Style may be defined as the characteristic manner of presentation of any art
form. We distinguish between the style of a novel and that of an essay, between
the style of a cathedral and that of a palace. The word may also indicate the
creator's personal manner of expression—the distinctive flavor that sets one
artist apart from all others. Thus we speak of the literary style of Dickens or
Shakespeare, the painting style of Picasso or Michelangelo, the musical style of
Bach or Mozart. We often identify style with nationality, as when we refer to
French, Italian, or German style; or with an entire culture, as when we contrast
a Western musical style with one of China, India, or some other region.
It is the difference in the treatment of the elements of music
that makes one musical work sound similar to or different from another. We have
seen that western music is largely a melody-oriented art based on a particular
musical system from {{U}}which{{/U}} the underlying harmonies are also built.
Relatively speaking, rhythm and meter in western music are based on simpler
principles than are melody and harmony. Music of other cultures may sound
foreign to our ears and sometimes out of tune because they are based on entirely
different musical systems from which they derive their melodic material and many
do not involve harmony to any great extent. One important factor in these
differing languages of music is the way in which the octave is divided and
scales are produced. Complex rhythmic procedures and textures set some world
music apart from western styles, while basic formal considerations—such as
repetition, contrast, and variation—bring music of {{U}}disparate{{/U}} cultures
closer. In short, a style is made up of all the factors relating to pitch, time,
timbre, and expression, creating a sound that each culture recognizes as its
own. Since all art changes from one age to the next, one very
important use of the word "style" is in connecting the various historical
periods. The music of each world culture has its own style periods. Focusing on
the development of western music we will find that the concept of style enables
us to draw connections between musicians and their time, so that the musical
work is placed in its socio-historical frame. No matter how greatly the artists,
writers, and composers of a particular era may vary in personality and outlook,
when seen in the perspective of time, they turn out to have certain qualities in
common. Because of this, we can tell at once that a work of art—whether music,
poetry, painting, sculpture, or architecture—dates from the Middle Ages or the
Renaissance, from the eighteenth century or the nineteenth. {{U}}The style of a
period, then, is the total art language of all its artists as they react to the
artistic, political, economic, religious, and philosophical forces that shape
their environment.{{/U}}A.[■] Scholars will always disagree as to precisely when
one style period ends and the next begins.B.[■] Each period leads by
{{U}}imperceptible{{/U}} degrees into the following one, dates and labels being
merely convenient signposts.C.[■] The following outline shows the generally
accepted style periods in the history of western music.D.[■] Each represents a
concept of form and technique, an ideal of beauty, a manner of expression and
performance attuned to the cultural climate of the period—in a word, a style!
350～600: Period of the Church Fathers
600～850: Early Middle Ages—Gregorian chant 850～1150:
Romanesque period—development of the staff in musical notation, about 1000
1150～1450: Late Middle Ages (Gothic period.
1450～1600: Renaissance period 1600～1750: Baroque period
1725～1775: Rococo period 1750～1825:
Classical period 1820～1900: Romantic period
1890～1915: Post-Romantic and Impressionist period 1910～20th
century:
单选题
The word {{U}}identify{{/U}} in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to______.
A. define
B. recognize
C. relate
D. orient
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为词汇题，主要考查考生能否根据上下文理解identify一词。该词所在段落主要讲的是风格的定义。因此，该词所在的句子说“We often identify style with nationality，as when we refer to French，Italian，or German style(我们总是将风格与国家联系起来，如法国风格、意大利风格和德国风格)”。而选项A(定义)、B(识别)和D(使适应)代入均不符合句意，只有C项(与……相联系)符合题意，故选C。
单选题
The word which in Paragraph 2 refers to
A. western music
B. a melody-oriented art
C. the underlying harmonies
D. a particular musical system
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为指代关系题，考查考生认定代词与篇章中其他词语的指代关系的能力。题目问：文中的which指代的是什么?此题首先应该排除选项C(the underlying harmonies)，意为“潜在的和谐”，因为the underlying harmonies是which所在从句的主语，which是介词from的宾语，指代的是“a particular music system”，同时做关系代词，引导“from which”这个带介词的定语从句，故选D项。而选项A、B都不是which所指代的对象，所以不能选。
单选题
In Paragraph 2, the author explains the differences in the treatment of
musical elements in order to______.
A. identify various musical styles of different cultures
B. explain that each culture has its own distinctive musical style
C. argue that the most wonderful music in the world is from Western
society
D. describe the processes of differentiating between different musical
styles
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为事实信息题，主要考查考生排除干扰项并抓住文章中所阐明的信息的能力。题目问：在第二段里，作者解释了处理音乐组成成分的不同方法，其目的是什么?从第二段的主题句“It is the difference in the treatment of the elements of music that makes one musical work sound similar to or different from another(正是处理音乐组成成分的不同方法，使得一个音乐作品相似于或有别于另一音乐作品)”，以及最后一句话“In short, a style is made up of all the factors relating to pitch, time, timbre, and expression, creating a sound that each culture recognizes as its own(总而言之，音乐风格是由和音高、节拍、音色、声调等有关的因素组成的，这些因素创造了每种文化独特的音乐风格)”，可以看出，正确答案应为B项。
单选题
According to Paragraph 2, what makes music of different cultures bear
similarities to one another?
A. How the octave is divided and scales are produced.
B. The way in which the harmonies of certain music are achieved.
C. Whether there is the trend of being melody- oriented or not.
D. The formal qualities of music instead of rhythmic procedures and
textures.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题仍为事实信息题。题目问：根据第二段，什么使得不同文化的音乐具有共同点?根据此段的倒数第二句“Complex rhythmic procedures and textures set some world music apart from western styles，while basic formal considerations—such as repetition, contrast, and variation—bring music of disparate cultures closer(复杂的节奏和结构使得世界音乐和西方音乐有所不同，而基本的规范需要考虑的因素，如重复、对比和变调等，使得不同文化的音乐更加贴近)”，所以选D项。
单选题
The word disparate in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to______.
单选题
Based on the information in Paragraph 1, what can be inferred about
style?
A. Style can be defined as the features that differentiate one artist from
another.
B. Style can be defined as the features of both an overall art form and an
artist's personal art.
C. Style can be defined as the features that display the overall
characteristics of an art.
D. Style can be defined as the features that show the overall
characteristics of an artist.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为推论题，考查的是考生能否对文章中没有明确阐述但明显暗示了的信息进行推测。题目问：根据第一段的信息，关于风格可以推论出下列哪一项?从此段的第一句“Style may be defined as the characteristic manner of presentation of any art form(风格可以定义为任何艺术形式所表达的特征)”，及第三句“The word may also indicate the creator's personal manner of expression(风格也表示创作者个人独特的表达方式)”可知，正确答案应为B。
单选题
The word {{U}}imperceptible{{/U}} in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning
to______.
A. discernable
B. unprotected
C. unidentifiable
D. unsuccessful
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题属于词汇题，主要检查考生能否根据上下文理解单词imperceptible。imperceptible所在段的第一句说“Scholars will always disagree as to precisely when one style period ends and the next begins(对于每个风格何时开始、何时结束，学者们总是无法达成一致)”。紧接着作者说：“Each period leads by imperceptible degrees into the following one，dates and labels being merely convenient signposts(每个时期到下一时期的界限都不明确，所谓的日期和标志只不过是提供方便的指向标而已)”。因此选C(无法区分的，无法区别的，细微的)。而其他选项A(可分辨的)、B(不受保护的)和D(不成功的)都不合适。
单选题
All of the following are mentioned in Paragraph 2 as contributing to
the commonness of all the music varieties EXCEPT______.
A. the repetition approach
B. the necessity to vary from one to another
C. the contrast between the neighboring two
D. the harmony employed
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为事实信息题。题目问：根据第二段，下列哪一项不属于不同音乐风格的共性?根据此段的倒数第二句“Complex rhythmic procedures and textures set some world music apart from Western styles，while basic formal considerations—such as repetition，contrast，and variation—bring music of disparate cultures closer(复杂的节奏和结构使得世界音乐和西方音乐有所不同，而基本的规范需要考虑的因素，如重复、对比和变调等使得不同文化的音乐更加贴近)”可知，只有选项D(使用和弦)没有被提到，所以选D项。
单选题
In Paragraph 4, why does the author mention the outline?
A. The outline is employed to group musicians into right categories.
B. The outline is a hypothesis formed by the researchers in this
field.
C. The outline helps to distinguish important musicians from unimportant
musicians of each era.
D. This outline helps to unify the musicians of the same period regarding
their style.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题也为事实信息题。题目问：在第四段，作者为什么要提到时间表?从本段的最后一句话“Each represents a concept of form and technique，an ideal of beauty，a manner of expression and performance attuned to the cultural climate of the period—in a word，a style(每个时期代表了形式和技巧的概念，美的理想以及每个时期文化氛围的表达方式和表现形式——总而言之，一种风格)”可知，这一时间表的运用就是为了将同一风格的音乐家联系起来，因此选D。
单选题
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. The artistic, political, economic, religious, and philosophical factors
of a period contribute to the formation of the style of a period as a
whole.
B. The artistic, political, economic, religious, and philosophical forces of
a period result in the variety of the style of different artists of a
period.
C. Each period has a common style of all the artists, which is established
by how the artists respond to the artistic, political, economic, religious, and
philosophical forces that form their environment.
D. Every period has a style of its own, which has something to do with its
artistic, political, economic, religious, and philosophical forces.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是句子简化题，考查的是考生不受细枝末节的干扰，理解文章中某一复杂句子所传达的基本内容的能力，即用简化的句子表达原句基本内容的能力。文中涂黑句子“The style of a period, then, is the total art language of all its artists as they react to the artistic, political, economic, religious, and philosophical forces that shape their environment”的意思为：“那么，这一时期的风格是所有艺术家的共同艺术语言。在这一时期，他们对形成他们的环境的影响力，艺术的、政治的、经济的、宗教的以及哲学的，作出反应。”其核心意思是选项C，即“每个时期都有艺术家自己共同的风格，是由艺术家对形成他们生存环境的艺术、政治、经济、宗教以及哲学的各个因素所作出的反应来确定的”，因此选C项。
单选题
Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following
sentence could be added to the passage. Yet the orientation of
this fuzzy growing trend presents no difficulties for us to identify the major
characteristics of each era. Where would the sentence best
fit?
问答题Directions: Complete the table by matching the
phrases below. Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match
them to the type of true or false to which they relate, two of the answer
choices will NOT be used. This question is worth 4 points.
True
False
·
·
·
·
·
·
Answer Choices
A. Just
as style is a unique feature of different forms, musical style is a unique
language as well. B. We all know that folk music is quite
different from symphonic music. C. Literary styles are very
different from musical styles. D. The varying elements of
music production are the key to differentiating music styles.
E. Musicians like to show their personal style by choosing special musical
elements. F. Style is always a product of history and society
as a whole. G. Harmony is universal in all kinds of musical
styles. H. We can also distinguish the style of politicians in
the West from that of politicians in the East.
【正确答案】
True
False
A. Just as style is a unique feature of different forms, musical style is a unique language as well.
D. The varying elements of music production are the key to differentiating music styles.
F. Style is always a product of history and society as a whole.
C. Literary styles are very different from musical styles.
E. Musicians like to show their personal style by choosing special musical elements.
G. Harmony is universal in all kinds of musical styles.