Question

You must have read or heard of the sad love story between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu. But can you imagine the two singing opera in English instead of speaking poetic Chinese?

Jia and Lin are two characters from the classic Chinese novel A Dream of Red Mansions《红楼梦》），written by Cao Xueqin （1715-1763）. Now the book has been made into an English-language opera. The opera was first performed last September in San Francisco, US. This month it comes to Beijing, Changsha and Wuhan.

Many of the opera’s creators have backgrounds （背景）in both Chinese and American cultures, including the director and playwrights. Their understanding of both cultures helped them to change a Chinese classic into a foreign-language opera.

The book, which covers the rise and fall of the Jia family, has 120 chapters and hundreds of characters. But opera writer David Henry Hwang cut down the number of characters to just seven. Huang, a Chinese-American, focused on the love story between Jia and Lin and tried to write a heartbroken tragedy （悲剧）that everyone would understand.

The art director Timmy Yip, from Hong Kong, tried to help foreign people understand the characters using costumes （服装）and stage settings （布景）.He compared Lin to water and gave her a light green costume. When Lin shows up on stage, there is usually water around her on the stage.

The creators consider it to be a meaningful job to introduce a Chinese classic to Western audiences. Hwang told China Daily he was happy to “have made a contribution to the land where my parents were born.

1.Who wrote the opera for the Chinese classic novel A Dream of Red Mansions?

A.Lin Daiyu. B.Cao Xueqin. C.Jia Baoyu. D.David Henry Hwang.

2.The opera was ________

A.sung in poetic Chinese B.performed in many languages

C.performed in China after one year D.first performed Beijing

3.Which of the following is NOT a difference between the book and the opera?

A.The sad love story. B.The whole family’s story.

C.The language used, D.The number of characters.

4.The “land” in the last paragraph refers to?

A.America B.San Francisco

C.China D.the place where David was born

5.Why did the creators make the book into an English-language opera?

A.Because they thought the book was not good enough.

B.Because they hope to help others learn English.

C.Because they wanted Westerners to know about the Chinese novel.

D.Because they have backgrounds in Western culture.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.C

5.C

【解析】

这篇短文主要讲述了一个外国人把中国的经典名著《红楼梦》改编成歌剧，创作者这样的原因在于他们想让更多的人了解中国的经典文化，想把中国的文化传播出去。

1.细节理解。根据文中“But opera writer David Henry Hwang cut down the number of characters to just seven.” 但歌剧作家黄哲伦（David Henry Hwang）将角色数量减少到只有7个。可知《红楼梦》歌剧的作者是David Henry Hwang.。故选D。

2.推理判断。根据文中“The opera was first performed last September in San Francisco, US. This month it comes to Beijing, Changsha and Wuhan.”可知，这部歌剧去年九月在美国旧金山首次演出。这个月它来到北京、长沙和武汉。可知，这个歌剧一年之后在北京演出。故选C。

3.推理判断。根据文中“Their understanding of both cultures helped them to change a Chinese classic into a foreign-language opera. The book, which covers the rise and fall of the Jia family, has 120 chapters and hundreds of characters. But opera writer David Henry Hwang cut down the number of characters to just seven.”可知，他们对两种文化的理解帮助他们把一部中国古典剧变成了一部外语歌剧。这本书涵盖了贾氏家族的兴衰，共有120章数百字。但歌剧作家黄哲伦（David Henry Hwang）将角色数量减少到只有7个。可知，这本书涵盖了贾氏家族的兴衰。选项B不同。故选B。

4.词句猜测。A. America美国； San Francisco旧金山；China 中国；the place where David was born大卫出生的地方。根据上文“The creators consider it to be a meaningful job to introduce a Chinese classic to Western audiences.” 创作者们认为向西方观众介绍一部中国经典是一项有意义的工作。可知下文中是“黄光裕对《中国日报》说，他很高兴“为我父母出生的地方做出了贡献。”可知land的指的是“中国”。故选C。

5.细节理解。题干“为什么创作者要把这本书写成一部英语歌剧？”。根据文中“The creators consider it to be a meaningful job to introduce a Chinese classic to Western audiences. Hwang told China Daily he was happy to “have made a contribution to the land where my parents were born.” 创作者们认为向西方观众介绍一部中国经典是一项有意义的工作。可知创作者这样做的原因是为了让西方人了解这部中国的经典小说。故选C。