There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widely___47____ today is based on the assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The argument for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the ___48____ forces of the world, even the seasonal changes, as unpredictable, and they sought through various means, to control these unknown and____49___ powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals, and ____50___ stories arose which explained or veiled (掩饰) the mysteries of the religious ceremonies. As time passed some rituals were ____51___, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art and drama.
Those who believe that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those religious ceremonies contained the ____52___of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used. Furthermore, a suitable __53_____ had to be provided for performances, and when the entire community did not participate, a (an) ___54____ division was usually made between the “acting area” and the “auditorium”. In addition, there were performers, and since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment (制定) of religious ceremonies, religious leaders usually assumed that ____55___.
Another theory traces the theater’s origin from the human interest in storytelling. According to this view, tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats） are gradually elaborated (详细阐述的), at first through the use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a (an) ___56____ person. A closely related theory traces theater to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds.

A) feared B) instinct C) excited D)seed E) favorite
F) different G) task H) natural I) site J) abandoned
K) privately L) delayed M) accepted N) clear O)eventually

47. M。分析句子可知，空格处缺少一个过去分词作后置定语，选项中的过去分词形式中，M) accepted 能使句意通顺，句意是“目前被大家广泛接受的”。abandoned与delayed不能被widely修饰。

48. H。根据空格后的seasonal changes（季节变化）可知，它属于一种自然界的力量，故选H) natural。

49. Ａ。空格前的and连接两个并列成分。所以填入的词应与unknown在意思和形式上保持一致。一般情况下未知的东西会让人觉得恐惧。选Ａ) feared。

50. O。分析句子成分可知此处填副词或形容词。本句表示后来的结果，备选答案中的副词eventually和形容词different都符合语法结构，语义也通顺，但eventually更能表现时间的推移性，所以最终选O) eventually。

51. J。句子前半部分是一个被动语态，空格处缺少一个过去分词，与were构成过去时的被动语态，再根据but后的persisted and provided，可知but前的空格处应填入的词，与其意义相反，构成一个转折关系，符合条件的是J) abandoned。

52. D。那些相信戏剧和祭祀仪式有关联的人们给出了例子来论证自己的观点，说戏剧中经常用到的音乐、舞蹈、面具和服装，祭祀中都有。空格处应填入的是seed，在这里表示“起源”。

53. I。由本句18空后面的area可知，此处讲的是戏剧的场地问题。site为答案。

54. N。空格后说，演出区和观众席被区分开，这里需要一个形容词来修饰division，表示“怎么样被区分开”，只有clear符合条件，意思是“被很清楚地区分开”。

55. G。为了能使仪式顺利进行，宗教领袖也会承担一些工作，assume 在这里是“承担，担任”的意思。后面的宾语应为task“工作，任务”。

56. F。由each of the roles可知每一个角色肯定是由不同的人来扮演。这里修饰person的词只能是different。