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.For the most part, the response has been favorable, to say the least “Hooray! At last!” wrote Anthony Tommasini, a classical-music critic.
One of the reason 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 musician with no air of the formidable(令人敬畏的)conductor about him.” As a description of the next music director of an orchestra that has so far 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 open my computer and download still more recorded music from iTunes.
Devoted concertgoers who reply that recording are no substitute for live performance are missing the point.For the time, attention, and money of the art-loving public, classical instrumentalists(演奏家) must compete not only with opera houses, dance groups , theater companies, and museums, but also with the recorded performances of the great classical musicians of the 20 th century.Their recordings are cheap, available everywhere, and very often much higher in artistic quality than today's choosing.The widespread availability of such recording 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 records.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 energetic organization”.But what will be the nature of that difference? Merely, expanding the orchestra's repertoire(曲目)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.
(1)
We learn from Para 1 that Gilbert's appointment has ________.
[ ]
A.
met with criticism
B.
received applause
C.
raised suspicion
D.
aroused curiosity
(2)
The author believes that the devoted concertgoers ________.
[ ]
A.
reject most kinds of recorded performance
B.
fail to recognize the variety of live performance
C.
overestimate(高估)the variety of live performance
D.
ignore the expense of live performance
(3)
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
(4)
Regarding Gilbert's role in revitalizing( 振兴) the Philharmonic, the author feels ________
[ ]
A.
enthusiastic
B.
confident
C.
puzzled
D.
doubtful
完形填空
If you have a watch, don’t repair it! I know it 1 .Once I had a beautiful watch.And this watch 2 perfect time.But one night it happened that I forgot to 3 it up.Next morning I went to a watchmaker as I wanted my perfect watch to 4 by the exact time.The watchmaker examined my watch and said, “The regulator(校准器)is to be pushed up 5 your watch is four minutes 6 .”
I tried to stop him, tried to 7 him understand that my watch kept perfect time, but he did not listen to me and pushed the regulator.
My beautiful watch began to gain time.It 8 faster and faster day by day.By the end of the second month it 9 all the clocks and watches of the town far behind.
What did I have to do? To take it to another watchmaker to be regulated.I expected him to regulate the watch immediately 10 he asked me to come in a week’s time.When at last I took my watch from him it began to 11 down.And I began to be late for trains, business appointments and even missed my dinners.
Now I went to 12 watchmaker.While I waited for him to repair my poor watch, he 13 it to pieces and said that he could finish this work 14 three or four days.I could do nothing but 15 .That time my watch went for half a day and then stopped.
So I kept 16 my watch from one watchmaker to another for a considerable period of time.
And as a result of it the cleverest man in the world could not 17 the time by my watch.The thing was getting 18 .My watch had 19 two hundred dollars originally but I paid for repairs more than two hundred.At last I decided to buy 20 watch, which I did.