1 . The ancient art of opera can be brilliant entertainment; it is a(n) _________ of music, drama, and sometimes dance, staged with elaborate(精心制作的) sets of costumes. Opera is often _________ by many, however, partly because of some of the stereotypes(成见) associated with it. Some of its critics say that the narratives are too complex. Others complain that operas cannot be understood because they are often performed in _________ languages. Stereotypes aside, opera is an art form enjoyed by many _________ lovers. Operas can be comedies or tragedies or stories taken from history.

The story of an opera is generally simple so as to avoid   _________ the audience from the music. The libretto, or script, sets each scene and describes the action in both words and stage directions. The music of an opera—the way it advances the action and the feelings it inspires in the listeners—is _________ important. The three principal musical _________ are the overture(前奏曲), the recitative(朗诵调), and the aria(咏叹调).

The overture is the instrumental introduction to the opera, the purpose of which has been _________ over time. During the nineteenth century, the overture began to combine snippets of melodies from arias, ballets, and other musical elements in a medley of the opera’s musical themes.

A recitative is less a song than a monologue(独白) that is sung rather than _________. A recitative is an element, older than the overture, which was invented at the beginning of the seventeenth century as a means of telling__________ in music; the first operas were actually a series of recitatives joined by musical interludes. Because an opera is basically a play set to music, the recitative is a means of telling the __________ what is going on and what is about to happen.

An aria is a solo performance—often one of the highlights of the opera. Arias can be declarations of love or __________ of hope, happiness, sorrow, or anguish. Many composers have written arias to __________ the vocal gifts of singers; some sopranos(女高音歌手) were indeed famous for the very high notes that they could sing. __________, arias are not the only songs in opera. Duets, compositions for three or four voices, and large-group numbers are also common. These diverse musical elements, __________ visual elements in costumes and sets as well as the dramatic content of the story, make the opera the complex art form that it is.

1.

A．exploration

B．mixture

C．research

D．experiment

2.

A．unappreciated

B．composed

C．enjoyed

D．favored

3.

A．local

B．native

C．foreign

D．official

4.

A．gossip

B．history

C．movie

D．music

5.

A．releasing

B．separating

C．distracting

D．disappointing

6.

A．particularly

B．rarely

C．originally

D．historically

7.

A．tastes

B．elements

C．skills

D．talents

8.

A．stated

B．described

C．lacked

D．evolved

9.

A．imagined

B．reminded

C．spoken

D．written

10.

A．stories

B．news

C．jokes

D．lies

11.

A．musicians

B．audience

C．directors

D．performers

12.

A．rights

B．reasons

C．expressions

D．expenses

13.

A．improve

B．show

C．involve

D．practise

14.

A．Moreover

B．Otherwise

C．Therefore

D．However

15.

A．broken into

B．applied to

C．combined with

D．matched with

2 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

Susan Margaret Boyle (born on 1st April, 1961) as a Scottish singer who came to public     1     when she appeared as a contestant(参赛者)on the third series of Britian’s Got Talent, and ended up the runner-up of the 2009 edition of the show. Boyle became     2     when she sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables in the competition’s first round, which was first     3     in the United Kingdom on April 11th, 2009. In the     4     of Britain’s Got Talent, Boyle finished in second place, behind the dance group Diversity.

When she appeared on the Britain’s Got Talent stage, the     5     and the judges appeared anxious about her unpolished     6    . Upon finishing her song, she received a warm welcome from the live audience and high     7     from the judges.

The contrast(对照) between the audience’s first     8     of her when she appeared on stage and the warm     9     afterwards resulted in global interest. Articles about her appeared in newspaper worldwide, while the numbers who watched videos of her audition have set an online     10    .

3 . A pirate’s life no more

HONEST souls intent on paying for the music they listened to used to have a hard time in China. In the era of compact discs, _______ was the shop which did not sell pirated（盗版的） ones. The same held true when discs turned into downloads and online streams of songs: hardly any _________ charged money.

Yet this is changing. Slowly, but _______, China is becoming a market where people pay for music. Over the past five years, digital-music revenues for the recording industry nearly quadrupled, to $195m; most of that amount comes from music streaming (see chart). That sum may still be a tiny fraction of the global total of $7.8bn, but streaming has clearly taken off in China.

Not everybody is paying: of the 600m Chinese who listen to music online only 20m have a paid subscription, which costs between 8 and 12 yuan a month. The rest _______ for nothing, but many do so on legal, advertising-supported services. “Piracy is _______.” says Ed Peto of Outdustry, a firm in Beijing offering services to the music industry.

If Chinese consumers have developed a liking for _______ listening, it is for a combination of reasons. Smartphones, which have become popular in recent years, make it easy to _______ to streaming services. Widespread use of apps such as Alipay and WeChat Pay mean that younger Chinese, in particular, are now used to making small purchases _______. And, to take advantage of the commercial opportunities in music, China’s big internet platforms have begun to fight piracy.

Not all is _______, however. The streaming market is ________ by one player: Tencent, the largest of China’s online giants, which is best known for its WeChat messaging service. According to some estimates, its market share exceeds 70%. Each of the company’s two leading streaming brands, QQ Music and KuGou, ________ hundreds of millions of users.

One cause for this market concentration is acquisitions: last year Tencent bought two big competitors. More important, ________, it has paid three major international record labels—Warner Music Group, Sony Music and Universal Music Group—a big, but unknown, sum for the ________ right to stream their music in China. This means that Tencent gets to decide which songs rivals are ________ to play.

Tencent executives say that they need such exclusivity to ensure the legitimacy of streaming services and to reduce piracy further. But having one firm have so much power “is never healthy”, says an executive at a rival firm. With the market growing quickly, the labels may ________ their deals with Tencent when they come up for renewal.

1.

A．admired

B．criticized

C．common

D．rare

2.

A．service

B．form

C．composition

D．trial

3.

A．ultimately

B．unexpectedly

C．surely

D．agreeably

4.

A．make up

B．go on

C．start up

D．tune in

5.

A．collapsing

B．coming

C．pressing

D．staying

6.

A．popular

B．better

C．legal

D．personal

7.

A．respond

B．subscribe

C．apply

D．adapt

8.

A．casually

B．privately

C．instantly

D．digitally

9.

A．effective

B．simple

C．rosy

D．noble

10.

A．purchased

B．dominated

C．expanded

D．established

11.

A．claims

B．occupies

C．targets

D．seeks

12.

A．therefore

B．however

C．meanwhile

D．moreover

13.

A．reserved

B．compulsory

C．exclusive

D．complete

14.

A．allowed

B．meant

C．recommended

D．likely

15.

A．compare

B．resist

C．make

D．reconsider

4 . Shot in more than 40 locations in L.A., the musical La La Land is “a love letter to the city”. To coincide with UK release, we asked a local writer to pick some of the film’s amazing settings.

Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange

La La Land’s opening scene is a six-minute dance that plays out in L.A.’s bad traffic. It is also where the film’s leading roles, struggling actress Mia and jazz pianist Sebastian, first encounter each other—in a road anger incident. The scene is said to have been filmed over two hot days in south L.A.

Smokehouse Restaurant, Burbank

This is the setting for the scene in which Mia discovers Sebastian’s talent for the piano. The fictional Lipton’s restaurant---where jazz purist Sebastian was reluctant to play Christmas music---is in reality a place long frequented by actors, producers and other show business types. It has been on this spot, across the street from the Warner Bros studio, since 1949. In the film, the outer wall of Lipton’s is the You are the Star mural (壁画). which features Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin and others, which is on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Wicox Avenue in Hollywood in reality.

Warner Bros Studios, Burbank

Mia works at the studio’s coffee shop, where Sebastian comes to meet her. As they wander the studio’s lot, Mia points out “ the window that Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman looked out in Casablanca.” It’s one of the film’s numerous nods to movie history. Warner Brons is still a working studio, with 35 sound stages, 14 exterior sets and visitor tours.

Cathy’s Corner, Mount Hollywood Drive

This section of the road that winds through Griffth Park is the setting of their dance play. It overlooks the San Fernando Valley and features on the film poster. Cathy’s Corner is near famed Mulholland Drive, but prepare for disappointment if you’re expecting a park bench and street lamps, which only exist in the movie.

1. In order to encounter some film stars, you may go to _______.

A．Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange

B．Smokehouse Restaurant

C．Warner Bros Studio

D．Cath’s Corner

2. Mia mentioned the underlined sentence so as to _______.

A．stress Warner Bros is still in function

B．show respect for movies of previous generations

C．illustrate La La Land was filmed at Hollywood Center Studios

D．compare Mia and Sebastian’s love story with Humphrey and Ingrid

3. In which section of a website can you most probably find this passage?

A．Nature and Environment.	B．City and Transport.
C．Travel and Recreation.	D．Food and Health.