托福tpo54听力lecture3 William Wheatley and Broadway Theaters

托福tpo54听力lecture3 William Wheatley and Broadway Theaters，那么接下来就跟着中国教育在线的小编详细了解一下吧。

William Wheatley and Broadway Theaters托福听力原文翻译及问题答案

一、William Wheatley and Broadway Theaters托福听力原文：

NARRATOR:Listen to part of a lecture in a theater history class.MALE PROFESSOR:One of the things New York City is known for is its Broadway theaters—big productions,elaborate musicals.A lot of money goes into producing a musical—with the actors,costumes,scenery…and so on—the shows are designed to appeal to large audiences,to make the production financially viable.But theater didn't always appeal to the masses.In the middle of the nineteenth century,it was mostly wealthy residents who were going to Broadway—they would see an opera that was probably written and produced in Europe before making its way over to New York.It was a scene for,uh,well…the socially prominent,the upper class—who attended these functions perhaps because they felt obligated rather than because of a genuine interest in theater. 

But,in the 1860s,something else started to occur:the middle-class population began to grow—and they were looking for a source of entertainment.Keep that in mind while I talk about a theater owner named William Wheatley.In 1866,William Wheatley had this show,uh…and it was different from most shows on Broadway at the time because it wasn't an opera.And,it was developed right here in the United States…in English,unlike the operas,which were typically in Italian or French.Wheatley also decided to incorporate some fancy production techniques—stage effects.The show also included music to make it more entertaining.And,through a stroke of luck,a world-renowned ballet troupe became available just as Wheatley's show was about to open,so he didn't hesitate to include the ballet dancers in his production.Along the lines of those special effects I mentioned,Wheatley redesigned the entire stage for this show:every floorboard on the stage could be lifted up or pushed down—they were all moveable.This allowed for trap doors to be placed anywhere on the stage,so pieces of the set—uh,of the scenery—could easily be stored beneath the stage…and these trap doors also gave performers another,less traditional way to enter and exit the stage.While today we might not think much of it—things like this are standard nowadays—the concept was quite novel at the time of Wheatley's show…and was one of the things that made the show a hit with audiences.Another innovative element in the show was a scene called the"transformation scene."During this scene,the audience watched in amazement as the setting on stage changed from a moonlit cave to a throne room in a palace.Normally to have this type of major scene change,the curtains would close,the stage crew would remove the previous set and replace it with the new one,and then the curtains would open again.In this instance,though,the transformation took place in front of the audience using simple machinery.And this effect…it left a lasting impression on everyone who saw Wheatley's production.

In fact,those people were probably disappointed when they saw another show that didn't contain something as,well…as elaborate or exciting.So look,when it premiered,Wheatley's show took audiences by surprise…it appealed to large crowds,including the growing middle class.The show ran for almost two years straight in New York City,an achievement unheard of at a time when productions typically lasted weeks or months—not years.It also went on tour,visiting different cities across the United States for over 25 years.So…the show was quite a success.And with all that in mind,some people call Wheatley's show the first musical on Broadway.Now,our current definition of a musical is that it tells a story through dialogue and song.In Wheatley's show,the musical sections,well,they didn't necessarily integrate well with the story,giving an overall impression of something more like a variety show.Yes,everything was loosely focused around a central theme…so maybe it's fair to say,then,that this show gave audiences a hint of a new form of musical theater that would ultimately appear on Broadway in the decades to follow.

二、William Wheatley and Broadway Theaters托福听力中文翻译：

旁白：在戏剧历史课上听讲座的一部分。男教授：纽约市以百老汇剧院的大制作和精心制作的音乐剧而闻名。大量资金用于制作演员、服装、布景等音乐剧。这些节目旨在吸引大量观众，使制作在经济上可行。但戏剧并不总是吸引大众。在十九世纪中叶，大多数去百老汇的富人都会去看一部歌剧，这部歌剧可能是在欧洲创作和制作的，然后才传到纽约。这是一个场景，呃，嗯……参加这些活动的社会名流和上层阶级可能是因为他们感到有义务，而不是因为他们真正对戏剧感兴趣；

但是，在19世纪60年代，其他事情开始发生：中产阶级人口开始增长，他们正在寻找娱乐的来源。当我谈论一位名叫威廉·惠特利的剧院老板时，请记住这一点。1866年，威廉·惠特利（William Wheatley）举办了这场演出，呃……它与当时百老汇的大多数演出不同，因为它不是歌剧。而且，它是在美国这里用英语发展的，不像歌剧，歌剧通常用意大利语或法语。惠特利还决定加入一些花哨的制作技术舞台效果。该节目还包括音乐，以使其更具娱乐性。幸运的是，就在惠特利的演出即将开幕之际，一个世界著名的芭蕾舞团也出现了，所以他毫不犹豫地将芭蕾舞演员纳入了他的作品中。按照我提到的那些特效，惠特利重新设计了这场演出的整个舞台：舞台上的每一块地板都可以升降，它们都是可移动的。这样就可以在舞台上的任何地方放置活板门，所以布景的碎片可以很容易地存放在舞台下面……这些活板门也给了表演者另一种不太传统的进出舞台的方式。虽然今天我们可能不认为像这样的东西是现在的标准，但在惠特利的节目中，这个概念是相当新颖的……这也是使该节目在观众中大受欢迎的一件事。节目中的另一个创新元素是一个称为“转变场景”的场景。在这个场景中，观众惊奇地看到舞台上的场景从月光下的洞穴变成了宫殿中的王室。通常情况下，这种类型的主要场景会发生变化，幕布会关闭，舞台工作人员会移除之前的场景并用新的场景替换，然后幕布会再次打开。然而，在这种情况下，这种转变是在观众面前通过简单的机械实现的。而这种效果……它给每个看过惠特利作品的人留下了持久的印象。

事实上，当这些人看到另一个节目没有包含什么内容时，他们可能会感到失望。所以看，当它首映时，惠特利的节目让观众大吃一惊……它吸引了大批观众，包括日益壮大的中产阶级。该剧在纽约市连续上演了近两年，在制作通常持续数周或数月而非数年的时候，这是前所未闻的成就。它还进行了巡回演出，访问了美国各地的不同城市超过25年。所以……演出非常成功。有鉴于此，有些人将惠特利的演出称为百老汇首部音乐剧。现在，我们目前对音乐剧的定义是，它通过对话和歌曲讲述故事。在惠特利的节目中，音乐部分不一定与故事结合得很好，给人的总体印象更像综艺节目。是的，一切都是围绕着一个中心主题展开的……所以，也许可以公平地说，这部剧给观众们带来了一种新形式的音乐剧的暗示，这种音乐剧将在接下来的几十年里最终出现在百老汇。

三、William Wheatley and Broadway Theaters托福听力问题：

1.What is the main purpose of the lecture?

A.To describe the influence of opera on Broadway productions

B.To explain how new technology allowed for enhancements to Broadway productions

C.To evaluate financial decisions made by theater owner William Wheatley

D.To examine elements that set a particular theatrical production apart from earlier ones

2.What was typical of theatrical productions in the United States before the 1860s?[Click on 2 answers.]

A.The productions originated outside of the United States.

B.Only a limited segment of society attended the productions.

C.People attended the productions because they were interested in the plots.

D.The themes of the productions were typically related to the upper class.

Q3:3.According to the professor,what was a reason for a change in theatrical productions in the United States during the 1860s?

A.A growing middle class was in need of entertainment.

B.Wealthy theater advocates provided additional funding for new productions.

C.The interest of theatergoers shifted from opera to ballet.

D.A new artistic movement was founded by a group of actors.

Q4:4.Why does the professor mention moveable floorboards on the stage in Wheatley's production?

A.To explain the reason for an unexpected technical problem

B.To highlight one of the production's innovative features

C.To point out a similarity between early and modern theater in the United States

D.To give an example of a modification that was made for the ballet troupe

Q5:5.What was the audience's reaction to the transformation scene in Wheatley's production?

A.The audience was disappointed by the scene's short duration.

B.The audience was confused by the scene's unfamiliar elements.

C.The audience was amazed by the scene-changing process.

D.The audience was impressed at how quickly the stage crew moved objects onto the set.

6.According to the professor,what is one way in which Wheatley's production was different from modern musicals?

A.The performers in Wheatley's production performed more than one role.

B.Wheatley's production was created for the upper class.

C.The songs in Wheatley's production did not include lyrics.

D.The musical numbers in Wheatley's production did not correspond with the plot.

四、William Wheatley and Broadway Theaters托福听力答案：

A1:正确答案：D

A2:正确答案：AB

A3:正确答案：A

A4:正确答案：B

A5:正确答案：C

A6:正确答案：D

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