Unit 9TextHave you ever seen such operas as Carmen and Tristan ? And , how muchdo you know about opera ?The Nature of OperaFor well over three hundred years the opera has been one of the mostalluring forms of musical entertainment. A special glamor is attached toeverything connected with it its arias, singers and roles, not to mentionits opening nights. Carmen, Mimi, Violetta, Tristan what characters infact or fiction can claim, generation after generation, so constant a public?An opera is a drama that is sung. It combines the resources of vocal andinstrumental music soloists, ensembles, chorus, orchestra and ballet withpoetry and drama, acting andpantomime, scenery and costumes.To combine the diverse elementsinto a unity is a problem that hasexercised some of the best mindsin the history of music.At first glance opera wouldseem to make impossible demandon the credulity of the spectators. It presents us with human beings caughtup in dramatic situations who sing to each other instead of speaking. Thereasonable question is (and it was asked most pointedly throughout thehistory of opera by literary men) : how can an art form based on so unnaturala procedure be convincing? The question ignores what must always remainthe fundamental aspiration of art: not to copy nature but to heighten ourawareness of it. True enough, people in real life do not sing to each otherNeither do they converse in blank verse, as Shakespeares characters do; norlive in rooms of which one wall is conveniently missing so that the audiencemay look in. All the arts employ conventions that are accepted both by theartist and his audience. The conventions of opera are more evident thanthose of poetry, painting, drama, or film, but they are not different inkind. Once we have accepted the fact that the carpet can fly, how simple tobelieve that it is also capable of carrying the princes luggage.Opera functions in the domain of poetic drama. It uses the human voiceto impinge upon the spectators basic emotions love, hate, jealousy, joy,grief with an elemental force possible only to itself. The logic of realitygives way on the operatic stage to the transcendent logic of art, and to thepower of music over the life of the heart.Study and PracticcComprehension of the TextI. Answer the following questions.1. When did opera become one of the most attractive forms of musicalentertainment?2. What is opera?3. Why would opera seem to make impossible demands on the credulity of thespectators?4. What does the author mean by saying once we have accepted the fact that thecarpet can fly how simple to believe that it is also capable of carrying theprinces luggage?5. Do you like opera? Please tell the reason why you like it or dislike it.Summary WritingA. Use no more than 85 words to write a summary of the text.Vocabulary. Match the items in column A to the phrases describing them in column B.A B1. alluring a. field2. glamor b. making sb. feel certain3. constant c. unchanging4. diverse d. clear5. reasonable e. attractive6. convincing f. charm7. evident g. right8. domain h. all kinds ofIV. Fill in the blanks with the words or expressions given below. Change the form where necessary. 1. I am sure that he will act on the doctors _ advice.2.The unpopular mayor was _ _ underattack in the newspapers. 3. , the picture did not look very good but after examining it carefullywe found that it was indeed a masterpiecefiction caught up in alluring employ diverse at first glancecapable of reasonable constant attached to evident luggage4.Be sure not to say anything being misunderstood.5.We were _ a discussion about yesterdays examination when the teacher walked into the classroom.6.How do you your_ spare time usually?7.The high school is Nanjing Normal University.8.Jim liked reading science when he was young.9.The wild life in Africa is extremelyin species.10. Mr. Wilson was so hurried that one piece of hiswas left on the train.structureV. Rewrite the following sentences after the model.Model: People in real life do not sing to each other. They do not converse in blank verse either.People in real life do not sing to each other. Neither do they converse in blank verse.1. Paul couldnt dance, and he couldnt sing either.2. My brother Joe never learned to swim and he doesnt want to start now.3. I was not surprised at the news and my family were not surprised at the news either.4. Cathy had hardly said anything today and her mother had not said a word either.Ml. Fill in the blanks with one”, ones, those” or that”1. _The conventions of opera are more ev