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专四阅读理解练习
5
There are
many theories about the beginning of drama in
ancient Greece. The one most widely
accepted today is based
on the
assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The
argument for this view goes as follows.
In the beginning,
human beings viewed
the natural forces of the world, even
the seasonal changes, as unpredictable,
and they sought
through various means,
to control these unknown and feared
powers. Those measures which appeared
to bring the desired
results were then
retained and repeated until they hardened
into fixed rituals. Eventually stories
arose which
explained or veiled the
mysteries of the rites. As time
passed
some rituals were abandoned, but the stories,
later
called myths, persisted and
provided material for art and
drama.
Those who
believed that drama evolved out of ritual also
argue that those rites contained the
seed of theater
because music, dance,
masks, and costumes were almost
always
used. Furthermore, a suitable site had to be
provided for performances, and when the
entire community
did not participate, a
clear division was usually made
between
the
there were performers, and, since
considerable importance
was attached to
avoiding mistakes in the enactment of rites,
religious leaders usually assumed that
task. Wearing masks
and costumes, they
often impersonated other people, animals,
or supernatural beings, and mimed the
desired effect-
success in hunt or
battle, the coming rain, the revival of
the Sun-as an actor might. Eventually
such dramatic
representations were
separated from religious activities.
Another theory traces the theater’s
origin from the human
interest in
storytelling. According to this view, tales
(about the hunt, war, or other feats)
are gradually
elaborated, at first
through the use of impersonation,
action, and dialogue by a narrator and
then through the
assumption of each of
the roles by a different person. A
closely related theory traces theater
to those dances that