Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)(一)_大学英语阅读

Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)(一)

　　Music in Britain

　　It is debatable whether the tastes of kings reflect those of their subjects. However, three English monarchs certainly shared their peoples linking for music. Richard Ⅰ, the Lionheart, composed songs that he sang with his musician, Blondel. It is said that when the king was a prisoner in Austria, Blondel found him by singing a song known only to him and the king, who took up the tune in the tower of the castle in which he was secretly imprisoned. Henry VⅢ , notorious for his six wives, was a skilled musician and some of his songs are still known and sung. Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, delighted in singing ballads. The great composer and pianist Felix Mendelssohn was a welcome guest at their court, where he would accompany the Queen and the Prince when they sang.

　　The British love of music is often unfamiliar to foreigners, probably because there are few renowned British composers. The most famous is Henry Purcell , whose opera Dido and Aeneas is a classic. The rousing marching song Lillibulero attributed to Purcell, now used by BBC as an identification signal preceding Overseas Service news bulletins, was said to have sung James Ⅱ out of three kingdoms when he fled from Britain in 1688. Sir Edward Elgar is known for his choral and orchestral works, some of which have been made more widely known by the famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Benjamin Britten , a composer with a very personal style, has become world-famous for such operatic works as Peter Grimes and Billy Budd. Ralph Vaughan Williams was deeply influenced by English folk music, as is shown by his variations on the old tune Green-sleeves . In recent years there has been a great revival of folk music, and groups specializing in its performance have sprung up all over Britain. This phenomenon has its roots in the work of Cecil Sharp , who collected folk songs and dances.