Question

“Is Jazz a kind of folk music? ... Is it a performing style?” “How is it different from other kinds of music?” There is no simple answer to these questions, because the most important quality of jazz comes from its unique combination of different musical sources over a period of almost 400 years.

The quality that unites the many different jazz forms is, in some degree, separate from its musical sources. That quality is the expression of freedom. The idea of freedom is central.

The ancestors of jazz were black people from West Africa who were brought to America as slaves, or forced laborers, from the early 1600s to the mid-1800s. Most of them remained slaves until President Lincoln set them free on January 1863, at the midpoint of the American Civil War.

With the loss of their personal freedom and the breaking up of their families, the slaves also lost the social traditions of their music from Africa. The complex rhythms of this music involved a number of people performing together. The breaking apart of these social groups forced slaves to create new songs—that is, to develop a completely new musical tradition.

Using some of the remembered African rhythms, the slaves gradually began to add some features of the European classical music that was played by the white slave owners. The slaves were also influenced by American folk songs. But the result of adding these borrowed elements to the complex African rhythms was the beginning of a completely new kind of music. Still, this music only existed privately among groups of slaves.

The slaves' work had another effect on their music. It introduced new kinds of music rhythms. Some of these rhythms became work songs to accompany their planting and picking 0f cotton. Other rhythms were developed by teams of workers who needed to lift heavy loads of cotton onto carts that passed through the fields. Later, during the building of the railroads, individual workers created new songs to match the sharp rhythms of steel striking, as they fixed the rails into place.

　　 1. The main musical sources used by the slaves to develop a new kind of music were

　　　　   A. folk music, jazz music, and modern music

　　　　   B. classical music, American rhythms, and African folk songs

　　　　   C. African music, European classical music, and American folk music

　　　　   D. slaves' work songs rhythms of lifting heavy loads, and sounds of steel striking

　　 2. “It introduced new kinds of musical rhythms.” (in the last paragraph). Here “it” refers to

　　　　   A. the slaves' music　　    　　　　　　B. a new musical rhythm

　　　　   C. the slaves' work　　　　　　　　　　 D. another effect

　　 3. When the slaves lost their personal freedom and their families,

　　　　   A. they still retained their African musical tradition

　　　　   B. they no longer had any social traditions

　　　　   C. a number of people performed together

　　　　   D. they began to create a musical style quite different from that of Africa

　　 4. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　　　   A. The ancestors of jazz music were free black people from West Africa.

　　　　   B. Jazz music has mixed different kinds of musical sources.

　　　　   C. Some of the rhythms of jazz music later became work songs.

　　　　   D. It took quite a long time to develop jazz music.

 

Answer 1

答案：C;C;D;A
解析：

1．C。细节题。爵士乐是近400 年不同音乐素材的独特组合。文章第五段讲，在African rhythms的基础上，加上一些欧洲古典音乐的特征，再受到美国民歌的影响，三者加在一起形成了一种全新的音乐形式。选项C正确。其他三项均与此细节不符。     2．C。语义题。最后一段第一句讲：“The slaves’ work had another effect on their music．It introduced new kinds of music rhythms．”奴隶工作对他们的音乐也很有影响。它采用了新的音乐节奏形式。根据上下文的语法关系判断，“It指的是the slaves work。选项C正确。其他三项的替代关系不对。     3．D。细节题。由于奴隶失去个人自由及与家人分离，他们也失去了非洲音乐的社会传统。因此，他们create new songs，develop a completely new musical tradition。据此，选项D正确。其他三项均不符合逻辑。     4．A。细节题。文章第五段讲，爵士乐是由African rhythms，European classical music和American folk songs混合而成，这与选项B一致；最后一段第三句讲，其中一些音乐节奏成为work songs，在奴隶们种植与采摘棉花时哼唱，这与选项c一致；第一段讲，爵士乐400年不同音乐素材的组合，这与选项D一致。选项A错误。它与第三段第一句内容不一致，根据题意，选A。

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