Passage Threeª¤
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:ª¥
¡°Popular¡±art has a number of meanings,impossible to define with any precision,which range from folklore to junk(ÖÊÁ¿µÍÁӵĶ«Î÷).The poles are clear enough,but the middle tends to blur.There can be great trash, just as there is bad high art.The musicals of George Gershwin are great popular art,never aspiring to high art.Schubert and Brahms,however,used elements of popular music-folk themes-in works clearly intended as high art.The case of Verdi is a different one,he took a popular genre£¨Á÷ÅÉ£©-bourgeois melodrama set to music(an accurate definition of 19th century opera)and,without altering its fundamental nature,transformed it into high art.This remains one of the greatest achievements in music,and one that cannot be fully appreciated without recognizing the essential trashiness of the genre.ª¥As an example of such a transformation, consider what Verdi made of the typical political elements of 19th century opera. Generally in the plots of these operas, a hero or heroine--usually portrayed only as an individual, independent from social class is caught between the corruption of the aristocracy and the greed of the proletariat. Verdi transforms this naive and unlikely formulation with music of extraordinary energy and rhythmic vitality, music more subtle than it seems at first hearing. Such pieces lend an immediacy to the otherwise concealed political message of these operas and call up feelings beyond those of the opera itself.ª¥
Or consider Verdi¡¯s treatment of character. Before Verdi, there were rarely any characters at all in musical drama, only a series of situations which allowed the singers to express a series of emotional states. Any attempt to find coherent psychological portrayal in these is misplaced cleverness. The only coherence was the singer¡¯s vocal technique: when the cast changed, new arias (¶À³ªÇú) were from other operas. Verdi¡¯s characters, on the other hand, have consistency and integrity. The integrity of the character is achieved through the music: once he had become established. Verdi did not rewrite his music for different singers or countenance alterations, as every 18th-century composer had done. When he revised an opera, he only intended for dramatic economy and effectiveness.ª¤
31.The author refers to Schubert and Brahms in order to suggest____.ª¤
A) that their works are examples of great trashª¤
B) that their works are examples of high artª¤
C) that popular music could be employed in compositions intended as high artª¤
D) that their achievements are no less substantial than those of Verdiª¤

32.It can be inferred that the author regards the independence from social class of the heroes and heroines of 19th century opera as____.ª¤
A) an idealized but fundamentally accurate portrayal of bourgeois lifeª¤
B) a plot convention with no real connection to political realityª¤
C) a plot refinement ª¤
D) a convention largely seen as irrelevant by audiencesª¤

33.According to the passage, the immediacy of the political message in Verdi¡¯s operas stems from the____.ª¤
A) vitality and subtlety of the musicª¤
B) audience¡¯s familiarity with the earlier operasª¤
C) individual talents of the singersª¤
D) portrayal of the heightened emotional statesª¤

34.According to the passage, all of the following characterize music drama before Verdi EXCEPT____.ª¤
A) arias tailored to a particular singer¡¯s abilityª¤
B) adaptation of music from other operasª¤
C) psychological inconsistency in the portrayal of charactersª¤
D) music used for defining a characterª¤

35.It can be inferred that the author regards Verdi¡¯s revisions to his operas with____.ª¤
A) regret that the original music and texts are alteredª¤
B) concern that many of the revisions altered the plots of the original work ª¤
C) approval for the intentions that motivated the revisions.ª¤
D) enthusiasm, since the revisions were aimed at reducing the conventionalityª¤