Piano托福聽力原文翻譯及問題答案

Piano托福聽力原文翻譯及問題答案

一、Piano托福聽力原文：

Narrator:Listen to part of a lecture in a music history class.

MALE PROFESSOR:Up until now in our discussions and readings about the Baroque and early Classical periods,we've been talking about the development of musical styles and genres within the relatively narrow social context of its patronage by the upper classes.Composers,after all,had to earn a living,and those who were employed in the services of a specific patron,well—I don't have to spell it out for you—the likes and dislikes of that patron—this would have had an effect on what was being composed and performed.

Now,of course,there were many other influences on composers—uh such as the technical advances we've seen in the development of some of the instruments—uh you remember,the transverse flute,the clarinet,and so on.But I think,if I were asked to identify a single crucial development in European music of this time,it would be the invention of the piano…which,interestingly enough,also had a significant effect on European society of that time—and I’ll get to that in a minute.Now,as we know,keyboard instruments existed long before the piano—the organ,which dates back to the Middle Ages,as do other keyboard instruments,such as the harpsichord,which is still popular today with some musicians.But none of these has had as profound an impact as the piano.

Uh the piano was invented in Italy in 1709.The word“piano”is short for“pianoforte”,a combination of the Italian words for“soft”and“l(fā)oud.”Now,unlike the harpsichord,which came before it,the piano is a percussion instrument.You see,the harpsichord is actually classified as a string instrument,since pressing a key of a harpsichord causes a tiny quill that’s connected to the key to pluck the strings that are inside the instrument,much the same as a guitar pick plucks the strings of a guitar.

But,pressing the keys of a piano causes tiny felt-covered hammers to strike the strings inside the instrument,like drumsticks striking the head of a drum.This striking action is why the piano is a percussion instrument instead of a string instrument.

Okay,so why is this so important?Well,the percussive effect of those little hammers means that the pianist,unlike the harpsichordist,can control the dynamics of the sound—how softly or loudly each note is struck—hence the name pianoforte—“soft and loud.”Now artistically—for both composers and performers—this was a major turning point.This brand-new instrument,capable of producing loud and soft tones,greatly expanded the possibilities for conveying emotion.This capacity for increased expressiveness,in fact,was essential to the Romantic style that dominated nineteenth-century music—uh,but I’m getting ahead of myself.Uh,before we get back to the musical impact of this development,I want to take a look at the social impact that I mentioned earlier.Now,in the late 1700s and the early 1800s,the development of the piano coincided with the growth of the middle class in Western Europe.Of course,folk music—traditional songs and dances—had always been part of everyday life.But,as mass-production techniques were refined in the nineteenth century,the price of pianos dropped to the point that a larger proportion of the population could afford to own them.

As pianos became more available,they brought classical music—the music which previously had been composed only for the upper classes—into the lives of the middle-class people as well.One way in particular that we can see the social impact of this instrument is its role in the lives of women of the time.Previously,it was uh,quite rare for a woman to perform on anything but maybe a harp,or,or maybe she sang,

but suddenly,in the nineteenth century,it became quite acceptable—even,to some extent,almost expected—for a middle-class European woman to be able to play the piano…partly because,among upper-middle-class women,it was a sign of refinement,but it was also an excellent way for some women to earn money—by giving piano lessons.

And some women—those few who had exceptional talent,and the opportunity to develop it—their lives were dramatically affected.Uh,later we’ll be listening to works by a composer named Robert Schumann,but let's now talk about his wife,Clara Schumann.

Clara Schumann was born in Germany in 1819.She grew up surrounded by pianos;her father sold pianos,and both her parents were respected piano teachers.She learned to play the instrument when she was a small child,and gave her first public recital at age 9.Clara grew up to become a well-known and respected piano virtuoso—a performer of extraordinary skill—who not only gave concerts across Europe,but also was one of the first important female composers for the instrument.

二、Piano托福聽力中文翻譯：

旁白：在音樂歷史課上聽一節(jié)課的一部分。

男教授：到目前為止，在我們關于巴洛克和早期古典時期的討論和閱讀中，我們一直在談論在上流社會贊助的相對狹窄的社會背景下音樂風格和流派的發(fā)展。畢竟，作曲家必須謀生，而那些受雇于特定贊助人服務的人，我不必為你詳細說明贊助人的好惡，這會對創(chuàng)作和表演產(chǎn)生影響。

當然，對作曲家還有很多其他的影響，比如我們在一些樂器的發(fā)展中看到的技術(shù)進步，橫笛，單簧管，等等。但我認為，如果我被要求確定這一時期歐洲音樂中的一個關鍵發(fā)展，那就是鋼琴的發(fā)明……有趣的是，它對當時的歐洲社會也產(chǎn)生了重大影響，我馬上就會談到這一點。現(xiàn)在，我們知道，鍵盤樂器早在鋼琴——可以追溯到中世紀的風琴之前就存在了，其他鍵盤樂器也存在，比如大鍵琴，今天仍然受到一些音樂家的歡迎。但這些都沒有鋼琴有如此深遠的影響。

鋼琴是1709年在意大利發(fā)明的。單詞“piano”是“pianoforte”的縮寫，是意大利語單詞“soft”和“l(fā)oud”的組合現(xiàn)在，與之前的大鍵琴不同，鋼琴是一種打擊樂器。你看，大鍵琴實際上被歸類為弦樂樂器，因為按下大鍵琴的一個鍵會產(chǎn)生一根連接到鍵上的小羽毛管來撥動樂器內(nèi)部的弦，這與吉他拾音器撥動吉他的弦非常相似。

但是，按下鋼琴的鍵會使覆蓋氈的小錘子敲擊樂器內(nèi)部的琴弦，就像鼓槌敲擊鼓頭一樣。這種引人注目的動作就是為什么鋼琴是打擊樂器而不是弦樂器。

好吧，為什么這這么重要？好吧，這些小錘子的打擊效果意味著鋼琴家，不同于大鍵琴演奏家，可以控制聲音的動態(tài)，每個音符敲擊的聲音是多么的輕柔或響亮，因此被稱為pianoforte——“柔和而響亮”對于作曲家和表演者來說，這是一個重要的轉(zhuǎn)折點。這種全新的樂器能夠發(fā)出響亮柔和的音調(diào)，極大地拓展了表達情感的可能性。事實上，這種增強表現(xiàn)力的能力對主導19世紀音樂的浪漫風格是至關重要的，呃，但我正在超越自己。在我們回到這一發(fā)展對音樂的影響之前，我想先看看我之前提到的社會影響?，F(xiàn)在，在1700年代末和1800年代初，鋼琴的發(fā)展與西歐中產(chǎn)階級的發(fā)展同步。當然，民間音樂傳統(tǒng)歌舞一直是日常生活的一部分。但是，隨著大規(guī)模生產(chǎn)技術(shù)在19世紀的改進，鋼琴的價格下降到一個程度，即更大比例的人口有能力擁有鋼琴。

隨著鋼琴的普及，他們將古典音樂——以前只為上層階級創(chuàng)作的音樂——也帶入了中產(chǎn)階級的生活。我們能夠看到這一文書的社會影響的一個特別方式是它在當時婦女生活中的作用。以前，一個女人除了豎琴或者唱歌之外，很少用其他樂器表演，

但突然間，在十九世紀，它變得相當可以接受，甚至在某種程度上，人們幾乎期望歐洲中產(chǎn)階級女性能夠彈鋼琴……部分原因是，在中上層女性中，這是優(yōu)雅的標志，但對于一些女性來說，上鋼琴課也是一種很好的賺錢方式。

而一些女性——那些少數(shù)擁有非凡天賦的女性，以及發(fā)展天賦的機會——她們的生活受到了巨大的影響。嗯，稍后我們將聽一位名叫羅伯特·舒曼的作曲家的作品，但現(xiàn)在我們來談談他的妻子克拉拉·舒曼。

克拉拉·舒曼1819年出生于德國。她在鋼琴聲中長大；她的父親賣鋼琴，她的父母都是受人尊敬的鋼琴老師。她從小就學會了演奏這種樂器，9歲時第一次公開演奏。克拉拉成長為一位著名而受人尊敬的鋼琴演奏家——一位技藝非凡的演奏家，她不僅在歐洲各地舉辦了音樂會，而且還是該樂器的首批重要女作曲家之一。

三、Piano托福聽力問題：

Q1:1.What is the lecture mainly about?

A.Professional pianists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

B.The influence of the piano on music and society

C.A comparison of the piano and harpsichord

D.A comparison of musical styles before and after the invention of the piano

Q2:2.What does the professor mention as Influences on musical styles before the invention of the piano?

A.The preferences of particular patrons

B.The low numbers of available instruments

C.Increases in the number of music schools

D.Reductions in the costs of producing instruments

Q3:3.Why does the professor describe how a piano works'?

A.To explain why pianos are easy to play

B.To explain why pianos are expensive to construct

C.To explain why pianos are not classified as string instruments

D.To explain why pianos do not require frequent tuning

Q4:4.According to the professor,why did the piano become more popular than the harpsichord?

A.Piano music was easier to compose than harpsichord music.

B.Piano music was better for accompanying the popular new dances of the 1700s.

C.The piano had a more attractive size and shape than the harpsichord.

D.The piano could express a wider range of emotions than the harpsichord.

Q5:5.Why does the professor discuss Clara Schumann?

A.She influenced the design of the modern piano.

B.She grew up in an environment that encouraged female musicians.

C.Her musical talents were inherited from her parents.

D.Her background and Robert Schumann's background were similar.

Q6:6.What does the professor imply when he says this:I don't have to spell it out for you.

A.He will not write a term on the blackboard.

B.The students do not have to take notes.

C.The situation was described in the reading.

D.The students can easily guess what he means.

四、Piano托福聽力答案：

A1:正確答案：B

A2:正確答案：A

A3:正確答案：C

A4:正確答案：D

A5:正確答案：B

A6:正確答案：D

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