In seeking todescribethe origins of theater, one mustrelyprimarilyon speculation, since there is littleconcreteevidenceon which todraw. The most widely acceptedtheory,championedby anthropologists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, envisions theater as emerging out ofmythandritual. Theprocessperceived by these anthropologists may be summarizedbriefly. During the early stages of itsdevelopment, a society becomesawareof forces thatappearto influence or control its foodsupplyand well-being. Having little understanding of natural causes, it attributes bothdesirableand undesirable occurrences to supernatural or magical forces, and it searches for means to win thefavorof these forces. Perceiving anapparentconnection between certain actions performed by the group and the result it desires, the group repeats, refines and formalizes those actions into fixed ceremonies, or rituals.

Stories (myths) may then grow up around aritual. Frequently the myths include representatives of those supernatural forces that the ritescelebrateor hope to influence. Performers maywearcostumes and masks torepresentthemythicalcharacters or supernatural forces in the rituals or in accompanying celebrations. As a people becomes moresophisticated, its conceptions of supernatural forces and causal relationships may change. As a result, it mayabandonormodifysome rites. But the myths that have grown up around the rites may continue as part of the group’soraltradition and mayevencome to be acted out under conditions divorced from these rites. When this occurs, the first step has been taken toward theater as anautonomousactivity, and thereafter entertainment andaestheticvalues maygraduallyreplacetheformermysticaland socially efficacious concerns.

Althoughorigininritualhas long been the mostpopular, it is by no means the onlytheoryabout how the theater came into being.

Storytelling has been proposed as onealternative. Under thistheory, relating and listening to stories are seen asfundamentalhuman pleasures. Thus, the recalling of an event (a hunt, battle, or otherfeat) is elaboratedthroughthenarrator’s pantomime and impersonation andeventuallythrougheach role being assumed by a different person.

A closely relatedtheorysees theater as evolving out of dances that areprimarilypantomimic, rhythmical or gymnastic, or from imitations of animal noises and sounds. Admirationfor the performer’s skill, virtuosity, andgraceare seen asmotivationfor elaborating the activities into fully realized theatrical performances.

Inadditionto exploring the possible antecedents of theater, scholars have also theorized about the motives that led people to develop theater. Why did theater develop, and why was it valued after it ceased tofulfillthefunctionofritual? Most answers fall back on the theories about the humanmindandbasichuman needs. One, set forth byAristotlein the fourthcenturyB.C., sees humans as naturally imitative—as taking pleasure in imitating persons, things, and actions and in seeing such imitations. Another,advancedin the twentiethcentury, suggests that humans have a gift forfantasy,throughwhich they seek to reshape reality into more satisfying forms than those encountered in daily life. Thus,fantasyorfiction(of which drama is one form) permits people to objectify their anxieties and fears,confrontthem, andfulfilltheir hopes infictionif not fact. The theater, then, is one toolwherebypeopledefineand understand their world orescapefrom unpleasant realities.

But neither the human imitativeinstinctnor a penchant forfantasyby itself leads to anautonomoustheater. Therefore,additionalexplanations are needed. One necessary condition seems to be asomewhatdetached view of human problems. For example, one sign of this condition is theappearanceof thecomicvision, sincecomedyrequiressufficientdetachment to view some deviations from social norms asridiculousrather than as serious threats to thewelfareof the entire group. Another condition that contributes to thedevelopmentofautonomoustheater is theemergenceof theaestheticsense. For example, some early societies ceased toconsidercertain ritesessentialto their well-being and abandoned them,nevertheless, they retained as parts of theiroraltradition the myths that had grown up around the rites and admired them for theirartisticqualities rather than for theirreligioususefulness.

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

tag: B
text: debated

tag: C
text: created

tag: D
text: supported
answer_key: D
explanation: "champion": 拥护，支持。最常见的意思是冠军，但这里的 champion 是个动词，但他的意思应该与冠军有关，其实是拥护、支持的意思。与 D 选项对应。

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

tag: B
text: leaves

tag: C
text: limits

tag: D
text: contrasts
answer_key: A
explanation: "attribute: 把…归于（表示因果关系），首先看 attribute 本身，想到 contribute 和 distribute，tribute 是礼物，颂歌之意，那么与之相关的动词意思应该是送给，之前的 at 只起到加强作用，所以 attribute 的意思应该类似给。原文说出于对自然的不了解，人们认为好的坏的事情都是由于超自然的力量导致的，所以 ascribe 归因于正确。

question_stem: According to paragraph 1, theories of the origins of theater
choices: tag: A
text: are mainly hypothetical

tag: B
text: are well supported by factual evidence

tag: C
text: have rarely been agreed upon by anthropologists

tag: D
text: were expressed in the early stages of theater’s development
answer_key: A
explanation: 以 origins of theater 为关键词定位至本段第一句，one must rely primarily on speculation，主要靠推测，也就是 A，主要是推论的。不认识 hypothetical 的话之后有解释说没有事实证据，所以也能说明是推论的.
B 与原文反了。 
C 与原文有出入。原文说：The most widely accepted theory, championed by anthropologists 说至少有一个理论得到人类学家广泛认同。
D 原文没有提到。

question_stem: According to paragraph 1, why did some societies develop and repeat ceremonial actions?
choices: tag: A
text: To establish a positive connection between the members of the society

tag: B
text: To help society members better understand the forces controlling their food supply

tag: C
text: To distinguish their beliefs from those of other societies

tag: D
text: To increase the society’s prosperity
answer_key: D
explanation: "ceremonial action 做关键词定位至全段最后一句：说人们是感觉到了他们的仪式性的活动和他们所期望的那种结果之间的联系之后他们才做这些事情的。前一句说：他们把无论好坏的结果都归因于超自然的力量，他们做这些事情是为了赢得超自然力量的眷顾，所以 D 为了整个社会的繁荣是正确答案。

question_stem: The word “this” in the passage refers to
choices: tag: A
text: the acting out of rites

tag: B
text: the divorce of ritual performers from the rest of society

tag: C
text: the separation of myths from rites

tag: D
text: the celebration of supernatural forces
answer_key: C
explanation: "就近原则往前，而且 this 不指代单个的名词，而指代整个词组或者句子，所以指代的应该是前面的 the myths may even come to be acted out under conditions divorced from these rites，指的是仪式与神话的分离，C 正确，注意 divorce 不仅仅可以表示离婚，等于 separation。"

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

tag: B
text: important

tag: C
text: independent

tag: D
text: established
answer_key: C
explanation: "autonomous: 自主的，自治的，自发的。从这个词本身看，auto 是自动的意思，所以跟它最有关联的就是 C 的 independent 独立了。A 是艺术的；B 是重要的；D 是确定的。

question_stem: According to paragraph 2, what may cause societies to abandon certain rites?
choices: tag: A
text: Emphasizing theater as entertainment

tag: B
text: Developing a new understanding of why events occur

tag: C
text: Finding a more sophisticated way of representing mythical characters

tag: D
text: Moving from a primarily oral tradition to a more written tradition
answer_key: B
explanation: 以 abandon rites 做关键词定位至全段倒数第三句，有个 as a result，说明之前的句子是导致人们放弃这种仪式的原因，也正是问题的答案。随着人们越来越智慧，他们对超自然的能力的认识，还有超自然能力和他们所期待的结果之间的因果关系会变化，也就是很多人不再认为是超自然的能力在左右他们，所以 B 有了新的认识是正确答案。
 
A entertainment 概念在本段最后才提到。 

C sophisticated 概念在前句提到，原文 As a person becomes more sophisticated，是说人变得复杂了，而不是复杂的代表神秘角色的方式。
 
D 原文完全没有提到。

question_stem: All of following are mentioned in paragraph 5 as possible reasons that led societies to develop theater EXCEPT
choices: tag: A
text: Theater allows people to face that they are afraid of.

tag: B
text: Theater gives an opportunity to imagine a better reality.

tag: C
text: Theater is a way to enjoy imitating other people.

tag: D
text: Theater provides people the opportunity to better understand the human mind.
answer_key: D
explanation: 排除法，原文第二句问 Why did theater develop, 接着给出了两个原因，一个是人们乐于模仿，一个是人们想要把现实理想化，A 答案对应原文倒数第二句，正确，不选：Thus, fantasy or fiction (of which drama is one form) permits people to objectify their anxieties and fears, confront them, and fulfill their hopes in fiction if not fact. B 答案对应第二个原因：Another, advanced in the twentieth century, suggests that humans have a gift for fantasy, through which they seek to reshape reality into more satisfying forms than those encountered in daily life. C 答案对应第一个原因：Another, advanced in the twentieth century, suggests that humans have a gift for fantasy, through which they seek to reshape reality into more satisfying forms than those encountered in daily life. D 选项没有提及，所以错，选。

question_stem: Which of the following best describes the organization of paragraph 5?
choices: tag: A
text: The author presents two theories for a historical phenomenon.

tag: B
text: The author argues against theories expressed earlier in the passage.

tag: C
text: The author argues for replacing older theories with a new one.

tag: D
text: The author points out problems with two popular theories.
answer_key: A
explanation: "正如上题所解释的那样，先问了一个问题 Why did theater develop, 接着给出了两个原因，所以答案是 A，D 虽然也说了两个理论，但原文没说这两个理论有什么问题，所以 D 错。"

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

tag: B
text: inclination

tag: C
text: tradition

tag: D
text: respect
answer_key: B
explanation: penchant: （强烈）倾向，嗜好，趣味。A 是妥协；B 是倾向；C 是传统；D 是尊敬。对应原文：But neither the human imitative instinct nor a penchant for fantasy by itself leads to an autonomous theater. 原文与 penchant 并列的词是 imitative instinct，对于幻想的什么什么，上面两题都说了人们弄出戏剧的两个原因，一个是模仿，对应这道题里的 imitative instinct，另外一个就是把现实理想化，也就是爱幻想。所以 penchant 应该表示喜欢，喜爱之意。compromise 妥协和 tradition 传统都不靠谱，respect 尊敬有些靠谱，但和 inclination 倾向比起来明显不是正确答案。

question_stem: Why does the author mention “comedy”?
choices: tag: A
text: To give an example of early types of theater

tag: B
text: To explain how theater helps a society respond to threats to its welfare

tag: C
text: To help explain why detachment is needed for the development of theater

tag: D
text: To show how theatrical performers become detached from other members of society
answer_key: C
explanation: 功能目的题，for example 标志着应该往前看，前面是观点后面是例子。前文说已经给出的两个原因都不对，所以需要额外的解释，那么 for example 之前的句子就是额外的解释：One necessary condition seems to be a somewhat detached view of human problems.改句中关键的内容就是 detached view，detached view of human problems 指的是人们现实中遇到的问题和戏剧之间的分离，不是演戏的人和社会上其他人的分离，所以 C 对 D 错。

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: A society’s rites were more likely to be retained in the oral tradition if its myths were admired for artistic qualities.

tag: B
text: The artistic quality of a myth was sometimes an essential reason for a society to abandon it from the oral tradition.

tag: C
text: Some early societies stopped using myths in their religious practices when rites ceased to be seen as useful for social well-being.

tag: D
text: Myths sometimes survived in a society’s tradition because of their artistic qualities even after they were no longer deemed religiously beneficial.
answer_key: D
explanation: "原句转折，说仪式虽然被抛弃了，但随着仪式产生的戏剧却保留了下来。A 选项的逻辑是条件，错，而且原文说 rites 没保留，A 反了；B 和 A 错的原因类似，首先因果关系错，其次 myths 没抛弃，说反了；C 也错在抛弃了 myths，与原文相反；D 正确。"