Actors,evenwhen they are well rehearsed, can never fullyanticipatehow well they willperformbefore an actualaudience. The actor who has beenbrilliantin rehearsal cancrumblebefore anaudienceand completely lose the “edge” of his or her performance in the face ofstagefright and apprehension. The presence of anaudiencecanaffectperformance in other ways as well. Or—and this is more likely—an actor who seemedfairlyunexciting at rehearsal can suddenly take fire and dazzle theaudiencewith unexpected energy, subtlety, and depth. Onecelebratedexample of thisphenomenonwas achieved by Lee J. Cobb in theoriginalproduction of ArthurMiller’s Death of a Salesman, in which Cobb had the title role. Roles rehearsed in all solemnity can suddenly turn comical in performance;conversely, roles developed forcomicpotentialin rehearsal may be received soberly by anaudienceand lose their comedicaspectentirely.

Sudden anddramaticchange, however, is not the norm as the performancephasereplaces rehearsal: most actors cross over from finaldressrehearsal to opening night with only the slightestshift; indeed, this is generally thought to be the goal of a disciplined andprofessionalrehearsalschedule. Holding back until opening night, the once-popularactingpractice of restrainingemotionaldisplayuntil opening night, is universally disavowed today, and opening night recklessness is viewed as a sure sign of theamateur, who reliesprimarilyon guts and adrenaline to getthroughthe performance. Deliberaterevisionof a role in performance, inresponseto the first waves of laughter or applause, is similarly frowned upon in all but the most inartistic of theaters today.

Nevertheless, afundamentalshiftdoesoccurin the actor’sawarenessbetween rehearsal and performance, and this cannot and should not be denied; indeed, it isessentialto the creation of theater art. Thisshiftis set up by anelementaryfeedback: the actor isinevitablyaware, with atleastaportionof his or hermind, of theaudience’sreactionto his or her own performance and that of the other players; there is always, in anyactingperformance, asubtleadjustmentto theaudiencethat sees it. The outward manifestations of thisadjustmentare usually all but imperceptible: the split-second hold for a laugh to die down, theslightspecialprojectionof a certainlineto make sure that it reaches the back row, the quick turn of a head to make a characterization orplottransitionextraclear.

Inaddition, the best actorsconsistentlyradiateaqualityknown to the theater world as presence. It is aqualitydifficult todescribe, but it has the effect of making both thecharacterwhom the actor portrays and the self of the actor who represents thatcharacterespeciallyvibrantand in the present for theaudience; it is thequalityof an actor who takes thestageand acknowledges, in some inexplicable yet indeliblemanner, that he or she is there to be seen. Performance is not a one-waystatementgivenfrom thestageto the house; it is a two-way participatory communication between the actors and theaudiencemembers in which theformeremploytext and movement and thelatteremployapplause, laughter, silence, andattention.

Evenwhen theaudienceis silent andinvisible—and, owing to the brightness of thestagelights, theaudienceis frequentlyinvisibleto the actor—the performer feels its presence. There is nothing extrasensory about this: theabsenceofsoundis itself asignal, for when several hundred people sit without shuffling, coughing, or muttering, their silence betokens alevelofattentionfor which the actor customarily strives. Laughter, gasps, sighs, and applause similarly feed back into the actor’sconsciousness—and unconsciousness—andspur(or sometimes, alas,distract)the actor’s efforts. The veteran actor candeterminequickly how to ride thecrestofaudiencelaughter and how to hold thelinejust long enough that it willpiercethe lingering chuckles but not be overridden by them; he or she also knows how tovarythe pace and/or redouble his or her energy when sensing restlessness or boredom on the other side of the curtainline. Performancetechnique, or the art of reading anaudience, is moreinstinctualthan learned. The timing it requires is of suchcomplexitythat no actor could master it rationally; he or she can develop it only out of experience.

Questions:
question_stem: The word “celebrated” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: typical

tag: B
text: specific

tag: C
text: unusual

tag: D
text: famous
answer_key: D
explanation: celebrated adj.庆祝的，有名望的
原文 One celebrated example of this phenomenon was achieved by 中可知 celebrated 为形容词，表示出名的，故选 D；famous 有名的；A：typical 典型的，B： specific，特定的；C：unusual 不同寻常的；都不符合

question_stem: Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1 about Lee J. Cobb’s performance in Death of a Salesman?
choices: tag: A
text: His performance showed that an actor can change the nature of a role intended to be serious to comic role.

tag: B
text: His performance before the live audience probably would have been different it there had been more time spent on rehearsal.

tag: C
text: Those who had observed his acting of the part in rehearsal were unprepared for the quality of his performance before a live audience.

tag: D
text: His way of presenting the main character in the original production of the play became the usual way that character was portrayed in later productions.
answer_key: C
explanation: 题干提问“关于 Lee J. Cobb’s performance in Death of a Salesman 可以推理出什么？”，根据 Lee 的人名和作品名称可以把题目定位到第五句，根据句首 “One celebrated example of this phenomenon”可以知道这是前句所说现象的例子，所以答案句应该是第三，四句话，  audience can affect performance ； an actor at rehearsal can suddenly  dazzle the audience ..., 观众可以影响表演，在现场可以爆发令人惊奇的能量 所以选 C，间接表达出现场和彩排的不一样。A 定位原文最后一句和 Lee 无关；B 原文没提到准备时间是否充分；D 原文没说到这个表演方式对后期作品的影响

question_stem: The author uses the word “conversely” to indicate that what follows the word is
choices: tag: A
text: in addition to what was stated before this word

tag: B
text: the reverse of what was stated before this word

tag: C
text: worse than what was stated before this word

tag: D
text: another example of what was stated before this word
answer_key: B
explanation: conversely adv. 相反地; 题目问用这个词来表示接下来的内容是和这词前面的内容 怎么样？ 根据词义，我们知道前后是相反的，故选 B reverse 颠倒，相反； ACD 都没有表达出相反的意思，因此不选。

question_stem: Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
choices: tag: A
text: Actors always devote some portion of their minds to establishing an elementary feedback between their own performance and the reactions of others to it.

tag: B
text: An elementary feedback makes actors aware of changes in the reactions of the other actors and of the audience.

tag: C
text: On some level, actors are always aware of the audience’s reactions both to them and to the other actors and make slight changes in response to them.

tag: D
text: During a performance, actors inevitably shift their focus from the reactions of the other actors to the reactions of the audience.
answer_key: C
explanation: 原句主干 the actor is aware of the audience’s reaction to his or her own performance and that of the other players; there is a subtle adjustment to the audience 演员意识到观众对他们的影响，并会做调整；故 C 正确； A：演员建立 feedback 错；B：actors in the reactions of the other actors 错，没说演员之间的互相影响； D：原句没有说 shift from.其他演员的反应.to.观众的反应..所以错。

question_stem: Why does the author mention “the quick turn of a head” in the passage?
choices: tag: A
text: To illustrate the kind of subtle adjustment that an actor might make during a performance

tag: B
text: To indicate what actors may do while they wait for the audience's laughter to die down

tag: C
text: To explain why audiences sometimes do not notice how actors have responded to them

tag: D
text: To explain how actors can make sure that a certain line projects all the way to the back row
answer_key: A
explanation: 题干提问“为什么说 the quick turn of a head”。定位最后一句；冒号之后全部都是例子，所以往回找观点句，冒号前信息表明演员在看到观众之后所做的调整，之后的例子都为具体的调整例子，故选 A； B 为其中一个并列的例子，错；C 选项为什么观众没注意到，原文没提，错；D 选项也是例子之一，并且原文没提 how to make sure，故错。

question_stem: In paragraph 4, why does the author comment that performance is “not a one-way statement” but rather “a two-way participatory communication”?
choices: tag: A
text: To explain why presence is so well known in the theater

tag: B
text: To explain the importance of the interaction of audience and actors in live performances

tag: C
text: To describe a particular acting technique

tag: D
text: To suggest that presence is created primarily through visual means
answer_key: B
explanation: 题干提问“为什么作者做出这样的评价“表演不是单向的而是双向的”题目定位四段最后一句，整句表达了演员和观众的互动，再结合段落大意 presence，故选 B； A: 原文中有 presence well known，但没解释 why，错；C：没说表演技能，错；D：presence 的创作方式是 visual means 原文没提到，错。

question_stem: The word “spur” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: reward

tag: B
text: express

tag: C
text: determine

tag: D
text: stimulate
answer_key: D
explanation: spur v. 鞭策; 激励;  鼓舞; 促进，读原句笑声反馈给演员，并激发演员的努力，所以 D stimulate，刺激，正确；A reward 奖励，奖赏，B 表达，C 决定，都与 spur 意思不符合。

question_stem: According to paragraph 5, what does the absence of sounds from the audience indicate?
choices: tag: A
text: The actor may have surprised or confused the audience.

tag: B
text: The actor has succeeded in getting the audience’s attention.

tag: C
text: The audience wants to avoid distracting the actor.

tag: D
text: The audience has become invisible to the actor.
answer_key: B
explanation: 题干提问“观众的安静表明什么？”根据题目定位到原文第二句，前半句是题目信息，重点在后半句话 their silence betokens a level of attention for which the actor customarily strives，表明他们的沉默表达了一种演员所追求的注意力，故选 B 观众的安静表明演员得到了他们的注意力。

question_stem: According to paragraph 5, which of the following is true of the art of reading an audience?
choices: tag: A
text: It requires more skill than most actors possess.

tag: B
text: It cannot be developed through reasoning alone.

tag: C
text: It cannot be developed through experience alone.

tag: D
text: It is developed more by conscious effort than by instinct.
answer_key: B
explanation: 题目问“关于 art of reading an audience 哪个信息是对的”定位到本段最后两句话，“读懂观众的艺术是本能的而非习得的，他对时间的把控是复杂的，没有演员能理性的掌握他，只能靠经验”，B 选项不能只靠 reasoning，符合原句 no actor master it rationally，故选 B。 A 技术的好坏没提到，原文强调靠经验，故错；C 不能只靠经验，和原文矛盾，故错； D 不考本能，和原文相反，故错。