2020年高考英语外刊时事命题阅读理解：印度尼西亚面具舞独特历史 Topeng Dance History

Topeng Dance History

印度尼西亚面具舞独特历史

Topeng dance(印度尼西亚面具舞)is a type of storytelling or drama dance from Indonesia accompanied with music. Dancers wear masks and bright costumes(戏服)that represent characters in the play.

Topeng dance appeared in the 15th century. It originated from tribal(部落的)dances held in the honor of ancestors, where dancers with masks were playing roles of messengers of gods. In the beginning, popular themes of Topeng dance were nature and ancestral spirits. Later themes became wider, including the adventures, important historic moments, etc.

Topeng dance is usually performed at odalan, a temple anniversary celebration. It begins with characters not related to the story on the stage, all

wearing masks. Then, main characters of noble(贵族)background wearing masks turn up. Their masks cover their whole faces and they do not talk at all. They express their characters and story only through the dance and movement. All the storytelling is done by characters of servants and ordinary people that wear half-masks that do not cover the mouth so they could talk. They are each telling their view of the story and lead the audience through it. Besides the main, strictly defined story, dancers make jokes and gossip for laughter.

Why do performers wear masks when dancing? Masks are the one that define a character. Characters of noble backgrounds wear beautiful white or golden masks. They do not talk all through the performance. Characters of others wear masks of ordinary characters, animals or gods. Strong characters have masks painted in red. Shapes of masks are defined by different local traditions. For example, masks in Central Java are triangular in shape.

In the Topeng dance, the whole play is played by four to five actors that play all characters, even the female ones. One actor plays many roles in one play with different masks. An actor can have about 40 Topeng masks that are only his. It is believed that there is a special kind of bond between the actor and his mask that allows him to bring new life to it. It is also believed that when the actor puts his mask on, he is connected to the spirit.

（选自Wikipedia）

1. The underlined pronoun “They” in paragraph three refers to ______

A. characters of noble background

B. characters of servants and ordinary people

C. the director of the Topeng dance

D. some major messengers of gods

2. A character of noble background in Topeng dance often wears ______

A. masks that cover half of his face, which enables him to talk

B. white or golden masks that cover his whole face

C. red masks with special shapes defined by different local traditions

D. colorful masks featuring ordinary characters, animals or gods

3. Which of the following statements about Topeng dance is true?

A. Nowadays, Topeng dances are often performed in honor of ancestors.

B. Topeng dance performers related to the story turn up first on the stage.

C. Based on masks, the audience can basically know the identity of a character.

D. In Topeng dance, each character belongs to a fixed performer.