Question

No opera smells of the sea quite like Britten’s Peter Grimes. The music makes us constantly aware of the sea’s immensity, it’s potential for threat, and the play of light on its waves. But the sea isn’t just a special background, it weighs on the lives of the characters, offering them a living, but at a price. In the first act the laboured sound of the strings evokes (引起) the complete heaviness of the sailor’s work, as they haul(用力拉) the boats up the shingle (鹅卵石). Then a storm gathers which rages(肆虐) through the scene at the Inn, and stirs up an orchestral hurricane. Even when it’s calm and favorable, the sea is inescapable.

In the comfortable enclosed world of the opera house, this can only be suggested. In the production of Peter Grimes about to open at the Aldeburgh Festival, it will be really present, because the opera is taking place on the beach, the setting for much of the narrative of Britten’s opera, and also the poem by the Suffolk poet George Crabbe that inspired it.

This won’t be the first opera production to be set in the actual landscape in which the action takes place. There’s a well-known filmed production of Tosca shot in Castel Gandolfo in Rome, and a production of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena was once mounted in the moat(护城河) surrounding the Tower of London. But those were manageable urban landscapes, with comfortingly solid buildings to act as wind shields and acoustic blocks.

On the Aldeburgh beach there’s actually nothing, apart from a few boats, some whole, some wrecked. Here anything more complicated than walking the dog is hard to solve. The wind blows away one’s words, so conversation is hard, and anything not tied down tends to blow away. The sliding shingle turns one’s steps into a drunken stagger.

The idea of performing an opera in these conditions seems quite barmy — an accusation Aldeburgh director Jonathan Reakie takes cheerfully on the chin. Why has he done it? “Well, Grimes is the opera of Britten’s that’s most associated with Aldeburgh, but it’s never been produced at the Festival which he founded. There just isn’t the space for it. In his anniversary year we wanted to focus on Britten’s connection with Suffolk, and this seemed the boldest way to do it.”

Having had the mad idea, Reakie found his colleagues were not just accepting, but enthusiastic. “We spent a long time thinking about ways to do it. One idea we had was to do all the scenes at the right time of day. There’s one scene at dawn, another at midday, and a lot of action at night, but that was too complicated. Then we thought about doing a few scenes on the beach. But in the end, we thought hell, let’s just do the whole thing.”

1.Which of the following can best describe the sailor’s work in the first act?

A. Pleasant.B. Hard.

C. Comfortable.D. Attractive.

2.How is Paragraph 2 mainly developed?

A. By giving descriptions.B. By following time order.

C. By analyzing causes.D. By making comparisons.

3.What does Paragraph 4 mainly tell us?

A. The benefits of the actual landscape.

B. The actual landscape of Aldeburgh beach.

C. The location of the Aldeburgh beach.

D. The hardship of performing opera in Aldeburgh beach.

4.The underlined word “barmy” (in Paragraph 5) is closest in meaning to ____.

A. crazy   B. impossible

C. wonderfulD. terrible

5.Reakie’s partners’ attitude towards his opera on a beach is ____.

A. eagerB. cautious

C. doubtfulD. unfavorable

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.A

5.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文讲述歌剧要在海滩上举行，遇到各种各样的困难，但剧组对此热情很高涨。

1.B 细节理解题。根据第一段提到The music makes us constantly aware of the sea’s immensity, it’s potential for threat, and the play of light on its waves这个音乐使我们意识到大海的浩瀚，潜在的威胁，灯光随着波浪晃动，故选B项。

2.C 推断题。根据In the comfortable enclosed world of the opera house, this can only be suggested.本来建议在封闭的剧院内但后面提到because the opera is taking place on the beach, the setting for much of the narrative of Britten’s opera, and also the poem by the Suffolk poet George Crabbe that inspired it.却在海滩举行，对此进行解释，故选C项。

3.D细节理解题。根据第四段提到Here anything more complicated than walking the dog is hard to solve. The wind blows away one’s words, so conversation is hard, and anything not tied down tends to blow away.在海滩上表演所遇到的困难，说话的声音被海浪的声音盖过等等，故选D项。

4.A 推测词义。根据第五段第四行提到There just isn’t the space for it.这并不是个适合表演的地方，可见这个想法十分的大胆与疯狂，故选A项。

5.A 细节理解题。根据最后一段提到Having had the mad idea, Reakie found his colleagues were not just accepting, but enthusiastic.因为有这个疯狂的想法，他发现他的同事不仅仅是接受，而是很有热情，故选A 迫切的。

考点：文化类阅读。