[ 2204听力 ] 四

Posted 2023-03-06 we1less

[ 第四次课 艺术 ]

Listen to part of a lecture in a Music History class 

(male professor) When we talk about the history of musical instrument, we’re talking about things like the social and historical context in which it was invented, the rise and fall of its popularity and, of course, changes in its design over time. Now, in medieval Europe, wind instruments, like the trumpet, were not considered musical instruments like they are today, at least not in the thirteenth century, not yet. Rather, wind instruments, trumpets, horns, flutes, were primarily used as signaling instruments. So, what do we mean by this?

        context  n. 上下文;语境;(事情发生的)背景，环境

        invent  v. 发明;创造;编造;

        changes  v. 改变;变化;使不同;

        wind  n. 风;气;胃气;肠气;(运动或吹奏乐器时的)呼吸;（管弦乐团的）管乐器，管乐器组

        rather  adv. 相当地; 相反，反而，而是

        flute  n. 长笛;

        primarily  adv. 主要地;根本地

(male student) Well, that they were used for communication, not for making music?

(professor) Right, in the Middle Ages most cities and towns relied on a system of gates and watchtowers for protection and security. These towers and gates were built to protect communities in times of war as a precaution against intruders and so forth. A major city like Milan, Italy, for example, had up to 120 watchtowers and 16 gates. During the day, people assigned as lookouts would rely on a system of visual signals while standing guard of these fortifications like flags and smoke signals to communicate with each other across vast distances. But at night

        and so forth  等等，及诸如此类

        lookout  n. 瞭望台;监视处;观察所;监视员;观察员;瞭望员

        fortification  n. 防御工事;设防

        vast  adj. 巨大的;辽阔的;庞大的;

(male student) I guess visual signals don’t do much good in the dark.

(professor) And that’s where the loud signaling instruments came in. They were such an important tool for public safety that in Paris there were laws prohibiting anyone other than the lookouts from playing these instruments after nightfall. The only exceptions were musicians at weddings. In short, the role of wind instruments was more functional than musical. This also meant that wind instruments were quite crude in design and the sounds they produced were not what you and I would call musical. Now, an important fact about the lookouts is that they were public employees. What does that mean?

        law  法规

        wedding  n. 婚礼;结婚庆典

        in short  简言之;总之

        public employee  公职人员

(female student) Um, they were paid by whatever towns or cities they worked for.

(professor) OK, now, over time the duties of the lookouts began to change. The lookouts were paid not only to guard the towns and cities but also to entertain the public during the day. What’s significant here is that they were being formally recognized as musicians and receiving a wage for it. More and more it was becoming a matter of prestige for towns and cities to employ public bands largely made up of night lookouts. And these bands became increasingly integrated into public life. They were known as alta bands. Alta bands performed exclusively on wind instruments and as a rule, at least in the early years, they were open-air bands.

        whatever  无论什么;一点儿都（不）

        duty  n. 责任;义务;职责;

        formally  adv. 正式地;正规地;拘泥形式地;

        matter  n. 课题;事情;问题;

        prestige  n. 威信;声望;威望

        integrate  v. 整合;(使)合并

        known as  被称为;被认为是;以…而闻名

        as a rule  通常;一般来说

(female student) Alta means high, right?

(professor) Well, yes, but, high in this case does not refer to pitch but to volume. In this instance, high means loud. See, in medieval times instruments were divided into loud and soft categories. Loud instruments, the category that included all wind instruments, were played outside. And soft instruments, which basically meant stringed instruments such as the lute or the harp, were indoor instruments. In addition, soft and loud instruments were also associated with different social groups. The nobility favored music that was written for stringed instruments and intended for indoor listening.

        stringed  adj. 有弦(乐器)的;有卷须的

        In addition  此外，另外 ; 加之 ; 除…之外

        intended  v. 打算;计划;想要;

By the fourteenth century, alta bands were widespread throughout Europe and wind instruments had come a long way musically. The trumpet was soon replaced by the newly invented trombone, which had become the new instrument of choice. What can you say about a trombone?

        had come a long way  取得进展 长足进步

        trombone  n. 长号;伸缩长号

(female student) Um, they have, like, a sliding mechanism. You use a sliding mechanism, pushing and pulling to make different notes.

        note  n. 笔记;记录;短笺;便条;注释;按语;纸币;单音;

(professor) Picture a telescope that you can pull out to make it longer and push back in to make it shorter. Anyway, people rediscovered a lost Roman technique of folding brass tubing. Pair that with the ability to fit a smaller tube into a larger one and there you have it. And for the next three hundred years, the popularity of the alta bands was unrivaled. And the trombone was its star instrument.

        Picture  vt. 想象;设想;忆起;

        rediscover  v. 重新发现;重新找到

        pair  n. 一对;对;一双;

But then at the start of the eighteenth century, something happens, and the trombone loses favor and stops being played in most of Europe. And for almost an entire century, the trombone disappears almost completely from the record. It had been displaced by the rising popularity of the violin and a brand-new group of wind instruments, the oboe and clarinet.

        record  n. 记录，记载;唱片

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1. What is the lecture mainly about?

错误选项：①上节 ②无 ③反向 ④细节 ⑤变化 ⑥对比

A) The importance of trumpets as a signaling device in Europe

B) The changing role of wind instruments during the medieval period

C) The influence that medieval alta bands had on later musical groups

D) The evolution of technology used to create various wind instruments

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2. What does the professor say about Milan, Italy?

[ 细节题 ]

A) It had an extensive series of security towers.

        extensive  adj. 广阔的;广大的;大量的;

B) Its lookouts tried to keep as quiet as possible for safety.

        quiet  adj. 轻声的;轻柔的;安静的;

C) It was the first European city where trumpets were played.

D) Its lookouts could not communicate over long distances.

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3. Why does the professor mention laws in Paris?

[ 目的题 ]

A) To explain why certain instruments were not played during the day

B) To explain why trumpets could not be played at weddings

C) To emphasize the large amount of authority the lookouts had

D) To stress that some instruments had a serious purpose

        stress  v. 强调;着重; n. 应力;压力;强调;

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4. What does the professor say about stringed instruments? [choose two answers]

A) They were favored by the nobility.

B) They were played at a loud volume.

C) They were mostly played inside buildings.

D) They were popular with alta bands.

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5. What can be inferred about the invention of the trombone?

[ 推断题 ] = 分层中的核心逻辑

A) It grew out of the need for an instrument that could accompany the trumpet.

        accompany  vt. 陪同;陪伴;伴随;与…同时发生;(尤指用钢琴)为…伴奏

B) It led to the decreased popularity of alta bands.

C) It did not have a noticeable impact on the popularity of the trumpet.

D) It was made possible by the rediscovery of an old technology.

        invention  n. 发明;创意;创造;

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6. Why does the professor say this:  

A) To correct the student’s misunderstanding about trombones

B) To help strengthen the student’s description of a trombone

C) To suggest that the trombone’s shape was inspired by that of telescope

D) To get the student to elaborate further on the trombone’s shape

        correct  adj. 对的;正确的;  v. 纠正;改正;

        strengthen  v. 加强;增强;巩固

        inspire  vt. 激励;鼓舞;赋予灵感;引起联想;启发思考;

        get  v. 收到;接到;使，让;使（某事）发生;

        elaborate  adj. 复杂的;详尽的  v. 详尽阐述;