艺术是托福阅读文章题材中比较常见的类型，本系列为大家汇总整理了多篇托福阅读艺术类文章，大家在托福备考时可以有针对性的进行复习，本篇为大家带来的是The Music of Films，并附有相应的练习，希望大家都能顺利拿下托福阅读高分。
The Music of Films
Keywords: films, music, pianists, orchestras, conductor
Accustomed though we are to speaking of the films made before 1927 as "silent," the film has never been, in the full sense of the word, silent. From the very beginning, music was regarded as an indispensable accompaniment; when the Lumiere films were shown at the first public film exhibition in the United States in February 1896, they were accompanied by piano improvisations on popular tunes. At first, the music played bore no special relationship to the films; an accompaniment of any kind was sufficient. Within a very short time, however, the incongruity of playing lively music to a solemn film became apparent, and film pianists began to take some care in matching their pieces to the mood of the film.
As movie theaters grew in number and importance, a violinist, and perhaps a cellist, would be added to the pianist in certain cases, and in the larger movie theaters small orchestras were formed. For a number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the conductor or leader of the orchestra, and very often the principal qualification for holding such a position was not skill or tasteso much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces. Since the conductor seldom saw the films until the night before they were to be shown if, indeed, the conductor was lucky enough to see them then, the musical arrangement was normally improvised in the greatest hurry.
To help meet this difficulty, film distributing companies started the practice of publishing suggestions for musical accompaniments. In 1909, for example, the Edison Company began issuing with their films such indications of mood as "pleasant," "sad," "lively." The suggestions became more explicit, and so emerged the musical cue sheet containing indications of mood, the titles of suitable pieces of music, and precise directions to show where one piece led into the next.
Certain films had music especially composed for them. The most famous of these early special scores was that composed and arranged for D. W. Griffith's film Birth of a Nation, which was released in 1915.
11. The passage mainly discusses music that was
(A) performed before the showing of a film
(B) played during silent films
(C) specifically composed for certain movie theaters
(D) recorded during film exhibitions
12. What can be inferred from the passage about the majority of films made after 1927?
(A) They were truly "silent."
(B) They were accompanied by symphonic orchestras.
(C) They incorporated the sound of the actors' voices.
(D) They corresponded to specific musical compositions.
13. The word "solemn" in line 7 is closest in meaning to
(A) simple
(B) serious
(C) short
(D) silent
14. It can be inferred that orchestra conductors who worked in movie theaters needed to
(A) be able to play many instruments
(B) have pleasant voices
(C) be familiar with a wide variety of music
(D) be able to compose original music
15. The word "them" in line 17 refers to
(A) years
(B) hands
(C) pieces
(D) films
16. According to the passage, what kind of business was the Edison Company?
(A) It produced electricity.
(B) It distributed films.
(C) It published musical arrangements.
(D) It made musical instruments.
17. It may be inferred from the passage that the first musical cue sheets appeared around
(A) 1896
(B) 1909
(C) 1915
(D) 1927
18. Which of the following notations is most likely to have been included on a musical cue sheet of the early 1900's?
(A) "Calm, peaceful"
(B) "Piano, violin"
(C) "Key of C major"
(D) "Directed by D. W. Griffith"
19. The word "composed" in line 26 is closest in meaning to
(A) selected
(B) combined
(C) played
(D) created
20. The word "scores" in line 26 is closest in meaning to
(A) totals
(B) successes
(C) musical compositions
(D) groups of musicians
21. The passage probably continues with a discussion of
(A) famous composers of the early twentieth century
(B) other films directed by D. W. Griffith
(C) silent films by other directors
(D) the music in Birth of a Nation
参考答案：BABDD BBBBD B
以上就是为大家整理的托福阅读艺术类文章之The Music of Films，希望能够帮助大家备考。前程百利祝大家都能取得理想的考试成绩。
您还可能关注：
