Read first and then discuss the questions.

　　Where did jazz originate? What musical, social, and cultural ingredients (n. 成分, 因素) combined to form jazz? These questions, and their respective answers, are important for the student of jazz history to investigate.

　　Jazz is the only indigenous American art form and it is truly a cultural product of the United States. Western and African musical culture were the seeds of jazz, but America was the soil where jazz grew and prospered (V．成功, 兴隆, 昌盛). Jazz is neither a music of Blacks nor the music of Whites, but jazz is actually a blending of a variety of traditions, heritages, and philosophies (n. 哲学, 哲学体系) .

　　During the early history of America, slavery was a standard social practice. Slaves were forcibly brought from Africa to America. While in America, the displaced African’s (including African musicians who brought their musical traditions and talents with them) would learn from already established Western musical theories and performance practices. At the same time, Western musicians would learn African (Eastern) musical theories and performance practices from the African musicians.

　　Primitive (原始的) African culture places a great emphasis on music, much more so than Western societies. Music is an important aspect (n. 方面) of many of the day-today activities of the primitive African societies. As a primitive musical expression, early African music placed a great emphasis on rhythmic (adj. 节奏的, 合拍的) activity with a more simple use of melody (n. 悦耳的音调) and harmony (n. 协调, 融洽). African rhythms are quite complex and very advanced, yet the melodies and harmonies are simple. This strong emphasis on musical tradition and usage was brought with the African populations during their forced exile of slavery to America.

　　While in America, these new Black Americans still expressed themselves through their musical traditions. Since they were in America, their old musical traditions could not be reproduced exactly for many reasons, including not being allowed to use traditional African instruments. To understand a comparable situation, let us assume (vt. 假定, 设想) that we have a fictional American rock band who are forcibly taken to a foreign country. While in slavery, the rock musicians still desire to create their music. Unfortunately, their new “owners” give them permission to perform their rock music, but the rock band is not allowed to use any electric guitars, an electric bass, a drum set, keyboards, or any type of electronic instruments. This would cause quite a problem for the rock band, but if they have a strong enough desire to create their music, they would have to find a way to do so with the resources (instruments etc. ) that were available to them. This imaginary (adj. 假想的, 想象的) scenario (剧情概要, 或是某一特定情节) was exactly what the African musicians faced as slaves in America.

　　Along with finding new instruments, the African musicians were being exposed to the Western musical culture. This exposure was a vital essence to the evolution of jazz. These new Western melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and aural traditions affected the African musicians tremendously. Of course, White musicians were also being affected by what they head from the African musicians. As time passes, the give and take between the African and Western musical traditions would blossom into what would be called Jazz.

　　To this day, elements that started with the African slaves can still be heard in jazz and rock. One example still in use is the African “call and response” method of early African songs. In a call and response, the soloist sings a portion of a melody while the group responds afterwards (much like a musical question and answer) .

　　Another example is “pitch-bending”. During the advent of jazz, the musicians would bend pitches for expressive purposes. This bent pitch catches our ears because the ear does not know where the pitch will actually end up, thus creating a musical surprise. Countless jazz and rock musicians use this technique today. Listen to a rock lead-guitar solo and count all the pitch-bends utilized. Most of today's synthesizers even have a pitch-bend device built in.

　　The roots of jazz are from African and Western musical traditions blended together. Over a period of many years, these traditions exchanged musical qualities and slowly evolved into jazz. The African emphasis on rhythm combined with Western theoretical musical thought created a new music for all musicians and audiences to enjoy. As the jazz musical tree grew, other sub-styles of music grew from the trunk of jazz. Music styles such as Rhythm and Blues (n. 节奏和布鲁斯) Soul, Funk, Rap, and Rock and Roll are all descendants (n. 子孙, 后裔, 后代) of jazz and the jazz heritage.

Questions For Discussion:

1．Does Jazz come from Africa?

2．Does Jazz come from Blues?

假定你班在“珍爱生命，拒闯红灯”教育活动中，召开了一次主题班会。请你根据下表中的内容，用英语写一篇短文。

六、书面表达（满分25分）
近几年，我国出现了多起煤矿事故，损失很大，很多矿工因此失去生命，党中央对此高度关注。现在，请你以一个中学生的身份，设想一种机器人，代替工人在井下工作。
这种机器人取名叫“机器鼠”，安装了电脑和长臂，能够推、拉、抬、转，由井上的工人用计算机控制。最重要的是装备了最先进的报警敏感器，一旦发现煤气或漏水，迅速逃离工作现场。它可以做到长期工作不疲劳，万一出现矿难，能够减少损失，避免人员伤亡。
要求：
1.词数：100-120词。
2.本作文属于科学幻想类，不要逐句翻译，可以大胆想象，适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3.参考词汇：机器鼠 Robot Rat       报警敏感器 sensor。
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假定你班在“珍爱生命，拒闯红灯”教育活动中，召开了一次主题班会。请你根据下表中的内容，用英语写一篇短文。

注意：

1．内容可适当发挥，注意行文连贯；

2．词数：120左右。

参考词汇：pedestrian n.（行人）；jay-walk vi.（乱穿马路）; reprimand vt.（批评，训诫）