托福阅读：TPO 1(The Origins of Theater)原文及答案

　　Paragraph 6: But neither the human imitative instinct nor a penchant for fantasy by itself leads to an autonomous theater. Therefore, additional explanations are needed. One necessary condition seems to be a somewhat detached view of human problems. For example, one sign of this condition is the appearance of the comic vision, since comedy requires sufficient detachment to view some deviations from social norms as ridiculous rather than as serious threats to the welfare of the entire group. Another condition that contributes to the development of autonomous theater is the emergence of the aesthetic sense. For example, some early societies ceased to consider certain rites essential to their well-being and abandoned them, nevertheless, they retained as parts of their oral tradition the myths that had grown up around the rites and admired them for their artistic qualities rather than for their religious usefulness.

　　10. The word “penchant” in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　○compromise

　　○inclination

　　○tradition

　　○respect

　　11. Why does the author mention “comedy”?

　　○To give an example of early types of theater

　　○To explain how theater helps a society respond to threats to its welfare

　　○To help explain why detachment is needed for the development of theater

　　○To show how theatrical performers become detached from other members of society

　　12. 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.

　　○A society’s rites were more likely to be retained in the oral tradition if its myths were admired for artistic qualities.

　　○The artistic quality of a myth was sometimes an essential reason for a society to abandon it from the oral tradition.

　　○Some early societies stopped using myths in their religious practices when rites ceased to be seen as

　　useful for social well-being.

　　○Myths sometimes survived in a society’s tradition because of their artistic qualities even after they were no longer deemed religiously beneficial.

　　Paragraph 3: █Although origin in ritual has long been the most popular, it is by no means the only theory about how the theater came into being. █Storytelling has been proposed as one alternative. █Under this theory, relating and listening to stories are seen as fundamental human pleasures. █Thus, the recalling of an event (a hunt, battle, or other feat) is elaborated through the narrator’s pantomime and impersonation and eventually through each role being assumed by a different person.

　　13. Look at the four squares [█] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

　　To enhance their listeners’ enjoyment, storytellers continually make their stories more engaging and memorable.

　　Where would the sentence best fit?

　　14. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

　　Anthropologists have developed many theories to help understand why and how theater originated.

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　　Answer choices

　　○The presence of theater in almost all societies is thought to have occurred because early storytellers traveled to different groups to tell their stories.

　　○Many theorists believe that theater arises when societies act out myths to preserve social well-being.

　　○The more sophisticated societies became, the better they could influence desirable occurrences through ritualized theater.

　　○Some theories of theater development focus on how theater was used by group leaders to group leaders govern other members of society.

　　○Theater may have come from pleasure humans receive from storytelling and moving rhythmically.

　　○The human capacities for imitation and fantasy are considered possible reasons why societies develop theater.