大学英语六级听力练习：bbc随身英语(8)
Look Behind You! 就在你身后!In winter in Britain, many children and adults enjoy going to the theatre to watch a pantomime. Pantomimes are a very old form of entertainment, but the modern version is as popular as ever.
Pantomimes today originate from a type of light, popular, comedy play from 16th Century Italy. Some aspects of modern pantomime date from this time, for example having stock characters who appear in different stories.
Pantomimes started to be performed in England in the 17th Century, and it was here that the comedy developed into slapstick - a clownish, physical comedy characterised by people falling over or fighting in a silly way.
In the 19th Century, Grimaldi, a famous clown, introduced the tradition of audience participation, a very important aspect of modern pantomime. He established catch phrases, which the audience would respond to by shouting a known response.
There are two very well-known catch phrases in modern British pantomime. The first is that a character will pretend not to see his enemy and ask the audience where he is. The audience shout out ‘Look behind you!’ The second is where a character pretends to have an argument with the audience using phrases like ‘Oh yes I did’ and ‘Oh no you didn’t!’
Pantomimes are based on folk stories or fairy tales like Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk or Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The performances often include songs or music.
There are two stock characters who feature in almost every pantomime. The first is thepantomime dame, an older woman such as an aunt, usually played by a man. She usually has an outrageous costume and a bawdy sense of humour.
In addition, there is often a male character played by a young woman, called the principal boy. This is usually the hero of the story. The fact that actors are playing roles of the wrong gender is part of the joke.
Often, celebrities from the world of TV or pop music take leading roles in pantomimes, or ‘pantos’. You will find a pantomime in almost every theatre in Britain in wintertime…‘Oh yes you will!’
GLOSSARY 词汇表
pantomime
(圣诞节上演的)话剧
originate from
起源于…
date from
起始于…
stock character
固定角色
slapstick
闹剧, 滑稽戏
clownish
滑稽的
physical comedy
喜剧 (主要用肢体语言表达)
clown
小丑
audience participation
观众的参与
catch phrases
口头禅, 套话
character
角色
based on
以…为基础, 基于
folk stories
民间故事
fairy tales
神话故事
pantomime dame
话剧的女主角之一, 通常是指年岁较大的那位
played by
由…来演
bawdy
淫猥的, 下流的
principal boy
话剧的男主角
actors
演员
celebrities
社会名流
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