雅思阅读真题+题目+答案：Preserving Britain’s cultural heritage: to restore a legendary theatrical dress

雅思阅读真题+题目+答案：Preserving Britain’s cultural heritage: to restore a legendary theatrical dress

An astonishingly intricate project is being undertaken to restore a legendary theatrical dress, Angela Wintle explains.

On December 28th, 1888, the curtain rose on a daring new stage revival of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the Lyceum Theatre in London. Topping the bill, playing Lady Macbeth, a main character in the play, was Ellen Terry. She was the greatest and most adored English actress of the age. But she didn't achieve this devotion through her acting ability alone, She knew the power of presentation and carefully cultivated her image. That first night was no exception. When she walked on stage for the famous banqueting scene, her appearance drew a collective gasp from the audience.

She was dressed in the most extraordinary clothes ever to have graced a British stage: a long, emerald and sea-green gown with tapering sleeves, surmounted by a velvet cloak, which glistened and sparkled eerily in the limelight. Yet this was no mere stage trickery. The effect had been achieved using hundreds of wings from beetles. The gown - later named the ‘Beetlewing dress’ became one of the most iconic and celebrated costumes of the age.

Terry was every bit as remarkable as her costumes. At 31, she became a leading lady at the Lyceum Theatre and for two decades, she set about bringing culture to the masses.

The productions she worked on were extravagant and daring. Shakespeare’s plays were staged alongside blood-and-thunder melodramas and their texts were ruthlessly cut. Some people were critical, but they missed the point. The innovations sold tickets and brought new audiences to see masterpieces that they would never otherwise have seen.

However, it was a painter who immortalised her. John Singer Sargent had been so struck by Terry's appearance at that first performance that he asked her to model for him, and his famous portrait of 1889, now at the Tate Gallery in London, showed her with a glint in her eye, holding a crown over her flame-red hair. But while the painting remains almost as fresh as the day it was 。。。。。余下雅思阅读真题原文省略！

Questions 1-6

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1 What do you learn about Ellen Terry in the first paragraph?

A Lady Macbeth was her first leading role.

B The Lyceum was her favourite theatre.

C She tried hard to look good on stage.

D She wanted to look young for her audience.

2 What is the writer’s purpose in paragraph 2?

A to describe different responses to the Beetlewing dress

B to explain why the Beetlewing dress had such a big impact

C to consider the suitability of the Beetlewing dress for the play

D to compare the look of the Beetiewing dress on and off the stage

3 According to the writer, the main effect of the Lyceum productions was to

A expose more people to Shakespeare’s plays.

B reduce the interest in other types of production.

C raise the cost of going to the theatre.

D encourage writers to produce more plays.

4 In the fourth paragraph, what comparison does the writer make between Sargent’s portrait and the Beetlewing dress?

A The dress has attracted more attention than the painting.

B The dress is worth more money than the painting.

C The painting took longer to produce.

D The painting looks newer.

5 Zenzie says the Beetlewing project is particularly special because

A the dress is very old.

B people know who wore the dress.

C the dress was designed by someone famous.

D there is evidence that the dress has been used

6 Which of the following is the most suitable title for the passage?

A A lesson from the past

B A challenging task

C An unusual fashion show

D An unexpected discovery

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