大学英语四级考试精读荟萃100篇

1、精选优质文档-倾情为你奉上大学英语四级考试精读荟萃100篇(44):露天演出的服装Pageants are usually conceived on a fairly large scale, often under the auspices of some local or civic authority or at any rate in connection with local groups of some kind. This sometimes means that there is an allocation of funds available for the purpose

2、of mounting the production, though unfortunately this will usually be found to be on the meager side and much ingenuity will have to be used to stretch it so that all performers can be adequately clothed.Most pageants have a historical flavour as they usually come about through the celebration of th

3、e anniversary of some event of historic importance, or the life or death of some local worthy. Research among archives and books in the public library will probably prove very useful and produce some workable ideas which will give the production an especially local flavour. From the first economy wi

4、ll have to be practiced because there are usually a great number of people to dress. Leading characters can be considered individually in the same way as when designing for a play; but the main body of the performers will need to be planned in groups and the massed effect must be always borne in min

5、d.Many pageants take place in daylight in the open air. This is an entirely different problem from designing costumes which are going to be looked at under artificial lighting; for one thing, scenes viewed in the daylight are subject to many more distractions. No longer is everything around cut out

6、by the surrounding darkness, but instead it is very easy to be aware of disturbing movement in the audience of behind the performers. Very theatrically conceived clothes do not always look their best when seen in a daylight setting of trees, verdant lawns and old ivy-covered walls; the same goes for

7、 costumes being worn in front of the mellow colors of stately homes. The location needs to be studied and then a decision can be made as to what kinds of colors and textures will harmonize best with the surroundings and conditions and then to carry this out as far as possible on the funds available.

8、If money is available to dress the performers without recourse to their own help in the provision of items, it is best to arrange for all the cutting and pinning together of the costumes to be done by one or two experienced people than to be given out to the groups and individuals for completion. Wh

9、en there is little or no money at all, the garments need to be reduced to the basic necessities. Cloaks and shawls become invaluable, sheets and large bath towels and bath sheets are admirable for draping. Unwanted curtains and bed spreads can be cut to make tunics, robes and skirts. These are parti

10、cularly valuable if they are of heavy fabrics such as velvet or chenille.Colors should be massed together so that there are contrasting groups of dark and light, this will be found to help the visual result substantially. Crowds of people gathered together in a jumble of colors will be ground to loo

11、k quite purposeless and will lack dramatic impact.The use of numbers of identical head-dresses, however simply made, are always effective when working with groups. If these are made of cardboard and painted boldly the cost can be almost negligible. Helmets, hats and plumes will all make quite a show

12、 even if the costumes are only blandest or sheets cleverly draped. The same can be said of the use of banners, shields and poles with stiff pennants and garlandsanything which will help to have a unifying effect. Any kind of eye-catching device will always go with a flourish and add excitement to th

13、e scenes.1. The main idea of this passage isA. Pageants. B. Costumes on the stage.C. Costumes for pageants. D. How to arrange a pageant.2. It can be inferred that the most important factor in costume design isA. money. B. color. C. harmony D. texture3. Why will much ingenuity have to be required in

14、costume design?A. Because pageants take place in daylight in the open air.B. Because different characters require different costumes.C. Because the colors and textures must be in harmony with the setting.D. Because an allocation of the funds available is usually rather small.4. Why do most pageants

15、have a historical flavour?A. Because most pageants take place for celebration.B. Many pageants take place for amusement.C. A lot of pageants take place for religion.D. Because pageants usually take place for competition.Vocabulary1. conceive 设想，想象to be conceived 设想好的，构思好的2. under the auspices of 在的主

16、办下3. meager 贫乏的，不足的4. mount 登上，制作，上演5. flavour 风味，风格，情趣6. archive(s) 档案(馆)7. distraction 使人分心的事8. ivy 常春藤9. mellow 柔和的10. recourse (to) 依赖，求助于11. drape 覆盖，披上12. invaluable 无价的，非常贵重的13. tunic (古时)长达膝盖的外衣，穿在盔甲上的战袍14. chenille 绳绒绒(织品)15. jumble 混乱，搞乱16. pennant 细长三角旗17. garland 花环，花冠难句译注1. This sometim

17、es means that there is an allocation of funds available for the purpose of mounting the production, though unfortunately this will usually be found to be on the meager side and much ingenuity will have to be used to stretch it so that all performers can be adequately clothed.结构简析 复合结构。That是主句的宾语从句，从

18、句后再有从句。参考译文 这种情况，有时就表示有一个可用于演出目的资金配额。遗憾的是配额一般都少而不足，就得动用非常之才能细细的使用金额，使所有的演员都能穿上合适的戏装。2. Most pageants have a historical flavour as they usually come about through the celebration of the anniversary of some event of historic importance, or the life or death of some local worthy.结构简析 主从句参考译文 大多数露天演出都带有

19、历史情调，因为这些戏一般是通过庆祝某个重大的历史事件，或庆祝当地某个值得纪念的人诞辰或逝世周年而产生的。3. This is an entirely different problem from designing costumes which are going to be looked at under artificial lighting; for one thing, scenes viewed in the daylight are subject to many more distractions. No longer is everything around cut out b

20、y the surrounding darkness, but instead it is very easy to be aware of disturbing movement in the audience of behind the performers.结构简析 复合结构：主句this is后有定语从句，which修饰costumes。从句中又套从句。参考译文 这和人为灯光下看的设计服装完全不一样。首先，白天看到幕景易于受许多因素影响，不再能用一片漆黑的环境把周围的一切隔开，而是相反，演员后和观众中有点纷乱的动作，很容易看到。4. Very theatrically conceive

21、d clothes do not always look their best when seen in a daylight setting of trees, verdant lawns and old ivy-covered walls; the same goes for costumes being worn in front of the mellow colors of stately homes.结构简析 并列句，中用分号隔开。第一句中有when seen 连词+过去分词，实质起从句作用。第二句是主从句。参考译文 设计出的非常具有戏剧性效果的服装，在光天化日，有树木，有绿茵茵的

22、草地，又有爬满常春藤的古老围墙的背景下，经常看起来是不起眼：在堂皇的住宅四周一片和色调前，所穿的服装效果同样不太好。5. If money is available to dress the performers without recourse to their own help in the provision of items, it is best to arrange for all the cutting and pinning together of the costumes to be done by one or two experienced people than to

23、be given out to the groups and individuals for completion.结构简析 条件句，主句为逻辑主句，注意中间两个被动不定式。To be done by, than to be given out, 这里的than起连词作用。参考译文 如果有钱可以为演员着装而不用求助自己供应种种物件，那么最好把所有的戏装的裁减和缝制交给一，两个有经验人去干，而不是让群体演员和单个演员去完成。写作方法与文章大意文章论述露天演出的服装问题，由于露天演出不同于室内，剧院内演出，要从各个方面考虑服装问题，才能获得应有的舞台效果。作者从资金多少，地方色彩，露天，白天，颜色

24、搭配等方面来论述服装。写法多种，有因果，对比，举例等。答案详解1. C. 露天演出的服装。第一段末尾已经点明，“一般认为露天演出规模宏大，常常是由某个地方或当局(民政局主办赞助)，或总是和某个地方集团有关。这意味着有用于演出目的资金配额，遗憾的是配额一般很少，必须动用非常的才能，细细的使用资金，所有演员才能窗上恰当的服装。”其他各段各有重点，但都是服务于剧装这一中心。A. 露天演出。 B. 舞台剧装(包括剧场)。 D. 如何安排露天演出;涉及面或大或小，不适合。2. C. 和谐。服装设计中最重要的因素是和谐。这一点在几段中都提到，第二段最后一句“演员的主题必须以群体设计，头脑中必须经常记住群体

25、效果。”第三段最后一句“必须研究演出的地理位置，决出什么样的颜色和织物，能和环境，条件，达到最完美和谐。”第五段专讲颜色搭配，“应当从总体考虑颜色，这样才有亮和暗的群体对比，帮助产生实感的视觉效果，一群穿着杂七杂八颜色服装的演员聚集在一起看起来乱哄哄。缺乏戏剧效果。”这也是和谐之要求。A. 钱。钱要考虑。出前两段外，第三段最后一句，讲完和谐后，也提到“尽可能以能到手的资金加以实现这决定。”第四段中“在钱很少或是没有钱的情况下，服装得降到基本需要”，下面就讲利用被单，浴巾，窗帘做服装，所以钱在服装设计中很重要，但不能列为最重要因素，有钱没有钱都得以服装协调为主。 B. 颜色。D. 织品。同样都的

26、服从和谐这一前提。3. D. 因为能得到资金的配额都很少。第一段最后一句话，见第一题译注。A. 因为在光天化日下演出。 B. 因为不同演员要求不同服装。 C. 颜色和织物必须和布景谐调。这些只是考虑的因素。见上面译文。4. A. 因为大多数露天演出都是为纪念庆祝。第二段第一句“露天演出一般都是某个具有历史意义事件，或者当地某个值得纪念的人物的诞辰和逝世周年，所以大多数露天演出都具有历史纪念色彩。”B. 许多露天演出是为了娱乐。 C. 许多露天演出是为了宗教。 D. 因为露天演出一般是参与竞赛。三项都不对。大学英语四级考试精读荟萃100篇(43):自然界中的保护色Cryptic coloring

27、 is by far the commonest use of color in the struggle for existence. It is employed for the purpose of attack (aggressive resemblance or anticryptic coloring ) as well as of defense (protective resemblance or procryptic coloring ). The fact that the same method concealment, may be used both for atta

28、ck and defense has been well explained by T.Belt who suggests as an illustration the rapidity of movement which is also made use of by both pursuer and pursued, which is similarly raised to a maximum in both by the gradual dying out of the slowest through a series of generations. Cryptic coloring is

29、 commonly associated with other aids in the struggle for life. Thus well-concealed mammals and birds, when discovered, will generally endeavor to escape by speed and will often attempt to defend themselves actively. On the other hand, small animals which have no means of active defense, such as larg

30、e, numbers of insects, frequently depend upon concealment alone. Protective resemblance is far commoner among animals than aggressive resemblance, in correspondence with the fact that predaceous forms are as a rule much larger and much less numerous than their prey. In the case of insectivorous Vert

31、ebrata and their prey such differences exist in an exaggerated form. Cryptic coloring, whether used for defense of attack, may be either general or special. In general resemblance the animal, in consequence of its coloring, produces the same effect as its environment, but the conditions do not requi

32、re any special adaptation of shape and outline. General resemblance is especially common among the animal inhabiting some uniformly colored expanse of the earth's surface, such as an ocean or a desert. In the former, animals of all shapes are frequently protected by their transparent blue color,

33、 on the latter, equally diverse forms are defended by their sandy appearance. The effect of a uniform appearance may be produced by a combination of tints in startling contrast. Thus the black and white stripes of the zebra blend together at a little distance, and " their proportion is such as

34、exactly to match the pale tint which arid ground possesses when seen by moonlight." Special resemblance is far commoner than general and is the form which is usually met with on the diversified surface of the earth, on the shores, and in shallow water, as well as on the floating masses of algae

35、 on the surface of the ocean, such as the Sargasso Sea. In these environments the cryptic coloring of animals is usually aided by special modifications of shape, and by the instinct which leads them to assume particular attitudes. Complete stillness and the assumption of a certain attitude play an e

36、ssential part in general resemblance on land; but in special resemblance the attitude is often highly specialized, and perhaps more important than any other element in the complex method by which concealment is effected. In special resemblance the combination of coloring, shape, and attitude is such

37、 as to produce a more or less exact resemblance to some one of the objects in the environment, such as a leaf of twig, a patch of lichen, a flake of bark. In all cases the resemblance is to some object which is of no interest to the enemy or prey respectively. The animal is not hidden from view by b

38、ecoming indistinguishable from its background as in the case of general resemblance, but it is mistaken for some well-know object.In seeking the interpretation of these most interesting and elaborate adaptations, attempts have been made along two lines. The first seeks to explain the effect as a res

39、ult of the direct influence of the environment upon the individual (G.L.L.Buffon), or by the inherited effects of efforts and the use and disuse of parts (J.B.P.Lamarck). The second believes that natural selection produced the result and afterwards maintained it by the survival of the best concealed

40、 in each generation. The former suggestion breaks down when the complex nature of numerous special resemblances is appreciated. Thus the arrangement of colors of many kinds into an appropriate pattern requires the cooperation of a suitable shape and the rigidly exact adoption of a certain elaborate

41、attitude. The latter is instinctive and thus depends on the central nervous system. The cryptic effect is due to the exact cooperation of all these factors; and in the present state of science, the only possible hole of an interpretation lies in the theory of natural selection, which can accumulate

42、any and every variation which tends toward survival. A few of the chief types of methods by which concealment is effected may be briefly described. The colors of large numbers of vertebrate animals are darkest on the back and become gradually lighter on the sides, passing into white on the belly. Ab

43、bot H. Thayer has suggested that this gradation obliterates the appearance of solidity, which is due to shadow. The color harmony, which is also essential to concealment, is produced because the back is of the same tint as the environment (e. g. earth), bathed in the cold blue-white of the sky, whil

44、e the belly, being cold blue-white and bathed in shadow and yellow earth reflections produces the same effects. This method of neutralizing shadow for the purpose of concealment by increased lightness of tint was first suggested by E.B.Poulton in the case of a larva and a pupa, but he did not apprec

45、iate the great importance of the principle. In an analogous method an animal in front of a background of dark shadow may have part of its body obliterated by the existence of a dark tint, the remainder resembling, e.g., a part of a leaf. This method of rendering invisible any part which would interf

46、ere with the resemblance is well know in mimicry.1. The black and white stripes of the zebra are most useful formA. hunters. B. nocturnal predatorsC. lions and tigers. C. insectivorous Vertrbrata2. Aggressive resemblance occurs whenA. a predaceous attitude is assumed.B. special resemblance is utiliz

47、ed.C. an animal relies on speed.D. an animal blends in with its background.3. Special resemblance differs from general resemblance in that the animal relies onA. its ability to frighten its adversary. B. speed.C. its ability to assume an attitude. D. mistaken identify4. The title below that best exp

48、resses the ides of this passage isA. Cryptic coloration for Protection. B. How Animals Survive.C. The uses of Mimicry in Nature. D. Resemblances of Animals.5. Of the following which is the least common?A. protective resemblance. B. General resemblance.C. Aggressive resemblance. D. Special resemblanc

49、e.Vocabulary 1. cryptic 隐藏的，保护的cryptic coloring 保护色，隐藏色2. predaceous 食肉的，捕食其他动物的。3. vertebrate 脊椎动物门4. tint 色泽，色彩5. zebra 斑马6. Sargasso 果本马尾藻7. twig 嫩枝8. lichen 地衣9. flake 一片10. gradation 等级，层次，分等11. obliterate 涂抹，擦去，使消失12. larva 幼虫，幼体13. pupa 蛹14. mimicry 模仿，拟态15. insectivorous 食虫的16. procryptic 有保

50、护色的，保护性的难句译注1. the rapidity of movement which is also made use of by both pursuer and pursued, which is similarly raised to a maximum in both by the gradual dying out of the slowest through a series of generations.参考译文 追捕动物和被追的动物也利用快速的动作。这种快速的运动同样是通过几代更迭，逐渐消除了慢速，而发展到快速顶峰。2. Protective resemblance is

51、 far commoner among animals than aggressive resemblance, in correspondence with the fact that predaceous forms are as a rule much larger and much less numerous than their prey.参考译文 保护性模仿远比侵犯行模仿要普遍得多，这是和下述的情况想配合的：食肉的(形式)动物，按惯律总是比他们捕食的对象要大而且多得多。3. The effect of a uniform appearance may be produced by

52、a combination of tints in startling contrast.参考译文 在惊人的对比中，色泽的综合可能产生外形一致的效果。4. their proportion is such as exactly to match the pale tint which arid ground possesses when seen by moonlight.参考译文 (这里指斑马的黑白条)比例正好和在月光下观看贫瘠土地所具有的苍白色泽相吻合。5. In these environments the cryptic coloring of animals is usually a

53、ided by special modifications of shape, and by the instinct which leads them to assume particular attitudes.参考译文 在这些环境中，动物的保护色常常得到特定的形状变化和本能的协作，这种本能会使动物采取特定的姿势。6. Complete stillness and the assumption of a certain attitude play an essential part in general resemblance on land; but in special resembl

54、ance the attitude is often highly specialized参考译文绝对静态和采取一般姿势在陆地的一般模仿中起很大作用，而在专门模仿中，姿势常常是高度专门化的。7. Thus the arrangement of colors of many kinds into an appropriate pattern requires the cooperation of a suitable shape and the rigidly exact adoption of a certain elaborate attitude.参考译文 因此许多类颜色排列成恰当的模式/

55、形式，要求把合适的外形和严格的采用一定的精心设计的姿势相结合。8. The cryptic effect is due to the exact cooperation of all these factors; and in the present state of science, the only possible hole of an interpretation lies in the theory of natural selection, which can accumulate any and every variation which tends toward surviva

56、l.参考译文 保护效果是由于所以这些因素确切合作而形成。根据目前科学水平，唯一的解释(此种现象)就是自然选择理论，它可以累积要生存的各种变异/变种。写作方法与文章大意文章以一般到具体的协作和分类方式写作，第一段点出生物界生存竞争中最常用的一种颜色是保护色，保护色可分为两类：进犯(进攻)型和防卫型。一般是防御性保护色多于进攻型。而两种类型都可归纳为一般性模仿和专门(特定)模仿。居住(栖息)在单一色泽的地方的动物，如海洋或沙漠，常采用模仿性保护色如透明的绿色，土色等，而特定摸刚的动物则栖息在多样性的地方，如海岸，浅水，海洋表面等。特定模仿还需要有改变形状姿势之协作，使其看起来像客观环境中的某物，某

57、种身份mistaken identify.第二段涉及有关模仿性的解释的探索，结果为二。一种观点是环境直接影响的结果。第二种是自然选择的结果。当人们理解了许多特定模仿的复杂特性时，第一种解释就不能成立了。这说明保护效果是一切因素合适的外形和某种精心设计的姿势等合作而成。按现在科学水平来解释，只能归之“自然选择”理论，然后是用具体例子来证实。答案详解：1. B. 夜间活动的食肉动物。见难句译注4，斑马的黑白相间颜色的比例正好和月光下所见的贫瘠土地的苍白的色泽相吻合。当然能保护斑马夜间免遭这些食肉动物的袭击。A. 捕获者。 C. 狮子和老虎。D. 食虫的脊椎动物2. A. 在装成捕食其他动物的姿势时

58、。B. 应该专门模仿。 C. 动物依赖速度。 D. 动物和背景混在一起。3. D. 搞错/认错了动物(身份)(mistaken identify 认错了人之义)。见第一段最后一句话，它不像一般模仿那样，通过动物和背景难以辨别从而从视觉中隐藏起来，它是被误认为某种著名动物。A. 用以吓走它的对手(敌人)的能力。 B. 速度。 C. 采用某种姿势的能力。4. C. 自然界模拟的运动。文章一开始就点命保护色迄今为止生存斗争中最常用的一种颜色，常用于进攻和防卫。保护色常和其他措施相配合，首先提到速度，见难句译注1。然后讲到保护色分类，一般(普通)和特殊(专门)模拟/模仿。第二段解释或说明模拟适应性。第一种解释为环境使然/影响。第二种认为是自然界选择之结果。A. 为了保卫的保护色。 B. 动物是如何存活