Among the 518 items of national nonmaterial cultural heritages currently

游客2023-11-25  17

问题         Among the 518 items of national nonmaterial cultural heritages currently published by the Ministry of Culture, 92 are Chinese traditional opera. In recent years, however, traditional opera is facing an unprecedented crisis as many of these time-honored arts are disappearing. The following article gives details of this phenomenon.
        Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should:
        1. summarize the current crisis Chinese traditional opera is facing, and then
        2. express your opinion towards it, especially whether we should try to save the disappearing opera.
                                                                                Struggling Chinese Opera
        Almost all disciplines of traditional Chinese opera have battled difficulties of the shrinking market The repertoire stops developing and fans gradually disappear. Statistics shows that the number of unique traditional Chinese opera styles had decreased from 368 to 267 by last year, with one or two disappearing each year. And half of them lack any video or audio documentation.
        Although Beijing is home to more than 150 movie theaters, the capital hosts only a handful of stages for opera performance, such as the National Center for the Performing Arts, Chang’an Grand Theater and Meilanfang Grand Theater. The massive disproportion evidences the marginal situation of traditional Chinese opera in the nation’s modem cultural market. Although it is the cradle of Peking Opera, Beijing even lacks substantial venues to appreciate its indigenous performing art. And even when the curtain does go up, the spectators are always foreigners.
        Lack of demand from the Chinese public has resulted in a waning market. In a city as large as Shanghai, only a few hundred Kunqu Opera fans remain, and only about a hundred can be found in Nanjing. Presently, not a single theater dedicated to Kunqu Opera remains anywhere in China A production costing hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan would close after only one or two performances because of meager attendance. Local opera troupes disbanded one after another. For instance, in Zhejiang Province alone, the number of Yueju troupes is down to 20 from over 100.
        Squeezed by modern and foreign culture and entertainment such as movies, TV programs and pop music, traditional Chinese opera has been severely marginalized. Elderly opera fans pass away while young ones are non-existent. The well-maintained traditional aesthetics of Chinese opera also deter many young people. Featuring local characteristics and performed with dialects, traditional Chinese opera is characterized by sublime singing skills and performance, which can be difficult for laymen to appreciate. And their stories of ancient times are considered out-dated by the young.
        "You need to practice three years for every three minutes on the stage," goes a saying illustrating the necessary devotion to become a proficient Chinese opera performer. The daunting work isn’t attractive to youngsters considering the profession. Today, fewer children can bear the hardships. Presently, students recruited to learn opera often come from poor families. Parents send them here to find a way out.
        The modern "mass production" teaching mode does not work for teaching opera, which requires more one-on-one and face-to-face instruction. It leads the long circle of the training. So, an opera performer can seldom enjoy over-night fame like a pop star or a film actor might. Restless yearning for quick success contributes to the major decline in those willing to learn opera performance.
        Because of the market slump and low salaries, traditional Chinese opera practitioners are finding other work one-by-one, as are many directors and playwrights. For example, the number of Kunqu Opera practitioners is still decreasing 10 years after its acceptance to the World Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The brain drain inhibits development of new repertoires. In an era of fickle audiences, it’s hard to draw more spectators with familiar old repertoires.

选项

答案                                                                         Chinese Opera Calls for Reservation and Protection
        According to the article, the traditional Chinese opera is undergoing a hard time in the tide of modernization. Faced with shrinking demand for this traditional culture, it suffers from stagnant change of repertoire and waning market share. Worse still, the penetration of modern and foreign culture has pushed traditional Chinese opera into an awkwardly disadvantaged position. Due to the descending market and low salary, the practitioners are forced to find another way out, trying to make a living. In addition, that learning traditional Chinese operas takes much time and efforts also, to some degree, hinders the young from understanding and carrying forward, rendering its reservation abnormally difficult.
        Traditional Chinese opera is to our nation what water is to fish. As the quintessence of traditional culture, it is deemed as a cultural symbol and invaluable spiritual asset of the nation. On the one hand, it carries the wisdom and spirit of the predecessors, recording the traces of the past life. On the other hand, it helps cultivate our character and purify our mind. Should it disappear one day, there will be a hole in the heart of the nation that cannot be filled, because without this carrier of culture, the young generation will not be able to understand our culture comprehensively, let alone carry it forward. Therefore, we shall spare no efforts to save these disappearing Chinese opera. As a student, I believe it also important for us to learn about the traditional Chinese opera and appreciate its beauty.
        Undoubtedly, the importance of traditional Chinese opera, whatever strikes it may suffer, remains intact. Despite our individual efforts, it is more of the government’s responsibility and priority to support the Chinese opera development financially and politically. Only when it acquires enough support and understanding, can the traditional Chinese opera be revived with new blood and new spirit.

解析         材料围绕“中国传统戏剧的没落”展开,说明了传统戏剧的现状及其原因。
        第一段说明了传统戏剧的现状:市场份额不断缩减(shrinking market),戏剧类型(opera styles)减少,保存工作不到位,将近一半的作品没有视频或音频保存文件。
        第二段则开始分析传统戏剧没落的原因:其一,即使是在北京也仅有几家可供戏剧表演的舞台(only a handful of stages),缺乏大量的表演平台(substantial venues)。其二,公众对戏剧的需求量少(Lack of demand),稀少的观众(meager attendance)并不能支持高昂的制作费。其三,受到现代文化和外国文化的冲击,传统戏剧严重边缘化(severely marginalized)。其四,传统戏剧后继无人,有以下三个原因。首先,排练的艰辛使人们望而却步(daunting work),其次浮躁的年轻人渴望快速成功(quick success),最后是因为市场缩水和工资待遇低(market slump and low salaries),从业人员严重流失(brain drain)。
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