雅思阅读真题（Part 1）
英国哑剧：从意大利即兴喜剧到圣诞传统
本篇也叫：哑剧、英国哑剧、圣诞哑剧、童话剧、默剧
Part 1 · 考频：中频 · 最近考试：2024.4.20
本篇为雅思阅读真题（Part 1）《Pantomime》，共 13 题，2024.4.20雅思考试真题回忆，页面提供完整原文、题目、答案与解析，并支持在线机考模式免费练习。本页同时提供 Markdown 版本 供 AI 助手与搜索引擎直接读取。
文章介绍英国哑剧（pantomime）的起源与演变：它融合歌曲、笑话、夸张服装和闹剧式肢体幽默，是英国儿童圣诞季首次接触戏剧的形式。其源头可追溯到16世纪意大利即兴喜剧（commedia dell'arte），后经18世纪约翰·里奇创作的丑角戏发展，虽遭批评却广受欢迎，并保留了弱者战胜强者的主题。
A
A pantomime performance is a unique blend of eccentricity and absurdity, a wild mixture of songs, jokes, outrageous costumes and slapstick physical humour. For many British children, their first family trip to see a pantomime in the Christmas holiday season is their introduction to the magic of the theatre. But what has become a quintessentially British form of entertainment is more than just simple fun. As an art form, pantomime presents a tale of good and evil, where hope finally triumphs after danger and virtual despair.
B
The story of pantomime begins with the commedia dell'arte tradition in 16th-century Italy. These improvised shows took place in streets and marketplaces in Italy and eventually throughout Europe. Distinctive masks enabled audiences to recognise the people in these stories immediately; they also allowed actors to be rude or disrespectful without fear of being recognised. The key roles in the cast were invariably rich old men, usually portrayed as cowardly and disreputable; young lovers whose parents refuse to let them marry; and ingenious and quick- witted servants. Many commedia plots show the latter, whose lives are a constant struggle to find food and money, outwitting the old men or overthrowing their masters. This theme of the victory of the underdog is still an essential feature of pantomime today.
C
By the mid-18th century, many thousands of people were going to theatres across Britain every night. Among the most popular performances were harlequinades, a new kind of entertainment which interwove Ovid's first-century Latin poem Metamorphoses with aspects of the Italian commedia. Created by actor John Rich, these early pantomimes cleverly mixed spectacle, music, ballet and myth, and were tremendously enjoyable to watch. Amazing transformations happened at the touch of a magic wand, with mechanical serpents and flying vehides. They also showed that even early pantomime was fascinated by the crossing of boundaries: the ambiguity of men dressed as women, and the fun of animal characters played by human beings.
D
Despite their popularity, Rich's spectacular performances attracted huge controversy. Critics bitterly attacked pantomimes, complaining that they would bring about the downfall of Shakespeare and the death of serious theatre. David Ganick, the great 18th-century actor-manager, was quick to join these criticisms, while also realising the commercial opportunities of this new art form. But how could Garnick take advantage of the craze and still maintain his position as the defender of 'legitimate' theatre? His tactic was to set about changing pantomime's cultural identity, partly by confining shows to his theatre's Christmas season. Pantomimes became associated with the frivolity of the holiday season rather than being denounced as a threat. In doing so, Garrick created a convention which has survived to this day.
E
At the end of the 18th century, popular theatre saw the arrival of the white-faced Clown, in the form of actor Joseph Grimaldi. By the early 19th century, Britain was at war with France; there was intense civil unrest and violent confrontations between the government and the people. Grimaldi's hilarious antics embodied the freedom and liberty of British culture by contrast with the country's supposedly dull, humourless enemies. His anarchic activities included chasing and imprisoning policemen and stealing gigantic quantities of sausages. But the Clown was never caught or sent to jail. Audiences were thrilled by his mischief and his endless eating precisely because he created on stage the fantasy of a different world: a world without hunger, a world of comic revenge against a highly repressive government. Grimaldi became one of the great satirists of his age, a character who offered ludicrous commentaries on everything from the ruling classes to fashion, technology and new forms of transport.
F
By the late 19th century, photography had arrived, the telegraph had been invented and the first motor cars were starting to appear on British streets. Meanwhile, the spotlight on the comic stage shifted away from the Clown and towards an unexpected star, the pantomime 'Dame': a tired housewife - always played by a man struggling to cope in an unfriendly world. Dan Leno was the celebrated performer who created and played this talkative and eccentric working-class woman, a mother facing the difficulties of poverty, which he and his audiences knew all too well. In the Dame, Leno developed a persona whose theatrical power comes from the locking together of compassion and laughter. At the same time, artists such as Leno began to infuse pantomime with the plots and dilemmas of working people's culture.
G
Pantomimes are as popular today as they have ever been. Our delight in this form comes from a complex mixture of emotions and relationships. Pantomime offers us the anarchic excitements of a topsy-turvy world only to give up the assurance of harmony restored. The engaging character of the Dame exemplifies pantomime's self-proclaimed absurdity. Her comical conversations with the audience cut across the boundaries between performers and spectators, drawing us into her chaotic world. While she presides over the anarchy which Grimaldi once visited on policemen, the Dame also embodies the collective ties which bind us together as families, as neighbours, and as members of society.
想在线练习这套卷子？进入机考练习
答案：discovering pantomime at a young age
原文定位：For many British children, their first family trip to see a pantomime in the Christmas holiday season is their introduction to the magic of the theatre
同义替换：「at a young age」↔「children」，「discovering」↔「their first family trip to see」
答案：outdoor performances with a standard set of
原文定位：These improvised shows took place in streets and marketplaces in Italy and eventually throughout Europe. The key roles in the cast were invariably rich old men;young lovers;and ingenious and quick-witted servants
同义替换：「outdoor performances」↔「took place in streets and marketplaces」，「a standard set of roles」↔「The key roles in the cast were invariably」
答案：a successful merging of artistic sources
原文定位：Among the most popular performances were harlequinades, a new kind of entertainment which interwove Ovid's first-century Latin poem Metamorphoses with aspects of the Italian commedia. Created by actor John Rich, these early pantomimes cleverly mixed spectacle, music, ballet and myth, and were tremendously enjoyable to watch
同义替换：「merging」↔「interwove」，「artistic sources」↔「Italian commedia」
答案：a way of dealing with a negative attitude toward pantomime
原文定位：Critics bitterly attacked pantomimes;His tactic was to set about changing pantomime's cultural identity, partly by confining shows to his theatre's Christmas season. Pantomimes became associated with the frivolity of the holiday season rather than being denounced as a threat
同义替换：「negative attitude」↔「Critics bitterly attacked」，「A way of dealing with」↔「tactic」
答案：pantomime as a means of focusing on political issues
原文定位：Grimaldi became one of the great satirists of his age, a character who offered ludicrous commentaries on everything from the ruling classes to fashion, technology and new forms of transport
同义替换：「political issues」↔「ruling classes」，「focusing on」↔「commentaries」
答案：a character who provoked sympathy and amusement
原文定位：In the Dame, Leno developed a persona whose theatrical power comes from the locking together of compassion and laughter
同义替换：「sympathy」↔「compassion」，「amusement」↔「laughter」
答案：an explanation of how a pantomime character appeals to mod audiences
原文定位：The engaging character of the Dame exemplifies pantomime's self-proclaimed absurdity. Her comical conversations with the audience cut across the boundaries between performers and spectators, drawing us into her chaotic world
同义替换：「a pantomime character」↔「the Dame」，「appeals to modern audiences」↔「drawing us into her chaotic world」
答案：masks
原文定位：Distinctive masks enabled audiences to recognise the people in these stories immediately;they also allowed actors to be rude or disrespectful without fear of being recognised
同义替换：「disguise their real identities」↔「without fear of being recognised」
答案：poem
原文定位：Among the most popular performances were harlequinades, a new kind of entertainment which interwove Ovid's first-century Latin poem Metamorphoses with aspects of the Italian commedia
同义替换：「combined」↔「interwove」，「a 16th-century art form」↔「Italian commedia」，「centuries earlier」↔「first-century Latin poem」
答案：policemen
原文定位：His anarchic activities included chasing and imprisoning policemen and stealing gigantic quantities of sausages
同义替换：「the Clown’s act」↔「anarchic activities」，「victims」↔「chased and imprisoned」
答案：Dan Leno
原文定位：Dan Leno was the celebrated performer who created and played this talkative and eccentric working-class woman, a mother facing the difficulties of poverty;At the same time, artists such as Leno began to infuse pantomime with the plots and dilemmas of working people's culture
同义替换：「performances」↔「shows」，「less wealthy sections of society」↔「working-class」，「focused on the situation」↔「infuse pantomime with the plots and dilemmas」
答案：John Rich
原文定位：Created by actor John Rich, these early pantomimes cleverly mixed spectacle, music, ballet and myth;Amazing transformations happened at the touch of a magic wand, with mechanical serpents and flying vehicles
同义替换：「introduced elements of the supernatural」↔「magic wand」，「the pantomime genre」↔「harlequinades」
答案：Joseph Grimaldi
原文定位：His anarchic activities included chasing and imprisoning policemen and stealing gigantic quantities of sausages. But the Clown was never caught or sent to jail
同义替换：「His pantomime character」↔「Grimaldi」，「never seen to be punished」↔「never caught or sent to jail」，「on-stage crimes」↔「chasing and imprisoning policemen」