Unit 7 The Monster
Key to the Exercises
Text comprehension
I. Decide which of the following best states the author's purpose of writing.
C
II. or false.
Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true
1. T (Refer to Paragraphs 2?.)
2. F (Refer to Paragraph 5, which suggests he was emotionally unstable.)
3. of debt.)
F (Refer to Paragraph 7, which states he was responsible for large sums
4. T (Refer to Paragraph 8. A lot of women came into his life as a result of
his pursuit, and were abandoned by him in the end.)
5. T (Refer to Paragraph 12.)
III. Answer the following questions.
1. Refer to Paragraph 1. He had a short stature with a disproportionately
large head. And he had skin diseases.
2. Refer to Paragraph 2. He believed he was one of the greatest men in the
world, a great composer, a great thinker and a great dramatist combined into one. A man of such arrogance cannot help but take himself to be the center of conversations.
3. Refer to Paragraph 3. If anyone showed slight disagreement with him, he
would make a lengthy and aggressive speech for hours to prove himself to be in the right. This would force his dazed and deafened hearer to surrender.
4. Refer to Paragraph 5. He was emotionally capricious like a child. Rapture
in him could easily turn into extreme melancholy. He was heartless and callous to a frightening degree on some occasions. Moreover, his emotional states always found outward expression.
5. Refer to Paragraphs 11 and 12. The author says that Wagner was among
the greatest dramatists, the greatest thinkers and the most tremendous musical geniuses in our world. His immortal works far exceeded in value the tortures his arrogance inflicted upon others and the debts he owed.
6. Refer to Paragraph 13. The tremendous creative power, which propelled
him to produce so many memorable works in his lifetime, could have crushed his poor brain and body. However, he miraculously survived and made all the
immortal accomplishments. In this sense he was a monster rather than a human being.
IV. Explain in your own words the following sentences.
1. He almost had no sense of responsibility.
2. He wrote large numbers of letters begging for money. In some letters he
was servile without shame, and in other letters he loftily offered his targeted benefactor the privilege of contributing to his support. If the recipient refused to accept his offer, . refused to lend him money, he would fly into a rage.
3. He would use his influence on as many people as possible in order to
meet some admirer of his who was only too glad to offer him his help.
4. Since Wagner was driven by such tremendous forces, it is no surprise
that he didn't behave like a normal human being.
Structural analysis of the text
In the first 10 paragraphs, we can find the following words and expressions used to describe Richard Wagner as a monster of conceit: delusions of grandeur / a monster of conceit / believed himself to be one of the greatest dramatists in the world, one of the greatest thinkers, and one of the greatest composers / the most exhausting conversationalist / proved himself right in so many ways / had theories
about almost any subject under the sun / almost innocent of any sense of responsibility / an endless procession of women.
In the remaining paragraphs, we can find the following words and expressions used to describe him as a great genius: right all the time / one of the world's greatest dramatists / a great thinker / one of the most stupendous musical geniuses / owe him a living.
Rhetorical features of the text
The repetitive use of the third person pronoun he creates suspense in the reader's mind. This is one of the effective ways to hold the reader's attention and make him read on.
Vocabulary exercises
I. Explain the underlined part in each sentence in your own words.
1. person with extremely excessive self-pride
2. with all their talents combined in him
3. in a bad temper; unwell or annoyed
4. without
5. use as much influence of his as possible (from behind the scenes)
6. make concession
II. Fill in the blank in each sentence with a phrase from the box in its
appropriate form.
1. pulled wires
2. be content with
3. rolled into one
4. between the lines of
5. sink into
6. innocent of
7. out of sorts
8. lay my hands on
III. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.
1. callousness 2. tormentor
3. inconceivable 4. arrogantly
5. gloomy 6. tragedy
7. delusion 8. lofty
IV. Choose the word that can replace the underlined part in each sentence without changing its original meaning.
1. A 2. B 3. C 4. A
5. C 6. B 7. A 8. D
V. Give a synonym or an antonym of the word underlined in each sentence
in the sense it is used.
1. Antonym: humbleness (modesty)
2. Synonym: amazing (stunning, miraculous)
3. Synonym: cold-blooded (inhumane, merciless)
4. Synonym: void
5. Antonym: ethical (moral, principled, scrupulous)
6. Synonym: parody (caricature)
7. Antonym: exhilaration (bliss, ecstasy)
8. Synonym: proudly (self-importantly)
VI. Explain the meaning of the underlined part in each sentence.
1. company 2. controlled
3. imprecise 4. out of fashion
5. immediately 6. cover
Grammar exercises
I. Complete the following sentences with prepositions.
1. at 2. on
3. to 4. at
5. from 6. of
7. in, for, at 8. on, of, of
9. over 10. on, under, out of
II. Fill in the blank in each sentence with the choice you think the most
appropriate.
1. C 2. A 3. B 4. C
5. D 6. D 7. B 8. D
III. Rewrite the following paragraph, using appropriate coordinators so as to make it more concise.
Both John and I wanted to go to the movies, but we could not agree on which picture we should go to see. A new picture was showing at the Palace and another at the Globe. Neither John nor I had seen either of these pictures. I wanted to see the one at the Globe, but John didn't.
IV. Join the sentences in each group into one without using and, but or so.
1. My cousin, John, who has a beautiful tenor voice, is appearing at the Royal Festival Hall, where I am going to meet him after the concert.
2. The roller coaster, which made its appearance in 1884, is still one of the most exciting rides in an amusement park.
3. As I could not find a British-made ballpoint pen, I bought a French one,
which was expensive although it was an extremely simple pen.
4. Everybody who is interested in brass rubbings should visit our village church because it contains some beautiful brasses which date from the 14th century.
5. Despite free medical treatment being available to everybody in the country, there are still a number of private hospitals, which are mostly patronized by foreign visitors who do not want to wait for a bed in a National Health Service hospital.
6. Crochet, which used to be a favourite pastime in Victorian times, is back in fashion because clothes have become so expensive that it is worthwhile to make them.
7. Clanging its bell, the empty cable car approaches, swaying as though slightly drunk.
8. We arrived by plane from Denver, a 16-minute flight that culminated in a breathtaking touchdown at a tiny airport tucked in among the Rocky Mountains.
V. Replace the underlined parts by infinitive phrases.
1. The child is lonely; he would be happier if he had someone to play with.
2. I have some letters to write.
3. He was the first man to leave the burning building.
4. The pilot was the only man to survive the crash.
5. The last one to leave the room must turn out the lights.
6. That is the largest ship to be built.
7. My files are all over the place. I wish I had a box to keep them in.
8. I don't much care for cooking for myself; if I had a family to cook for I'd be more interested.
VI. Make sentences of your own after the sentences given below, keeping
the underlined structures in your sentences.
(Reference version)
1. Work interests him to such a degree that he thinks about nothing else.
2. What if they do not come?
Translation exercises
I. Translate the following sentences into Chinese.
1. 任何人只要有一丝半点的不同意见，即使再微不足道，也足够让他高谈阔论几个钟头，用他那十分累人的雄辩从多方面论证自己是正确的，结果是他的听众听得目瞪口呆，
两耳震聋，为了息事宁人，只好顺从他。
2. 他发出了几十封哀求信，甚至不知廉耻地向人献媚，有时他又会将对自己的支持作为某种特权高傲地赏赐给他希望得到的资助人，一旦这份荣耀被人拒绝，他又会深感被人冒犯。
3. 如果有人仰慕他的作品，能够并且愿意为他所用，他就会动用各种关系，想尽办法见上一面；可是他又会因为表示出某种愚蠢的、毫无意义的傲慢和无礼而树立死敌。
4. 这简直就是一个让人难以言表的奇迹，他那可怜的大脑和身体竟然没有在如此强大的创造力的折磨下崩溃，这个恶魔挣扎着，抓挠着要挣脱出来，撕扯着，尖叫着，想要他把内心的音乐谱写出来。
II. Translate the following sentences into English, using the word and
phrases given in brackets.
1. For the sake of your family, you should look before you leap and not take
so many risks.
2. I feel a bit out of sorts after last night's heavy drink.
3. His father pulled endless wires and got him a position in an inflated
government department.
4. lines.
If you read his letter carefully, you can find his real intention between the
5. I knew I was downright rude to him, but I found excuses for myself.
6. Many of the outstanding figures of the past were exceptionally versatile
men. Leonardo da Vinci, for instance, rolled a painter and an inventor into one.
7. He finally killed himself after being under the torment of insomnia for
many years.
8. He was dumb with amazement.
III. Translate the following passage into Chinese.
2001年7月7日，耶路撒冷举行的一场音乐会在以色列引起了轩然大波。世界著名指挥家Daniel Barenboim率领德国管弦乐团在以色列艺术节上正在演奏瓦格纳的音乐，而瓦格纳是一个反犹太的德国作曲家，也是希特勒最欣赏的音乐家。建国以来的五十多年里，以色列一直都有这么一条不成文的禁忌—不公开演出瓦格纳的任何作品。因为对许多犹太人和大屠杀幸存者来说，瓦格纳的音乐是和希特勒政权紧紧联系在一起的。尽管瓦格纳的作品在全世界范围内广为人知并到处演出，但在以色列只要一提起瓦格纳就会激起人们的愤怒和谴责。
但巴伦博伊姆坚持认为，瓦格纳的反犹太主义思想既不能忽视，也不可简单地把它等同于他的音乐。他的音乐是由于它所具有的艺术价值而值得人们欣赏, 一个民主的社会不应当阻止人们欣赏这样的作品。
Exercises for integrated skills
I. Dictation.
As one of the key figures in the history of opera, / Richard Wagner was largely responsible / for altering its orientation in the 19th century. / His program of artistic reform, / though not executed to the last detail, / accelerated the trend towards organically conceived structures, / as well as influencing the development of the orchestra, / of a new breed of singers, / and of various aspects of theatrical practice. / As the most influential composer / during the second half of the 19th century, / his conception of music / remains very much with us / even a century after his death. / His style of orchestration can be heard in many movie scores. / Wagner thought / his music dramas were to be the models for the 20th-century opera, / but he could not foresee the path / of total abandonment of tonality / that was to revolutionize music in the early 20th century.
II. Fill in each blank in the passage below with ONE appropriate word.
(1) while (2) feminine
(3) that (4) also
(5) right (6) in
(7) where (8) without
(9) of (10) than
因篇幅问题不能全部显示，请点此查看更多更全内容