Question

For a 400－year－old art form, opera had a bad fame:  overweight actresses singing the words which were hard to  understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school.And with tickets costing as  much as $145 a performance, opera goers also had a certain  appearance in people's mind: rich, well－dressed and old.

But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to  keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.

Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to associate opera with the common people.That means no formal suits, old－styled theatre or bank－breaking ticket prices.And because young people don't or won't come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such usual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

The Houston Grand Opera's choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”， shortened versions of child－friendly operas.This summer's production is Hansel & Gretel.By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level.The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists' Training Program.

1.Which is the main idea of this passage？

A. Opera is famous for its long history.

B. Opera is only performed for rich people.

C. Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.

D. Young people are not interested in opera.

2.The underlined phrase in the second paragraph means____.

A. breaking up the old rules

B. changing the dresses

C. making the audience at ease

D. advertising themselves

3.Opera companies prefer to perform short versions because ____.

A. they can be performed in public libraries

B. short versions are easy to perform

C. it is hard to find long versions

D. they can make people interested

4.The San Francisco Opera employs students in order to____.

A. celebrate its 75th anniversary

B. reduce the costs

C. attract young people

D. make Cinderella popular

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.B

【解析】

本文为应用文。主要讲述有着400年历史的歌剧，因为歌词难以理解，票价昂贵，给人的印象是富有、华丽和古老，因此歌剧如今已经不那么受欢迎了。许多歌剧公司打破陈规，改变过去的风格，让其更贴近普通人，从而让歌剧保持活力。

1.主旨大意题。本文主要讲述有400年历史的歌剧，因为歌词难以理解，票价昂贵，给人的印象是富有、华丽和古老。尤其第二段now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive可知，许多歌剧公司在打破陈规，改掉过去的风格，让更贴近普通人，从而让歌剧保持活力。分析选项可知C项（歌剧公司正在努力保持歌剧的生命力）符合题意，故选C项。

2.猜测词义题。根据第一段和第二段的内容可知，歌剧给人的印象是古老，浪漫的语言很难懂。于是歌剧公司正努力贴近年轻人和普通人。第三段they need to associate opera with the common people.That means no formal suits, old－styled theatre or bank－breaking ticket prices. 他们把歌剧和普通人联系起来。这意味着没有正式的服装、老式的剧院，也没有昂贵的票价。由此可知他们打破陈规，改掉了过去的风格，让歌剧更贴近普通人。分析可知，本句是指打破陈规的意思，故选A项。

3.细节理解题。第四段的“….，By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level.”由此可知，歌剧做的许多改变都是为了吸引更多的观众。分析选项可知D项符合题意。故选D项。

4.细节理解题。最后一段的最后一句“…., keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists' Training Program.”本句为“通过使用青年艺术家培训项目的学生来降低成本”可知B项（降低成本）符合题意，故选B项。