Music comes in many forms; most countries have a style of their own. The US is well known for jazz (爵士樂(lè)), which has gained world-wide popularity.

In contrast to classical (古典的) music, which follows formal European traditions, jazz is natural and free-form. It is full of energy, expressing the moods, interests, and feelings of the people. It has a modern sound that makes people very excited. In the 1920s jazz sounded like America. And So it does today.

The origins of this music are as interesting as the music itself. Jazz was produced by American blacks, who were brought to the Southern States as slaves. They were sold to plantation owners (種植園主) and forced to work long hours in the cotton and tobacco fields. This work was hard and life was short. When a Negro died, his friends and relatives formed a group to carry the body to the cemetery.

A band often went with them. On the way to the cemetery the band played slow and sad music. But on the way home the mood changed. Spirits lifted. Everybody was happy. Death had removed one of their members, but the living were glad to be alive. The band played happy music, which made everyone want to dance. It was an early form of jazz.

Music has always been important in their lives. Coming mainly from West Africa, the black men who were brought to America already possessed a rich musical tradition. This music centered on religious ceremonies (宗教的儀式) in which dancing, singing, clapping and stamping (頓足) to the beat of a drum were important forms of musical expression. As these people settled in to their fields, they made up work songs. Singing made the hard work go faster.

Another musical form that helped to develop jazz was the blues. Blues songs always describe something sad — an unhappy love affair, a money problem, bad luck. To this day, the expression “feeling blue” means being sad.

1.Through jazz, people can express______.

A． their moods

B． their feelings

C． their interests

D． all the above

2.Which of the following is true according to the text?

A．Jazz follows European traditions.

B．Jazz always describes something sad.

C．Jazz was first produced by black slaves.

D．Blues made the hard work of those slaves go faster.

3.The underlined sentence “Spirits lilted,” suggested that______.

A．everybody was feeling blue

B．everybody was still in a sad mood

C．everybody became happy

D．people’s souls went to the heaven

4.What should be the best tide for this passage?

A. A Light Music.

B. Black men’s Music.

C. The Origin of the Jazz Music.

D. The Popular Music—Jazz in the U.S.A.

5.Why did the band play happy music on the way home from the cemetery?

A．Because they felt happy for the dead men.

B．Because they were glad that they themselves were still alive.

C．Because they would have a big dinner after they returned home.

D．Because they hated that dead man

 

【答案】

1.D

2.C

3.C

4.C

5.B

【解析】

1.細(xì)節(jié)題，由第二段的第二句 “It is full of energy, expressing the moods,  interests, and feelings of the people.”可知選D

2.正誤判斷題，依據(jù)是短文第三段的第二句 “Jazz was produced by American black  men,…”可知，爵士樂(lè)是由美國(guó)黑人創(chuàng)作的。可知選C

3.推理題，詞義猜測(cè)題。從spirits lifted前一句的sad music到their mood changed,再后面的 “Everybody was happy. Death had removed one of their members, but the living were glad to be alive. The band played happy music” 可知spirits lifted的意思為“精神振奮”可知選C

4.主旨大意題。 本文的中心是講述爵士樂(lè)的起源，可知選C

5.推理題，本題考察因果判斷，由第四段的倒數(shù)第二行The band played happy music, which made everyone want to dance可知選B

 

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