1题形成呼应。故选C项。