An Early Form of Jazz Music

　　Music comes in many forms; most countries have a style of their own. At the turn of the last century, ____1 jazz was born , America had no prominent ____2 of its own. No one knows exactly when was invented or by whom. But it began to be ____3____ in the early 1890s. Jazz is America's contribution to

　　____4_____ music. In contrast to classical music, which __5__ formal European traditions, jazz is spontaneous and free in form1. It bubbles with energy, __6__ the moods, interests, and emotions of the people. In the' 1920s jazz __7__ like America. And so it does today. The __8__ of the music are as interesting as the music itself. American Negroes, or blacks, as they are called today, were the jazz pioneers. They were brought to the Southern states __9__ slaves. They were sold to plantation owners and forced to work long hours. When a Negro died his friends and relatives __ 10 ___ a procession to carry to body to the cemetery. In New Orleans, a band often accompanied the 11 . On the way to the cemetery the band played slow, solemn music, suited to the occasion. __12__ on the way home the mood changed. Spirits lifted. Death had removed one of their number2, but the living were glad to be 13__. The band played 14 music, improvising on both the harmony and the melody of the tunes3 15 __ at the funeral. This music made everyone want to dance. It was an early form of jazz.

　　词汇：

　　Jazz n. 爵士乐 spontaneous adj.自发的

　　bubble v. 充溢 Negro n.黑人

　　plantation n.种植园 procession n. 行列、队伍

　　cemetery n.公墓 improvise v. 即兴

　　注释：

　　1. jazz is spontaneous and free in form 爵士乐是自发的，不拘形式

　　2. Death had removed one of their number 死亡带走了他们中的一员，number这里是(人或单位的)总和、全体

　　3. …improvising on both the harmony and the melody of the tunes 根据曲调的和声和旋律即兴演奏

　　练习：

　　1. A) while B) when C) since D) as

　　2. A) music B) songs C) melodies D) tunes

　　3. A) listened B) noticed C) heard D) found

　　4. A) classical B) sacred C) popular D) serious

　　5. A) introduces B) follows C) takes D) approaches

　　6. A) disclosing B) explaining C) expressing D) exposing

　　7. A) sounded B) felt C) looked D) seemed

　　8. A) discoveries B) originals C) resources D) origins

　　9. A) like B)for C)as D)by

　　10. A)composed B)formed C)hosted D)demonstrated

　　11. A)body B)demonstration C)procession D)march

　　12. A)Furthermore B)Similarly C)But D)Therefore

　　13. A)live B) alive C)life D)there

　　14. A)sad B)solemn C)happy D)funeral

　　15. A)sung B)showed C)played D)expressed

　　答案与题解：

　　1. B when jazz was born 是定语从句，修饰at the turn of the last century, 所以这里需要填入的是一个引导定语从句的关联副词，只有when具有这一功能。

　　2. A 当时美国还没有明显属于自己的音乐，其他三个选项的词义都十分具体，美国不可能没有。

　　3. C 爵士是音乐，所以noticed 和 found 都不合适，listen 是不及物动词，如果要用，也应该有个to，而这里是‘听到’，不是‘听着’的意思，所以应该用heard。

　　4. C 爵士乐不属于古典音乐，也不属于严肃音乐或圣乐，只可能是流行音乐。

　　5. B 古典音乐发端于欧洲，所以它遵循的是欧洲传统。

　　6. C 从跟后面这几个词moods, interests, emotions 的搭配考录，只能选expressing

　　7. A 爵士是音乐，是有声音的，所以只能选sounded, 在二十世纪二十年代，爵士乐听上去就像当时的美国。

　　8. D 下面要讲的是有关爵士乐的起源，所以只能找origins，其他选项的词义都不对。

　　9. C 黑人是作为奴隶被带到南方各州来的。

　　10. B 他们自发形成一支队伍，只能说form a procession, 其他三个词的搭配都不对。

　　11. C 根据前一句很容易就可以判断应该选 procession。

　　12. C 这句和前一句形成对比，所以应该选But。

　　13. B 与‘死’相对的是‘还活着’，英语就是alive。

　　14. C 可以想见，在回家路上他们演奏的音乐一定是比较轻快的。所以选happy,另外三个选项都和happy的意义相悖。

　　15. C 能和 tunes搭配的只有 sung和played两个，但是上文中提到在新奥尔良葬礼上总有一个乐队在演奏，所以这里应该选 played 而不是 sung。