2 . 阅读下面短文,在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
It’s one of the 1 (great) novels in world literature. First published in 1791, A Dream of Red Mansions, also 2 (know) as The Story of the Stone, is to Chinese people as William Shakespeare’s famous plays are to westerners.
The novel, 3 reflects the history of the Qing Dynasty, follows the rise and fall of the noble Jia family. Originally, the family seems 4 (be) wealthy and powerful, thanks in part to its close relationships with the royal family. Yet, the heir to the family, Jia Baoyu, enjoys 5 (live) a pure, carefree life, having no interest 6 politics at all.
Expected to pair with Xue Baochai, Jia 7 (stay) glued to his delicately brilliant cousin, Lin Daiyu. As the lovers head toward a tragic end, the family falls on hard times, fading away eventually.
The 8 (appreciate) of the classic novel is surely both a pleasant treat and a bittersome challenge. As always, the novel has experienced various adaptations. Making the detailed 120-chapter novel into just several hours is 9 (absolute) no piece of cake. “Still, choices have to be made,” the opera’s stage director Stan Lai concluded. “For everyone else, the challenge is to make it 10 excellent opera.”