Text 1

The decision of the New York Philharmonic to hire Alan Gilbert as its next music director has been the talk of the classical-music world ever since the sudden announcement of his appointment in 2009. For the most part, the response has been favorable, to say the least. “Hooray! At last!” wrote Anthony Tommasini, a sober-sided classical-music critic.

One of the reasons why the appointment came as such a surprise, however, is that Gilbert is comparatively little known. Even Tommasini, who had advocated Gilbert’s appointment in the Times, calls him “an unpretentious musician with no air of the formidable conductor about him.” As a description of the next music director of an orchestra that has hitherto been led by musicians like Gustav Mahler and Pierre Boulez, that seems likely to have struck at least some Times readers as faint praise.

For my part, I have no idea whether Gilbert is a great conductor or even a good one. To be sure, he performs an impressive variety of interesting compositions, but it is not necessary for me to visit Avery Fisher Hall, or anywhere else, to hear interesting orchestral music. All I have to do is to go to my CD shelf, or boot up my computer and download still more recorded music from iTunes.

Devoted concertgoers who reply that recordings are no substitute for live performance are missing the point. For the time, attention, and money of the art-loving public, classical instrumentalists must compete not only with opera houses, dance troupes, theater companies, and museums, but also with the recorded performances of the great classical musicians of the 20thcentury. These recordings are cheap, available everywhere, and very often much higher in artistic quality than today’s live performances; moreover, they can be “consumed” at a time and place of the listener’s choosing. The widespread availability of such recordings has thus brought about a crisis in the institution of the traditional classical concert.

One possible response is for classical performers to program attractive new music that is not yet available on record. Gilbert’s own interest in new music has been widely noted: Alex Ross, a classical-music critic, has described him as a man who is capable of turning the Philharmonic into “a markedly different, more vibrant organization.” But what will be the nature of that difference? Merely expanding the orchestra’s repertoire will not be enough. If Gilbert and the Philharmonic are to succeed, they must first change the relationship between America’s oldest orchestra and the new audience it hopes to attract.

21. We learn from Paragraph 1 that Gilbert’s appointment has

[A] incurred criticism.  [B] raised suspicion.  [C] received acclaim.        [D] aroused curiosity.

22. Tommasini regards Gilbert as an artist who is

[A] influential.        [B] modest.         [C] respectable.     [D] talented.

23. The author believes that the devoted concertgoers

[A] ignore the expenses of live performances.                   [B] reject most kinds of recorded performances.

[C] exaggerate the variety of live performances.                [D] overestimate the value of live performances.

24. According to the text, which of the following is true of recordings?

[A] They are often inferior to live concerts in quality.

[B] They are easily accessible to the general public.

[C] They help improve the quality of music.

[D] They have only covered masterpieces.

25. Regarding Gilbert’s role in revitalizing the Philharmonic, the author feels

[A] doubtful.     [B] enthusiastic.     [C] confident.     [D] puzzled.
 

21.C

解析：推断题。本题要求根据文章第一段，判断社会对Gilbert的任命有什么回应和反响。根据原文第一段第二句“For the most part, the response has been favorable, …”和“Hooray! At last!”可知回应是积极的，因此正确答案是[C] received acclaim(得到称赞)。

22.B

解析：细节题。根据Tommasini在第二段对Gilbert的评论：calls him “ an unpretentious musician with no air of the formidable conductor about him”，可知Tommasini认为Gilbert是an unpretentious musician。unpretentious由un(否定前缀)和pretentious构成，考生看到pretentious可以想到pretend (假装，作假 )，那么可推出unpretentious是“不做假的，不虚饰或矫揉造作的”，答案[B] modest(谦逊的)意思最为接近，故[B]项为正确答案。

23.D

解析：推断题。本题考查作者对于现场表演的虔诚追随者的观点态度。从文章第三段可知，作者自己选择听唱片/录音而不是听现场音乐会。第四段开头作者提到，devoted concertgoers认为“录音不能代替现场表演”，但作者认为devoted concertgoers are missing the point(现场表演虔诚的追随者没有切中要害)，之后是论据支持作者的观点，作者认为These recordings are cheap, available everywhere, and very often much higher in artistic quality than today’s live performances，即录音便宜、容易得到，且通常比今天的现场音乐会有更高的艺术品质。[D]项overestimate the value of live performances(高估了现场表演的价值)是对作者对于devoted concertgoers观点的高度概括，故为正确答案。

24.D

解析：推断题。关于recordings，作者主要在第四段加以论述。从第四段第三句“These recordings are cheap，available everywhere…”和第四段最后一句“the widespread availability of such recordings has thus brought …。”很容易推断出选项[B] They are easily accessible to the general public(大众很容易就能得到这些唱片)为正确答案。

25.A

解析：态度题。本题考查作者对于Gilbert在振兴交响乐团中的作用是什么态度。文章最后一段，尤其是最后三句提到，“But what will be the nature of that difference? Merely expanding the orchestra’s repertoire will not be enough. If Gilbert and the Philharmonic are to succeed, they must first change the relationship between America’s oldest orchestra and the new audience it hopes to attract。”很明显作者认为“Gilbert与众不同的实质仅仅是增加了管弦乐队的节目，这是不够的”，“Gilbert和the Philharmonic要想成功，还必须做一些事情”，由此可知作者不满意Gilbert在振兴交响乐团中的作用。故[A]项doubtful(怀疑的)为正确答案。