Classical Greek Tragedy
In 534 B.c.E. the city-state of Athens in what is today Greece added performances of tragedies to its annual festival honoring the god Dionysus. In ancient Greece, a tragedy was a serious drama that explored themes concerning human nature, often depicting a conflict between the hero and a superior force (such as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion. Like the famous Olympic Games, theater for many years was a contest, at first among playwrights for the best set of tragedies, but later for best comedy and best actor, among other competitions. At first, the actor and playwright were the same person. The early tragic playwrights, such as Thespis, performed their own plays, which featured one actor and a chorus (a group of singers/dancers who interacted with and responded to the actor). Later a second and then a third actor were added, but all of the surviving tragedies were written for three actors who performed multiple roles with a chorus whose size is usually estimated at twelve to fifteen. The chorus, however, may have begun with fifty performers, since that was the size of the traditional dithyramb (a choric presentation sung and danced in homage to Dionysus). The dithyramb is older than tragedy and is claimed to be a source for it.
All actors and chorus members were strictly male(even though many characters and choruses represented females), and they performed in a large, typically circular performance space called an orchestra(dancing place). The chorus entered and exited through the parados (roofed passageway). At some point a space called a skene was added behind the orchestra for changing masks and costumes, and the audience of many thousands watched the action from a large theatron (seeing place) on a hillside to which seats were eventually added. All parts of the theater, though temporary at first for each Dionysian festival, were set in stone permanently by the fourth century B.C.E. Although a few theaters held only a few thousand spectators, most of the surviving theaters are so large that they remind many people of stadiums. The surviving architecture creates a dilemma for modern historians, since nearly all of the surviving plays are from the fifth century B.c.E. but surviving Greek theaters are from the fourth century B.c.E. or later. Therefore, because the theaters and plays were created in different eras, the theatrical spaces that still exist may not be good indications of the staging that was originally used for the plays.
At the Dionysian festival, Greek tragedies, once fully developed, were performed by three actors in three groups of three plays by three competing playwrights. After all the performances, a group of judges, chosen from the ten tribes of Athens, selected the set of three plays they found the best. Sometimes a playwright told one story through all three plays (a trilogy that can be read as one three-part play today). Other playwrights presented three different stories in their three tragedies. All Greek tragedies that we now possess except one are based on myths that were ancient even when the plays premiered. The famous stories were familiar to many in the audience, but it is clear that playwrights retold them in a variety of ways. The story of Electra, a princess who conspired with her brother to murder her mother and the mother’s lover, survives in tragedies by Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.E.), Sophocles (496- 406 B.C.E.), and Euripides (480-406 B.C.E.), and each tragedy has a very different focus and point of view. These three playwrights won numerous Dionysian contests, and some of their plays continue to inspire us in modern revivals.
The only surviving trilogy of plays, The Oresteia (458 B.C.E.) by Aeschylus, is still performed, translated, and adapted and has proved to be one of the most enduring dramatic presentations in theater history. The three plays that make up The Oresteia (one of which dramatizes the story of Electra)explore personal vengeance and the creation of a standard for criminal justice. Aeschylus also wrote the only Greek tragedy we have that was based on events in the playwright’s own time rather than mythology: The Persians (472 B.C.E.)examines with sympathy enemies of Greece whom the playwright had fought a few years earlier.
1
In 534 B.c.E. the city-state of Athens in what is today Greece added performances of tragedies to its annual festival honoring the god Dionysus. In ancient Greece, a tragedy was a serious drama that explored themes concerning human nature, often depicting a conflict between the hero and a superior force (such as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion. Like the famous Olympic Games, theater for many years was a contest, at first among playwrights for the best set of tragedies, but later for best comedy and best actor, among other competitions. At first, the actor and playwright were the same person. The early tragic playwrights, such as Thespis, performed their own plays, which featured one actor and a chorus (a group of singers/dancers who interacted with and responded to the actor). Later a second and then a third actor were added, but all of the surviving tragedies were written for three actors who performed multiple roles with a chorus whose size is usually estimated at twelve to fifteen. The chorus, however, may have begun with fifty performers, since that was the size of the traditional dithyramb (a choric presentation sung and danced in homage to Dionysus). The dithyramb is older than tragedy and is claimed to be a source for it.
According to paragraph 1, in theater contests in ancient Greece, which TWO of the following INCREASED in number over time? To receive credit, you must select TWO answer choices.
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
Select 2 answers
AThe number of theater competition types
BThe number of plays that each tragic playwright presented
CThe number of actors performing each tragedy
DThe number of singers in the chorus of each tragedy
2
In 534 B.c.E. the city-state of Athens in what is today Greece added performances of tragedies to its annual festival honoring the god Dionysus. In ancient Greece, a tragedy was a serious drama that explored themes concerning human nature, often depicting a conflict between the hero and a superior force (such as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion. Like the famous Olympic Games, theater for many years was a contest, at first among playwrights for the best set of tragedies, but later for best comedy and best actor, among other competitions. At first, the actor and playwright were the same person. The early tragic playwrights, such as Thespis, performed their own plays, which featured one actor and a chorus (a group of singers/dancers who interacted with and responded to the actor). Later a second and then a third actor were added, but all of the surviving tragedies were written for three actors who performed multiple roles with a chorus whose size is usually estimated at twelve to fifteen. The chorus, however, may have begun with fifty performers, since that was the size of the traditional dithyramb (a choric presentation sung and danced in homage to Dionysus). The dithyramb is older than tragedy and is claimed to be a source for it.
Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1 about traditional dithyrambs?
Inference Questions推理题
AThey were performed in honor of the god Dionysus before 534 B.C.E.
BTheir chorus size is usually estimated at twelve to fifteen.
CThey were performed by playwrights such as Thespis.
DThey were each performed by one to three actors.
3
All actors and chorus members were strictly male(even though many characters and choruses represented females), and they performed in a large, typically circular performance space called an orchestra(dancing place). The chorus entered and exited through the parados (roofed passageway). At some point a space called a skene was added behind the orchestra for changing masks and costumes, and the audience of many thousands watched the action from a large theatron (seeing place) on a hillside to which seats were eventually added. All parts of the theater, though temporary at first for each Dionysian festival, were set in stone permanently by the fourth century B.C.E. Although a few theaters held only a few thousand spectators, most of the surviving theaters are so large that they remind many people of stadiums. The surviving architecture creates a dilemma for modern historians, since nearly all of the surviving plays are from the fifth century B.c.E. but surviving Greek theaters are from the fourth century B.c.E. or later. Therefore, because the theaters and plays were created in different eras, the theatrical spaces that still exist may not be good indications of the staging that was originally used for the plays.
According to paragraph 2,all of the following were true of early Greek theater EXCEPT:
Negative Factual Information Questions否定事实信息题
AThe actors and chorus members were all males.
BThe actors and chorus members sometimes had female roles.
CThe skene was added to the orchestra to make the performance space larger.
DThe audience watched performances from the side of a hill.
4
All actors and chorus members were strictly male(even though many characters and choruses represented females), and they performed in a large, typically circular performance space called an orchestra(dancing place). The chorus entered and exited through the parados (roofed passageway). At some point a space called a skene was added behind the orchestra for changing masks and costumes, and the audience of many thousands watched the action from a large theatron (seeing place) on a hillside to which seats were eventually added. All parts of the theater, though temporary at first for each Dionysian festival, were set in stone permanently by the fourth century B.C.E. Although a few theaters held only a few thousand spectators, most of the surviving theaters are so large that they remind many people of stadiums. The surviving architecture creates a dilemma for modern historians, since nearly all of the surviving plays are from the fifth century B.c.E. but surviving Greek theaters are from the fourth century B.c.E. or later. Therefore, because the theaters and plays were created in different eras, the theatrical spaces that still exist may not be good indications of the staging that was originally used for the plays.
In paragraph 2,why does the author identify the centuries in which surviving Greek plays were written and in which surviving Greek theaters were built?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
ATo provide background information about the eras during which ancient Greek plays were performed
BTo contrast the temporary theaters of the fourth century B.C.E. to the permanent ones of the fifth century B.C.E.
CTo help explain why the size of surviving Greek theaters remind many people of stadiums.
DTo point out a problem in understanding how ancient Greek plays were originally staged
5
At the Dionysian festival, Greek tragedies, once fully developed, were performed by three actors in three groups of three plays by three competing playwrights. After all the performances, a group of judges, chosen from the ten tribes of Athens, selected the set of three plays they found the best. Sometimes a playwright told one story through all three plays (a trilogy that can be read as one three-part play today). Other playwrights presented three different stories in their three tragedies. All Greek tragedies that we now possess except one are based on myths that were ancient even when the plays premiered. The famous stories were familiar to many in the audience, but it is clear that playwrights retold them in a variety of ways. The story of Electra, a princess who conspired with her brother to murder her mother and the mother’s lover, survives in tragedies by Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.E.), Sophocles (496- 406 B.C.E.), and Euripides (480-406 B.C.E.), and each tragedy has a very different focus and point of view. These three playwrights won numerous Dionysian contests, and some of their plays continue to inspire us in modern revivals.
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
Sentence Simplification Questions句子简化题
ADifferent tragedies focused on the point of view that Electra conspired with her brother to murder her mother and her mother’s lover.
BThe story of Electra is that of a princess who survives a murder conspiracy in tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
CAeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides lived at about the same time but wrote tragedies that focused on different stories.
DThree playwrights created surviving tragedies about the story of Electra, each of which is very different from the others.
6
At the Dionysian festival, Greek tragedies, once fully developed, were performed by three actors in three groups of three plays by three competing playwrights. After all the performances, a group of judges, chosen from the ten tribes of Athens, selected the set of three plays they found the best. Sometimes a playwright told one story through all three plays (a trilogy that can be read as one three-part play today). Other playwrights presented three different stories in their three tragedies. All Greek tragedies that we now possess except one are based on myths that were ancient even when the plays premiered. The famous stories were familiar to many in the audience, but it is clear that playwrights retold them in a variety of ways. The story of Electra, a princess who conspired with her brother to murder her mother and the mother’s lover, survives in tragedies by Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.E.), Sophocles (496- 406 B.C.E.), and Euripides (480-406 B.C.E.), and each tragedy has a very different focus and point of view. These three playwrights won numerous Dionysian contests, and some of their plays continue to inspire us in modern revivals.
According to paragraph 3,all of the following are true of Greek tragedies performed at the Dionysian festival EXCEPT:
Negative Factual Information Questions否定事实信息题
AThey were performed as part of a competition.
BThey were judged by a selected group of people.
CThey were chosen from ten plays written by authors from each tribe of Athens.
DMost of them were based on myths that were already very old at the time.
7
The only surviving trilogy of plays, The Oresteia (458 B.C.E.) by Aeschylus, is still performed, translated, and adapted and has proved to be one of the most enduring dramatic presentations in theater history. The three plays that make up The Oresteia (one of which dramatizes the story of Electra)explore personal vengeance and the creation of a standard for criminal justice. Aeschylus also wrote the only Greek tragedy we have that was based on events in the playwright’s own time rather than mythology: The Persians (472 B.C.E.)examines with sympathy enemies of Greece whom the playwright had fought a few years earlier.
The word “enduring”in the passage is closest in meaning to
Vocabulary Questions词汇题
Ainteresting
Blasting
Cfamous
Ddiscussed
8
The only surviving trilogy of plays, The Oresteia (458 B.C.E.) by Aeschylus, is still performed, translated, and adapted and has proved to be one of the most enduring dramatic presentations in theater history. The three plays that make up The Oresteia (one of which dramatizes the story of Electra)explore personal vengeance and the creation of a standard for criminal justice. Aeschylus also wrote the only Greek tragedy we have that was based on events in the playwright’s own time rather than mythology: The Persians (472 B.C.E.)examines with sympathy enemies of Greece whom the playwright had fought a few years earlier.
According to paragraph 4， in which TWO of the following ways does Aeschylus’s The Persians differ from his The Oresteia? To receive credit, you must select TWO answer choices.
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
Select 2 answers
AThe Oresteia is a trilogy, but The Persians is not.
BThe Oresteia is based on mythology, but The Persians is about events in Aeschylus’s own time.
CThe Oresteia has survived, but The Persians has been lost.
DThe Oresteia explores personal vengeance, while The Persians creates a standard for criminal justice.
9
At the Dionysian festival, Greek tragedies, once fully developed, were performed by three actors in three groups of three plays by three competing playwrights. [■]After all the performances, a group of judges, chosen from the ten tribes of Athens, selected the set of three plays they found the best. [■]Sometimes a playwright told one story through all three plays (a trilogy that can be read as one three-part play today). [■]Other playwrights presented three different stories in their three tragedies. All Greek tragedies that we now possess except one are based on myths that were ancient even when the plays premiered. [■]The famous stories were familiar to many in the audience, but it is clear that playwrights retold them in a variety of ways. The story of Electra, a princess who conspired with her brother to murder her mother and the mother’s lover, survives in tragedies by Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.E.), Sophocles (496- 406 B.C.E.), and Euripides (480-406 B.C.E.), and each tragedy has a very different focus and point of view. These three playwrights won numerous Dionysian contests, and some of their plays continue to inspire us in modern revivals.
Look at the four squaresthat indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
Each group of plays was performed in one day, so the performance of tragedies lasted three days.Insert Text Questions句子插入题
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
10
The ancient city-state of Athens included tragedies in its annual Dionysian festival.
Prose Summary Questions概要小结题
Select 3 answers
AEarly Greek tragedies, serious plays about human nature that had sad endings, were performed by their authors in many different roles and groups of dancers and singers.
BTheater spaces, such as those for performing, changing costumes, and watching the play, were at first temporary but later became permanent, and some huge theaters were built.
CA group of ten judges selected the playwrights to compete in the festival based on the playwrights’ familiarity with mythology and the preferences of spectators.
DBefore tragedies became common at the annual festival, playwrights competed for best comedy and best actor in plays with no more than three actors and a chorus of twelve to fifteen.
EBecause some surviving theaters are as large as modern stadiums, it is believed that they were used not only for staging plays but also for other kinds of competition.
FSome of the tragedies, such as Aeschylus’s The Oresteia, have been recreated in modern forms and remain popular today.
