The Concept of Style Style may be defined as the characteristic manner of presentation of any art form. We distinguish betwe

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问题                    The Concept of Style
    Style may be defined as the characteristic manner of presentation of any art form. We distinguish between the style of a novel and that of an essay, between the style of a cathedral and that of a palace. The word may also indicate the creator’s personal manner of expression—the distinctive flavor that sets one artist apart from all others. Thus we speak of the literary style of Dickens or Shakespeare, the painting style of Picasso or Michelangelo, the musical style of Bach or Mozart. We often identify style with nationality, as when we refer to French, Italian, or German style; or with an entire culture, as when we contrast a Western musical style with one of China, India, or some other region.   It is the difference in the treatment of the elements of music that makes one musical work sound similar to or different from another. We have seen that western music is largely a melody-oriented art based on a particular musical system from which the underlying harmonies are also built. Relatively speaking, rhythm and meter in western music are based on simpler principles than are melody and harmony. Music of other cultures may sound foreign to our ears and sometimes out of tune because they are based on entirely different musical systems from which they derive their melodic material and many do not involve harmony to any great extent. One important factor in these differing languages of music is the way in which the octave is divided and scales are produced. Complex rhythmic procedures and textures set some world music apart from western styles, while basic formal considerations—such as repetition, contrast, and variation—bring music of disparate cultures closer. In short, a style is made up of all the factors relating to pitch, time, timbre, and expression, creating a sound that each culture recognizes as its own.
    Since all art changes from one age to the next, one very important use of the word "style" is in connecting the various historical periods. The music of each world culture has its own style periods. Focusing on the development of western music we will find that the concept of style enables us to draw connections between musicians and their time, so that the musical work is placed in its socio-historical frame. No matter how greatly the artists, writers, and composers of a particular era may vary in personality and outlook, when seen in the perspective of time, they turn out to have certain qualities in common. Because of this, we can tell at once that a work of art—whether music, poetry, painting, sculpture, or architecture—dates from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance, from the eighteenth century or the nineteenth. The style of a period, then, is the total art language of all its artists as they react to the artistic, political, economic, religious, and philosophical forces that shape their environment.
(A)[■] Scholars will always disagree as to precisely when one style period ends and the next begins.
(B)[■] Each period leads by imperceptible degrees into the following one, dates and labels being merely convenient signposts.
(C)[■] The following outline shows the generally accepted style periods in the history of western music.
(D)[■] Each represents a concept of form and technique, an ideal of beauty, a manner of expression and performance attuned to the cultural climate of the period—in a word, a style!   350~600: Period of the Church Fathers   600~850: Early Middle Ages—Gregorian chant   850~1150: Romanesque period—development of the staff in musical notation, about 1000   1150~1450: Late Middle Ages (Gothic period)   1450~1600: Renaissance period   1600~1750: Baroque period   1725~1775: Rococo period   1750~1825: Classical period   1820~1900: Romantic period   1890~1915: Post-Romantic and Impressionist period   1910~20th century
Complete the table by matching the phrases below. Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match them to the type of true or false to which they relate, two of the answer choices will NOT be used. This question is worth 4 points.
True False
Answer Choices
A. Just as style is a unique feature of different forms, musical style is a unique language as well.   
B. We all know that folk music is quite different from symphonic music.   
C. Literary styles are very different from musical styles.   
D. The varying elements of music production are the key to differentiating music styles.   
E. Musicians like to show their personal style by choosing special musical elements.   
F. Style is always a product of history and society as a whole.   
G. Harmony is universal in all kinds of musical styles.   
H. We can also distinguish the style of politicians in the West from that of politicians in the East.
True False

选项

答案A. Just as style is a unique feature of different forms, musical style is a unique language as well. D. The varying elements of music production are the key to differentiating music styles. F. Style is always a product of history and society as a whole. C. Literary styles are very different from musical styles. E. Musicians like to show their personal style by choosing special musical elements. G. Harmony is universal in all kinds of musical styles.

解析 本题为图表题,考查考生对全文的理解能力、概括能力和组织重要信息的能力。根据原文的段落大意,可以判断上述选项A、D、F可以概括文章的大体意思,而选项C、E、G所包含的信息与文章所提及的信息相反,选项B、H不是文章的主要内容。
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