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The Beginning of Drama
Drama as we know it began in ancient Greece. The first plays were religious(宗教的) affairs, with _______ and music. Then came a chorus(歌舞；合唱), which eventually had a Leader, who was the first actor in the ______ of drama. Aeschylus(埃斯库罗斯), a playwright(剧作家), invented what we now call drama when he wrote a play that featured two actors and a chorus, who symbolized(象征) the common people or sometimes the gods. Other important Greek playwrights were Sophocles(索福克勒斯)and Euripides(欧里庇得斯). Most of what they wrote is ______. Some plays survive, however.
Here is the story of the beginning of drama. We, the chorus, will be your _____ through this history. Every word you are about to hear is true.
In the 5th century B.C. Greece had _______ shows on wooden platforms. A chorus, like ours, would sing, and a leader, like me, would stand out and describe things. But it wasn't really drama. We didn't have plays. We didn't have theaters. We needed someone to give us ______. That person was Aeschylus.
I was the first of the great Greek playwrights. I introduced the second actor. With two actors on ______ at one time, conflict(分歧；冲突) between the two of them became possible. My most famous plays are a trilogy--three plays on the same theme. The first play, the most famous, is called Agamemnon(阿加门农) and _______ with the return of the conquering heroes from the Trojan War. In my plays, human beings have to deal with honor, ________, and duty to their city-state. They also have to suffer the whims and wrath(一时兴起和盛怒) of the gods. Why did my characters _______ greatly? It was their fate(命运). Yet they _______, in the hope that they could somehow avoid that fate.
You speak wisely, O Aeschylus, for the gods can be random(任意的) and terrible in their _______ and deeds. But you have changed our drama for the better. These two actors now wear masks and costumes. People now build theaters in which to ______ your plays. You are the master, but you have many competitors.
Indeed, these plays were originally ______ to be presented at an annual(一年一度的) festival called the City Dionysia. Every year in Athens, the drama festival presented three days of drama--five plays each day. The winner got a small _____ of money. But Aeschylus didn't always win.