阅读理解
Richard Wagner was a German musician who lived in the mid-19th century. He gained fame by
writing operas, a form of performance combining singing, music on
instruments , and drama.
Wagner's lif'e and work have been very controversial(引起争议的). While he wrote excellent
music, many people think his operas are too dark and serious,lacking the fun in most operas written
before his time.
Wagner,on the other hand, thought the opera of his time was too simple. He wanted to make opera
a serious form of art that combined drama and music to tell deep stories that would have a strong effect
on the audience.
Some people thought Wagner's new kind of music was too different from the operas they were used
to hearing. Wagner agreed with them. In fact, he didn't call his works "operas" at all but using a German
word that means " Musical Festival" or " Musical Play" .
While many people today still do not like Wagner's operas,they cannot deny that Wagner has had a
lot of influence on opera as a form of art. Wagner invented the tradition of turning off the lights before
starting a play. He also was the first person to make the whole audience sit down for an entire play.
Today, almost all operas are performed in this manner.
Wagner as a man was even more controversial than Wagner as a writer of music. He hated Jewish
people , slept with his friends' wives,and made many people angry-lots of things we would today think
of as evil. Some would say he was a good musician, while others hold that he was a bad musician. But it
would be difficult to say he was not an important person in music: and in the world.
1. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
A. Richard Wagner is not worth talking about.
B. Richard Wagner was an evil man.
C. Richard Wagner wrote operas.
D. Richard Wagner is a very controversial man.
2. Which of the following uses the word "deep" in the same sense as it is used at the end of
paragraph three?
A. The ocean is very deep.
B. He has a very deep , booming voice.
C. It is not easy to tell the meaning of this poem,because the poet is very deep.
D. We had the deep issue resolved last week.
3. Which of the following is not a way in which Wagner's works were different from normal operas
before his time?
A. Wagner called his works "Musical Festival".
B. Wagner used a combination of drama, music on instruments, and singing.
C. Wagner turned off the lights before starting a play.
D. Wagner made the whole audience sit down for an entire performance.
4. Which of the following does not support the point that the author makes in the last sentence?
A. Few musicians have been affected by Wagner's works.
B. Most writers of opera today think opera as a serious form of music.
C. Today, all operas are performed with the lights off before starting and the audience seated.
D. Wagner's music had a big influence on Adolf Hitler.
