Unit 9

Text

Have you ever seen such operas as Carmen and Tristan? And, how much do you
know about opera?

The Nature of Opera

For well over three hundred years the opera has been one of the most alluring forms
of musical entertainment. A special glamor is attached to everything connected with
it—its arias, singers and roles, not to mention its opening nights. Carmen, Mimi,
Violetta, Tristan—what character in fact or fiction can claim, generation after
generation, so constant a public?
An opera is a drama that is sung. It
combines the resources of vocal and
instrumental music—soloists, ensembles,
chorus, orchestra and ballet with poetry and
drama, acting and pantomime, scenery and
costumes. To combine the diverse elements
into a unity is a problem that has exercised
some of the best minds in the history of
music.
At first glance opera would seem to
make impossible demands on the credulity
of the spectators. It presents us with human
beings caught up in dramatic situations who sing to each other instead of speaking. The
reasonable question is (and it was asked most pointedly throughout the history of opera
by literary men): how can an art form based on so unnatural a procedure be convincing?
The question ignores what must always remain the fundamental aspiration of art: not to
copy nature but to heighten our awareness of it. True enough, people in real life do not
sing to each other. Neither do they converse in blank verse, as Shakespeare’s characters
do; nor live in rooms of which one wall is conveniently missing so that the audience
may look in. All the arts employ conventions that are accepted both by the artist and his
audience. The conventions of opera are more evident than those of poetry, painting,
drama, or film, but they are not different in kind. Once we have accepted the fact that
the carpet can fly how simple to believe that it is also capable of carrying the prince’s
luggage.
Opera functions in the domain of poetic drama. It uses the human voice to impinge
upon the spectators’ basic emotions—love, hate, jealousy, joy, grief—with an elemental
force possible only to itself. The logic of reality gives way on the operatic stage to the
transcendent logic of art, and to the power of music over the life of the heart.

New Words

alluring a. attractive 吸引人的

entertainment n. show, party, etc. that people enjoy 文娱节目, 娱
乐
aria n. 咏叹调
glamor n. charm 魅力
fiction n. sth. invented or imagined 虚构
claim v. 要求，主张；赢得，夺走
constant a. unchanging 永恒的
resource n. sth. which helps in doing sth. 办法, 手段
soloist n. a person who play or sing alone 独唱者；独奏
者
ensemble n. a group of musicians, dancers or actors who
perform together 合奏；合唱；重奏；重唱团
chorus n. a large group of people who sing together 合唱
团
orchestra n. a group of persons playing musical instruments
together 管弦乐队
pantomime n. 哑剧

scenery n. the furnishings used on the stage of a theater 舞

台布景
diverse a. of different kinds 各种各样的
mind n. person with mental ability 有才智的人
credulity n. too great a readiness to believe things 轻信
spectator n. 观众
reasonable a. acting, done, in accordance with reason 合情合
理的
pointedly ad. 尖锐地
convincing a. that makes (sb.) feel certain 令人信服的
aspiration n. desire, aspiring 渴望
 blank verse n. 无韵诗
converse v. talk 谈话
convention n. practice or custom based on general consent 惯
例,常规
employ v. make use of 使用
carpet n. 地毯
luggage n. 行李,皮箱
domain n. field or province of thought, knowledge, activity
领域
impinge v. make an impact 撞击
jealousy n. envy 嫉妒
transcendent a. surpassing; excelling 超越自然的

evident a. clear 明显的

Phrases & Expressions

be attached to 附属于，隶属于
in kind in character; in nature 本质上
at first glance 乍一看
be caught up in be very interested in 对…入迷
capable of having the power, ability 有能力的
give way to allow space a free passage 让路
not to mention let alone 更不用说…了

Proper Names

Carmen 卡门 (人名)
Mimi 咪咪 (人名)
Violetta 维奥莱塔 (人名)
Tristan 特里斯坦 (人名)

Notes

1. Carmen: 卡门，法国作曲家比才的歌剧《卡门》的女主人公。
2. Mimi：咪咪, 意大利作曲家普契尼的歌剧《绣花女》(原名《艺术家的生涯》)中的女主人
公
3. Violetta：维奥莱塔, 意大利作曲家威尔第的歌剧《茶花女》中的女主人公。
4. Tristan: 特里斯坦, 德国作曲家瓦格纳的歌剧《特里斯坦》中的男主人公。

Study and Practice

Comprehension of the Text
I．Answer the following questions.
1. When did opera become one of the most attractive forms of musical entertainment?
2. What is opera?
3. Why would opera seem to make impossible demands on the credulity of the spectators?
4. What does the author mean by saying “once we have accepted the fact that the carpet can
fly how simple to believe that it is also capable of carrying the prince’s luggage”?
5. Do you like opera? Please tell the reason why you like it or dislike it.

Summary Writing
II. Use no more than 85 words to write a summary about the text.

Vocabulary
III．Match the items in column A to the phrases describing them in Column B.
A B
1. alluring a. field
2. glamor b. making sb. feel certain
3.constant c. unchanging
4. diverse d. clear
5. reasonable e. attractive
6. convincing f. charm
7. evident g. right
8. domain h. all kinds of
IV. Fill in the blanks with the words or expressions given below. Change the form where necessary.

fiction caught up in alluring employ

diverse at first glance capable of reasonable
constant attached to evident luggage

1. I am sure that he will act on the doctor’s________ advice.

2. The unpopular mayor was under ________attack in the newspapers
3. ________, the picture did not look very good but after examining it carefully we found
that it was indeed a masterpiece (杰作).
 4. Be sure not to say anything ________ being misunderstood.
5. We were ________ a discussion about yesterday’s examination when the teacher walked
into the classroom.
6. How do you ________ your spare time usually?
7. She is deeply ________her parents.
8. Jim liked reading science________ when he was young.
9. The wild life in Africa is extremely _________ in species.
10. Mr. Wilson was so hurried that one piece of his ________was left on the train.

Structure
V. Rewrite the following sentences after the model.
Model: People in real life do not sing to each other. They do not converse in blank verse either.
People in real life do not sing to each other. Neither do they converse in blank verse.
1. Paul couldn’t dance, and he couldn’t sing either.
2. My brother Joe never learned to swim and he doesn’t want to start now.
3. I was not surprised at the news and my family were not surprised at the news either.
4. Cathy had hardly said anything today and her mother had not said a word either.
VI. Fill in the blanks with “one”, ones”,” those” or “that”.
1. The conventions of opera are more evident than ________of poetry, painting, drama and
film.
2. Watches produced in your factory are better than ________ in ours.
3. There are only some green grapes left. The children have eaten all the ripe________.
4. The film is not so good as the ________ we saw last Sunday.
5. The population of Shanghai is about four times as large as ________of Nanjing.

Cloze
VII. Fill in the blanks; each word can be used only once. Make changes where necessary.

sing who skills recognition as

ability down heard training for instance

One of the most important aspects of good musicianship is having a “good ear”. This
includes (1) such as sight-singing, aural recognition and the ability to “play by ear.”
Sight-singing is the ability to sing a written melody without having (2) it.
It is the most frequently practiced case of the broader ability to hear all aspects of music in one's
head while reading a written piece of music. The ability to recognize musical elements, such
(3) melodic intervals or chords by ear, is aural recognition. A person skilled in aural
(4) can write down music which he or she hears. Playing by ear is the (5) to play or
(6) a piece of music which one has heard without ever seeing it written (7). All of
these abilities are complementary, and a person (8) practices one is likely to improve
in the other areas as well. (9), someone who is good at sight-singing written music
probably also has the ability to write down melodies which he or she hears. The activity of
working to improve one's ear is called ear (10).
Translation
VIII. Translate the following sentences into English.
1. 歌剧是唱出来的戏剧，但本质上与戏剧没有什么不同。(in kind)
2. 一旦他接受了自己成不了一个好演员的事实,他也就会放弃这个梦想了。 (give up；
once)）
3. 电影、歌剧、绘画和诗歌都是很吸引人的艺术形式。 （alluring）
4. 歌剧的独特魅力在于它把演唱技巧和乐队演奏以及其他的各种各样的艺术手段融合
为一体。 （glamor；combine…into; diverse）
5. 玛丽不喜欢芭蕾舞, 也不喜欢戏剧, 更不用说歌剧了。(not to mention)