四、阅读理解
The ballet A Dream of Red Mansions, a classic Chinese dance adaptation of the famous 18th-century novel, returned to Singapore's Esplanade Theatre in mid-March 2026, six months after its first overseas performance in Bangkok, Thailand. Created by the National Ballet of China, this ballet combines（结合）classical Chinese charm with Western ballet techniques and has won widespread international praise since its first overseas show.
Qiu Yunting, a 30-year-old leading dancer from the National Ballet of China, played the main role of Lin Daiyu in the 2026 Singapore show. To present a fresh and real performance to local audiences, she made careful preparations for eight months.
"I've watched the videos of the Bangkok opening show countless times. The former dancer's performance as Daiyu is really moving. The role is challenging in both physical skills and inner feelings. It requires graceful dance steps and full emotional expression," she said. "For example, as Daiyu's sadness deepens and her health gradually fails, she dances to the poetic lines: 'When flowers fade and youth passes away, who will feel sorry for the lonely soul?'"
"The dancer must keep smooth and elegant（优雅的）movements while expressing deep sadness. It requires strong physical strength and exact control of every body movement," explained Qiu. "Some scenes need grand and powerful jumps, while others call for gentle and soft steps that show Daiyu's weak inner world."
Feng Ying, the ballet's lead dance designer, explained in an interview why the show values such a special mix of different styles. "Dance can express inner feelings that simple words cannot fully show. In my opinion, every movement should reflect（反映）the literary beauty of Chinese classics—quiet but full of emotion（情感）, simple but meaningful," she said. For the 2026 Singapore show, Feng made slight changes: "An excellent ballet is not only a display of dancing skills, but also a perfect mix of movements, music and traditional Chinese artistic spirit."
"
Art has no borders. It bridges people of different cultures and languages. I hope Singaporean audiences will be touched by this ballet and experience the timeless charm of Chinese classical culture," Qiu added.
（
D
）1. What can we learn about Qiu Yunting from her preparation for the show?
A. She created new dance moves by herself.
B. She studied the classic novel over and over.
C. She practised together with the ballet's designer.
D. She learned much from the Bangkok performance.
（
C
）2. What can we infer（推断）from Feng Ying's words?
A. Language is able to show inner feelings better.
B. The ballet may depend less on mixed artistic styles.
C. Dance movements should show classic literary beauty.
D. Dancing skills are the most important part of a ballet performance.
（
B
）3. What does the underlined sentence "Art has no borders" mean?
A. Art needs no fixed local background.
B. Art can go beyond cultural differences.
C. Different art forms have their own strict boundaries.
D. Artworks share similar styles all over the world.
（
B
）4. What is the writer's main purpose of writing the passage?
A. To talk about the first overseas performance in Bangkok.
B. To introduce the ballet show A Dream of Red Mansions in Singapore.
C. To explain the creative ideas of the ballet's designer.
D. To describe how dancers prepare for foreign performances.
