『新东方在线托福听力』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 44 Lec 2听力练习：What were two purposes served by the skene?原文题目答案解析，TPO/Official 44 Lec 2听力原文范文音频翻译。

托福TPO/Official 44 Lec 2听力原文What were two purposes served by the skene?【新东方在线】

旁白：请听一段戏剧介绍课的讲座。

Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in an introduction to drama class.

教授：呃，纵观戏剧历史，戏剧结构和演出场地的结构之间有一定关系。

Professor: Now, throughout the history of drama, there has been a, well, a relationship between the structure of a play, and the structure of the space where the play was performed.

而这一切可以追溯到古希腊人。

And this goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks.

希腊人在公元前5世纪时建造了第一批剧院。

The Greeks built the first theaters in the fifth century B.C.E.

建筑师们寻找天然形成的、碗状的山坡之地，在这些地方，他们建造了剧院。

The architects looked for sites where you had a natural bowl-like formation on the side of a hill, and that's where they set the theater.

All Greek theaters were pretty much the same.

为了适应剧院选址的大小和形态，会有一些自然的变动，但基本要素保持不变。

There was some natural variation to accommodate the size and shape of the site, but as far as the basic elements went, those remained constant.

我们先看演员演出的地方，就是我们今天所说的舞台。

Let's start with the area where the actors performed, like, what we call the stage today.

The Greeks referred to this space as the Skene.

呃，学者们对这个词的使用有些混乱。

Uh, there's some confusion about the use of the word “skene” by different scholars.

有些学者用它来指舞台背后的结构，而另一些学者则用它来指该结构和舞台组成的整体，而我也用这个术语来指两部分构成的整体。

Some authors use it to refer only to the structure behind the stage, while others use it to refer to the structure and the stage together, and that's how I'll use the term, to refer to both the stage and the building.

嗯，总之，skene开始时是简易的木制平台，但最终变得更加精美。

Um, so, anyway, the skene started as a simple wooden platform, but eventually became much more elaborate.

skene的前墙装饰得像宫殿或寺庙一样，用作戏剧的背景布景。

The front wall of the building was decorated like a palace, or a temple, and served as background scenery for the play.

而skene也用于存放服装、道具等物品。

The building was also a storage place for costumes, props, things like that.

学生：呃，古希腊人会为每部戏装饰skene呢，嗯，还是在戏剧上演过程中，像我们今天一样，会改变背景布景？

Student: So, did they decorate the skene for each play or, um, change the scenery during the play, like we do today?

或者整部戏就发生在一个场景中？

Or, did the whole story take place in one setting?

教授：呃，观众看到的一切都发生在一个场景中，通常是在一座寺庙前或宫殿前的场景。但是观众不能亲眼看到所有情节。

Professor: Well, everything the audience saw happened in that one setting usually in front of either a temple or a palace, but the audience didn't witness all events in the story.

一些情节是无法令人信服地表演出来的，所以剧作家就让这些事件发生在观众无法看到的、后台的某个地方。

Some events couldn't be presented convincingly, so the playwrights had them take lace somewhere off stage, where the audience couldn't see them.

然后再由一位剧中人物来报告这些消息。Diane？

And then news of the event would be reported by one of the characters. Diane?

学生：去年夏天，我看了戏剧Hippolytus （译者注：Euripides欧里庇德斯的古希腊悲剧，是以剧中人物Hippolytus的名字命名的）。

Student: Last summer, I saw... Hippolytus.

教授：很好，希望你是喜欢这部戏的。

Professor: Excellent! I hope you enjoyed it.

学生：我确实很喜欢。呃，剧中有这样一个情节，Hippolytus被他的父亲赶走了，之后，一名信使出现在舞台上，描述Hippolytus的马车是如何被一头突然出现在海洋外的大公牛撞碎的。当我们观众听到这些描述后，Hippolytus被抬回到了舞台上，他死在了舞台上。

Student: Definitely. So, at one point, you see Hippolytus being sent off by his father, then a little later, a messenger arrives and describes how Hippolytus was riding in his chariot when a giant bull appeared out of the ocean, and caused the chariot to crash, and then, after we hear what happened to Hippolytus, he's carried back on stage where he dies.

教授：确实是这样。我的意思是，你能想象出在舞台上尝试表演一头巨大的动物从海上升起吗？

Professor: Exactly. I mean, can you imagine trying to show all that action, a giant animal rising out of the sea?

嗯，下一个区域是古希腊人所说的orchestra。

Um, Okay. The next area was the space the ancient Greeks called the Orchestra.

我们现在看到的图中的这块地方是圆形的，有时也会是半圆形的。

The orchestra was either round, as you see here, or a semi-circle.

嗯，在古希腊语中，orchestra实际上指跳舞的地方，因为这是合唱团舞蹈和唱歌的地方。

Um, in ancient Greek, the word orchestra actually meant the dancing place, because this is where the chorus danced and sang.

但是要了解希腊戏剧，就需要了解合唱的附加功能。

But to understand Greek plays, you need to understand an additional function of the chorus.

是的，古希腊合唱团确实像今天的合唱团一样，唱歌、跳舞，但它最重要的角色是评论舞台上的角色在做什么、在想什么。

Yes, the ancient Greek chorus did most definitely sing and dance like choruses do today, but the chorus's most important role was commenting on what the characters on stage were doing and thinking.

事实上，希腊哲学家Aristotle（亚里士多德）认为合唱团应该被看作是剧中的一个角色。

In fact, Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, thought the chorus should be considered as acting out a role in the play.

学生：是的，我读到过一句话：合唱团像人一样，有自己独特的个性。

Student: Yeah, I read that a chorus could have a distinct personality, just like a person.

教授：绝对是这样。事实上，我们以后要学习的第一个戏剧就是一个很好的例子。

Professor: Absolutely. In fact, you'll see an excellent example of that in the first play we'll be studying.

Okay, the last space was the seating area for the audience.

在古希腊语中，theatron的意思是看到， 看到的地方。

In ancient Greek, theatron means seeing, that's S-E-E-l-N-G, seeing place.

Theatron的形状是半圆形，多排座位沿着碗状山坡的两侧上升排开。

The theatron was shaped in a semi-circle with rows of seating rising up the sides of the bowl.

这样设计是为了利用自然声效。

It was designed to take advantage of the natural acoustic benefits of the setting.

碗状形状能捕捉、集中、向上空传送声音，因此即使是在顶排，观众也能够非常清楚地听到表演者的声音。

The shape of the bowl captured sound and funneled it upwards so that even in the top rows, spectators were able to hear the performers very clearly.

实际上，theatron这个名字的意思是看到的地方，有点讽刺。

Actually, that the name theatron means seeing place is kind of ironic.

一些剧院有五十排或更多排座位，容纳的观众能多达14000人，这些座位沿着山坡向上排开，而且那时还没有剧院望远镜——剧院望远镜是在很久之后才被发明的。

Some theaters had fifty or more rows of seats accommodating up to 14,000 spectators, ascending way up the hillside, and this was long before theater binoculars were invented.

What were two purposes served by the skene?

What point does the professor make about the chorus in ancient Greek plays?

Listen to part of a lecture in an Introduction to Drama class
Professor 
Now, throughout the history of drama, there has been a relationship, well, between the structure of a play and the structure of a space where the play was performed. And this goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks. The Greeks built the first theaters in the six century BCE. These were outdoor theaters. The architects looked for sites where you have a natural bowl-like formation on the side of a hill, and that’s where they set the theatre. All great theatres are pretty much the same. There was some natural variation to the accommodate size, and shape of the site, but as far as basic elements went, those remained constant.
Have a look at this diagram. Let’s started with the area where the actors performed. Like what we call the stage today, the Greeks referred to this space as the skene. There is some confusion about the use of the word “skene” by different scholars. Some authors it to refer only to a structure behind the stage, while others use it to refer to the structure and the stage together. And that’s how ours use the term to refer both the stage and the building. So, anyway, the skene started as a simple wooden platform, but eventually it became much more elaborate. The front wall of the building was decorated like a temple, and served as the background scenery for the play. The building was also a storage place for costumes, props, things like that. Yes, Rob?
Student 
So, did they decorate the skene for each play or, change the scenery during a play, like we do today? Or did the whole story take place in one setting?
Professor 
Well, everything in earlier happened in that one setting usually in front of either a temple or a . But the audience didn’t witness all within a story. Some events could be presented convincingly. So the play writers have them take place somewhere off stage, where the audience couldn’t see them. And then news of event would be reported by one of the characters. Dyan?
Student 
Last summer, I saw Hippolytus.
Professor 
Excellent, I hope you enjoy it.
Student 
Definitely. So one point, you see Hippolytus being set off by his father. Then a little later, a messenger arrives and describes how Hippolytus was riding his chariot, when the giant bull appeared out of the ocean, and caused the chariot to crash. And then, after we hear what happens to Hippolytus, his character is back on stage where he dies.
Professor 
Exactly, can you imagine trying to show all that action of giant animal rising at the sea? Ok, the next theory is the space the ancient Greeks called the orchestra. The orchestra was either round, as you see here, or semi-circle. In the ancient Greek, the word “orchestra” actually meant the dancing place, because this was where the chorus dance and sing. But to understand the Greek play, you need to understand the additional function of the chorus. Yes, the ancient Greek chorus did most definitely sing and dance like choruses do today. But the chorus’ most important role was commenting on what the characters on stage were doing and thinking. In fact, Aristotle, the great philosopher, thought the chorus should be considered as acting out a role in the play.
Student 
Yeah. I read that chorus could have a distinct personality, just like a person.
Professor 
Absolutely, in fact, you see an excellent example of that in the first play we’ll be studying. Ok, the last space was the siting area for the audience. This was called the theatron. In ancient Greece, theatron means seeing, that’s s-e-e-i-n-g, seeing place. The theatron was shaped in a semi-circle, with rows of siting rising up the size of a bowl. It was designed to take the advantage of the natural acoustical benefits of the setting. The shapes of a bowl captures sound and upwards. So, that even in the top rows, spectators were able to hear the performers very clearly. Actually, that the name “theatron” means “seeing place” is kind of ironic. Some theaters have fifty or more rows of seats, accommodating up to fourteen thousands spectators, ascending way of the hillside. And this was long before theatre binoculars were invented.

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