第十一篇                  the development of ballet

 

ballet is a dance form that has a long history.  the fact that it survives to this day shows that it has adjusted as times have changed.

 

ballet began in the royal courts during the renaissance. [ri'neisains] 文艺复兴 at that time it became common for kings and queens, as well as other nobility, to participate in pageants ['pædʒənt]盛会that included music, poetry, and dance. as these entertainments moved from the italian courts to the french ones, court ladies began participating in them. though their long dresses prevented much movement, they were able to perform elaborate i'læbəreit]复杂的 walking patterns.  it was not until the 1600s that women dancers shortened their skirts, changed to flat shoes, and began doing some of the leaps跳跃 and turns performed by men.

it was also in the 1600s that professional ballet began.  king louis xiv of france, himself a devoted dancer, founded the royal academy学院 of dance.  the five basic feet positions from which all ballet steps begin were finalized.  in the late 1700s another important change occurred.  ballet began to tell a story on its own. it was no longer simply dance to be performed between acts of plays. elaborate [i'læbəreit] wigs假发 and costumes服装 were eliminated. by the early 1800s dancers learned to rise on their toes to make it appear that they were floating.

classical ballet as we know it today was influenced primarily 主要地by russian dancing. the russians remained interested in ballet when it declined in other european countries in the mid -1800s.  one of the most influential [,influ'enʃəl]  figures of the early 20th century was sergei谢尔盖 diaghilev. 佳吉列夫his dance company, the ballets russes, brought a new energy and excitement to ballet. one of his chief assistants, george乔治 balanchine,巴兰钦 went on to found the new york city ballet in 1948 and to influence new generations of dancers.

练习：

1.  this passage deals mainly with _________.

   a) famous names in ballet   

   b) french versus russian ballet

   c) the way ballet developed

   d) why ballet is no longer popular

解析：考查文章中心思想

 1 ballet is a dance form that has a long history.  the fact that it survives to this day shows that it has adjusted as times have changed.

2.  an important influence in early ballet was _________.

   a) balanchine

   b) marie antoinette

   c) diaghilev

   d) louis xiv

解析：细节问题

 3 it was also in the 1600s that professional ballet began.  king louis xiv of france, himself a devoted dancer, founded the royal academy学院 of dance.  the five basic feet positions from which all ballet steps begin were finalized.  in the late 1700s another important change occurred.  ballet began to tell a story on its own. it was no longer simply dance to be performed between acts of plays. elaborate wigs and costumes were eliminated. by the early 1800s dancers learned to rise on their toes to make it appear that they were floating.

 4 classical ballet as we know it today was influenced primarily 主要地by russian dancing. the russians remained interested in ballet when it declined in other european countries in the mid -1800s.  one of the most influential [,influ'enʃəl]  figures of the early 20th century was sergei谢尔盖 diaghilev. 佳吉列夫his dance company, the ballets russes, brought a new energy and excitement to ballet. one of his chief assistants, george乔治 balanchine,巴兰钦 went on to found the new york city ballet in 1948 and to influence new generations of dancers.

3.  you can conclude from this passage that ballet _________.

    a) is a dying art

    b) will continue to change as new people and ideas influence it

    c) is only currently performed in russia and the united states

d) is often performed by dancers with little training

解析：考查中心

紧扣文章标题

4.  the information in this passage is presented _________.

    a) through the story of one dancer

    b) by describing various positions and steps

    c) by listing reasons why ballet has succeeded

d) in chronological [,krɔnə'lɔdʒikəl]  order 年代顺序，时间顺序

解析：细节问题

5.  the word pageants ['pædʒənt]  means _________. 盛会

a) dances          舞蹈，舞会

    b) instructors   指导者

    c) kings       国王

    d) elaborate i'læbəreit]shows  精心设计的表演

解析：解释词义