Test 11 on the artistic culture of the world

I. Прочитайте текст и выберите вариант ответа, соответствующий содержанию прочитанных фрагментов (А-E).

A. Masks are among the world's oldest and newest works of art. They've been used to celebrate religious rites, to work hunting or harvest magic, and as parts of costumes for plays, parties, Carnival, and, of course, Halloween. A mask can be fun or frightening, mysterious or awe-inspiring. But every mask does two important things at the same time: it hides the masker's everyday face and draws attention to the person or thing the masker has temporarily become.

B. When King Tutankhamen died, artists were given only seventy days to cast his solid gold death mask; that was the time needed to mummify the body. The true likeness of the eighteen-year-old ruler covered the head and shoulders of the mummy. The shining gold portrayed the king as the glowing sun god, Ra.

C. Commedia dell'arte actors wore half masks called leather faces during their skits. They played to crowds in the open streets and piazzas, and half-masks left their mouths uncovered so everyone could hear the funny things they said. Each leather face was shaped to represent a special character that the audience recognized, like a clown or a merchant. Masked parties were popular among the nobles of Venice. Despite the variety of fashionable clothing, only two types of masks are worn—white ones with sharp noses or small, round black ones that cover just the center of the face. Masks contrasted sharply with fancy dresses.

D. Spirit-of-the-seal masks were carved by the Eskimo during the long, long nights of the northern winter, a sacred time. But masks were used in village ceremonies and celebrations all year long. Sea creatures were necessary to the villagers' way of life, and the maskers sang and danced to honor the creatures and to ask for good luck and a successful hunt. The feathers on this mask added life to the dancer's imitation of a swimming seal.

E. The Queen of Carnival wore the "bird of the rain forest" mask, which was her costume, too. The artist covered a bent-wire frame with thousands of sequins, and then draped it with drifts of red, blue, green, yellow, pink, and purple cloth to color the parrot's feathers. Poles at the sides allowed the Carnival dancer to raise the bird's wings, and small wheels on a supporting platform helped her to propel the parrot along the streets.

1. The mask that was supposed to work hunting magic is described in

A. Section A

B. Section B

С. Section D

D. Section E

2. Some theatrical masks are described in

A. Section A

B. Section B

С. Section D

D. Section C

3. Masks worn on special festivities to hide a person's true identity are discussed in

A. Sections A, B

B. Sections C, D

С. Sections D, A

D. Sections E, C

4. A mask created to immortalize somebody is depicted in

A. Section C

B. Section D

С. Section A

D. Section B

5. The mask that covers more than just a face is described in

A. Section A

B. Section C

С. Section D

D. Section E

II. Прочитайте текст. Подберите соответствующий заголовок к каждому абзацу (1-6).

(1) The London A-Z is a little book containing page after page of street maps. By referring to the alphabetical list in the back, you can find your way to any address in the city. Many people living and working in London use it on a daily basis. But what few people realize is that the little book has only existed since 1936 and it was the work of one woman named Phyllis Pearsall. Phyllis was not a cartographer by profession. In fact she was a portrait artist and the project grew out of her frustration at never being able to find the houses of her clients. There were very few maps of London at that time and those there were, although they included roads, tended to focus on geographical features. They were not really intended for the general public and certainly didn't include street names.

(2) Seeing a gap in the market, Phyllis started her mapping project. It was a huge undertaking. She got up at five every morning and she would walk and walk, systematically sketching streets as she saw them, and ended up walking three thousand miles along twenty-three thousand streets in a single year. She became very obsessed with completing this task, maybe because her father had been a map-maker with his own company in London, but he'd gone bankrupt. That had affected her greatly, and when she started this project, he was unsupportive saying: 'You'll never do it. I'll give you a week.' So she really wanted to prove that she could run a business, that she could outdo him.

(3) The maps themselves are different from most other kinds of map in that they don't have their basis in mathematical calculations. When you look at an A-Z map, the emphasis is on the streets, so you'll see where you want to go. But an A-Z map distorts reality for the convenience of the pedestrian and driver. That is why Phyllis was disregarded by a lot of the academics of the map world. She had no qualifications in cartography at all, just lots of determination. As an artist she was very efficient, though, probably sketching about five roads an hour, and she was also extremely observant, with a great eye for color, and that was the other striking thing about the A-Z maps when they first came in.

(4) But right at the end of the project, she almost had a disaster. She was cataloguing all the streets she'd sketched on index cards, arranged in shoe boxes around her tiny flat, and she'd got as far as the Ts. One hot summer night, she left the T box on her desk, next to an open window. She was woken up by a storm. A big gust of wind had taken hold of the T box and blown it out of the window. She ran to the window, looked out, and she could see a whole fluttering of white index cards on the street and one white card on top of a red bus. She ran down, scooped all these cards up and ran in front of the bus waving, but it didn't stop. Later, she and her editor went through all the cards, but couldn't find which street was missing. Fortunately, when the book got to the printers, somebody there spotted it and said, 'Excuse me, Mrs. Pearsall, but is there any reason why you've left out Trafalgar Square?' and it was one of the most famous addresses in the whole city!

(5) Initially, she found the books very difficult to sell. She tried to interest all the large department stores, but at first no-one saw the potential. Then finally, a large chain of newsagents agreed to stock them on a strictly 'sale or return' basis. And they took off immediately. Today, bookshops stock A-Z maps of most British cities and they have been imitated all over the world.

A. Finally, Triumph

B. Almost Ruined

C. In Need of Assistance

D. Supportive Family

E. Comparatively New Phenomenon

F. Everybody Must Get It

G. One of a Kind

H. One-Woman Project

III. Прочитайте текст и выполните послетекстовые задания.

(1) Although stage plays have been set to music since the era of the ancient Greeks, when the dramas of Sophocles and Aeschylus were accompanied by lyres and flutes, the usually accepted date for the beginning of opera as we know it is 1600. As a part of the celebration of the marriage of King Henry IV of France to the Italian aristocrat Maria de Medici, the Florentine composer Jacopo Peri produced his famous Euridice, generally considered to be the first opera.

(2) Following his example, a group of Italian musicians, poets, and noblemen called the Camerata began to revive the style of musical story that had been used in Greek tragedy. The Camerata took most of the plots for their operas from Greek and Roman history and mythology, beginning the process of creating an opera by writing a libretto or drama that could be used to establish the framework for the music. They called their compositions opera in musica or musical works. It is from this phrase that the word "opera" was borrowed and abbreviated.

(3) For several years, the center of opera was Florence in northern Italy, but gradually, during the baroque period, it spread throughout Italy. By the late 1600s, operas were being written and performed in many places throughout Europe, especially in England, France, and Germany. However, for many years, the Italian opera was considered the ideal, and many non-Italian composers continued to use Italian librettos.

(4) The European form deemphasized the dramatic aspect of the Italian model. New orchestral effects and even ballet were introduced under the guise of opera. Composers gave in to the demands of singers, writing many operas that were little more than a succession of brilliant tricks for the voice, designed to showcase the splendid voices of the singers who had requested them. It was thus that complicated arias, recitatives, and duets evolved.

(5) The aria, which is a long solo, may be compared to a song in which the characters express their thoughts and feelings. The recitative, which is also a solo of sorts, is a recitation set to music, the purpose of which is to continue the story line. The duet is a musical piece written for two voices, a musical device that may serve the function of either an aria or a recitative within the opera. But the opera itself as we know it now had a long way to go.

Прочитайте текст и выберите вариант ответа, соответствующий содержанию текста (задания 1-5).

1. The accepted date for the beginning of the opera is

A. ancient times when dramas were accompanied by lyres and flutes

B. the marriage of King Henry IV to the Italian aristocrat Maria de Medici

C. when Euridice was produced for the royal wedding celebration.

2. The Camerata was known to be a group of Italian musicians and poets

A. who began to create a new style of musical story

B. who began to revive the Greek musical story

C. who began to improve the Italian style of musical story

3. The Camerata began to create the modern opera by

A. writing the framework for the music

B. creating music used as the framework for the libretto

C. writing drama used as the basis for the performance

4. The European opera placed more emphasis on

A. voice and movement

B. libretto and plot

C. orchestra and light effects

5. A long song in which the singer expresses thoughts and feelings is called

A. a solo

B. an aria

C. a duet

Определите значение указанного слова в тексте (задания 6-8).

6. abbreviate (2)

A. shorten B. shrink C. shrivel

7. gradually (3)

A. little by little B. slowly C. suddenly

8. give in (4)

A. please B. surrender C. accept

III. Выберите правильный вариант перевода в соответствии с содержанием текста (задания 9-12).

9. The Camerata took most of the plots for their operas from Greek and Roman history and mythology. (2)

A. Камерата брала большинство сюжетов для опер из греческой и римской истории и мифологии.

B. Большая часть опер Камераты созданы на материале сюжетов из греческой и римской истории и мифологии.

C. Камерата взяла большинство сюжетов опер из греческой и римской истории и мифологии.

10. By the late 1600s, operas were being written and performed in many places throughout Europe. (3)

A. К концу 1600 года оперы писали и исполняли во многих местах по всей Европе.

B. К 1610 году оперы уже сочинялись и ставились во многих уголках Европы.

C. К концу 1600 года оперы писали и исполняли повсеместно в Европе.

11. However, for many years, the Italian opera was considered the ideal (3)

A. Но долгие годы итальянская опера была образцом для подражания.

B. Несмотря на это, итальянская опера многие годы считалась идеалом.

C. Кстати, итальянская опера всегда считалась идеальной.

12. The European form deemphasized the dramatic aspect of the Italian model (4).

A. В европейской опере драматическая сторона итальянской отошла на второй план.

B. Европейская форма меньше подчеркивала драматический аспект итальянской модели.

C. Европейская опера развенчала культ драматизма в итальянской модели.