英語專八考試閱讀題及答案解析
Pageants Pageants are usually conceived on a fairly large scale, oftenunder the auspices of some local or civic authority or at any ratein connection with local groups of some kind. This sometimesmeans that there is an allocation of funds available for thepurpose of mounting the production, though unfortunately thiswill usually be found to be on the meager side and muchingenuity will have to be used to stretch it so that all performerscan be adequately clothed.
Most pageants have a historical flavour as they usually come about through the celebration of theanniversary 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 andproduce some workable ideas which will give the production an especially local flavour. From thefirst economy will have to be practiced because there are usually a great number of people todress. Leading characters can be considered individually in the same way as when designing for aplay; but the main body of the performers will need to be planned in groups and the massed effectmust be always borne in mind.
Many pageants take place in daylight in the open air. This is an entirely different problem fromdesigning costumes which are going to be looked at under artificial lighting; for one thing, scenesviewed in the daylight are subject to many more distractions. No longer is everything around cutout by the surrounding darkness, but instead it is very easy to be aware of disturbing movementin the audience of behind the performers. Very theatrically conceived clothes do not always looktheir best when seen in a daylight setting of trees, verdant lawns and old ivy-covered walls; thesame goes for costumes being worn in front of the mellow colors of stately homes. The locationneeds to be studied and then a decision can be made as to what kinds of colors and textures willharmonize best with the surroundings and conditions and then to carry this out as far as possibleon the funds available.
If money is available to dress the performers without recourse to their own help in the provision ofitems, it is best to arrange for all the cutting and pinning together of the costumes to be done byone or two experienced people than to be given out to the groups and individuals for completion.When 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 admirablefor draping. Unwanted curtains and bed spreads can be cut to make tunics, robes and skirts.These are particularly 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 willbe found to help the visual result substantially. Crowds of people gathered together in a jumble ofcolors will be ground to look quite purposeless and will lack dramatic impact.
The use of numbers of identical head-dresses, however simply made, are always effective whenworking with groups. If these are made of cardboard and painted boldly the cost can be almostnegligible. Helmets, hats and plumes will all make quite a show even if the costumes are onlyblandest or sheets cleverly draped. The same can be said of the use of banners, shields and poleswith stiff pennants and garlands—anything which will help to have a unifying effect. Any kind ofeye-catching device will always go with a flourish and add excitement to the scenes.
1. The main idea of this passage is
[A] 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 is
[A] money [B] color [C] harmony [D] texture
3. Why will much ingenuity have to be required in 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 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.
答案詳解：1. C. 露天演出的服裝。第一段末尾已經點明，“一般認為露天演出規模宏大，常常是由某個地方或當局（民政局主辦贊助），或總是和某個地方集團有關。這意味著有用于演出目的資金配額，遺憾的是配額一般很少，必須動用非常的才能，細細的使用資金，所有演員才能窗上恰當的服裝。”其他各段各有重點，但都是服務于劇裝這一中心。
A. 露天演出。 B. 舞臺劇裝（包括劇場）。 D. 如何安排露天演出；涉及面或大或小，不適合。
2. C. 和諧。服裝設計中最重要的因素是和諧。這一點在幾段中都提到，第二段最后一句“演員的主題必須以群體設計，頭腦中必須經常記住群體效果。”第三段最后一句“必須研究演出的地理位置，決出什么樣的顏色和織物，能和環境，條件，達到最完美和諧。”第五段專講顏色搭配，“應當從總體考慮顏色，這樣才有亮和暗的群體對比，幫助產生實感的視覺效果，一群穿著雜七雜八顏色服裝的演員聚集在一起看起來亂哄哄。缺乏戲劇效果。”這也是和諧之要求。
A. 錢。錢要考慮。出前兩段外，第三段最后一句，講完和諧后，也提到“盡可能以能到手的`資金加以實現這決定。”第四段中“在錢很少或是沒有錢的情況下，服裝得降到基本需要”，下面就講利用被單，浴巾，窗簾做服裝，所以錢在服裝設計中很重要，但不能列為最重要因素，有錢沒有錢都得以服裝協調為主。 B. 顏色。
D. 織品。同樣都的服從和諧這一前提。
3. D. 因為能得到資金的配額都很少。第一段最后一句話，見第一題譯注。
A. 因為在光天化日下演出。 B. 因為不同演員要求不同服裝。 C. 顏色和織物必須和布景諧調。這些只是考慮的因素。見上面譯文。
4. A. 因為大多數露天演出都是為紀念慶祝。第二段第一句“露天演出一般都是某個具有歷史意義事件，或者當地某個值得紀念的人物的誕辰和逝世周年，所以大多數露天演出都具有歷史紀念色彩。”
B. 許多露天演出是為了娛樂。 C. 許多露天演出是為了宗教。 D. 因為露天演出一般是參與競賽。三項都不對。
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