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.

　　詞匯：

　　Jazz n. 爵士樂 spontaneous adj.自發的

　　bubble v. 充溢 Negro n.黑人

　　plantation n.種植園 procession n. 行列、隊伍

　　cemetery n.公墓 improvise v. 即興

　　注釋：

　　1. jazz is spontaneous and free in form 爵士樂是自發的，不拘形式

　　2. Death had removed one of their number 死亡帶走了他們中的一員，number這里是(人或單位的)總和、全體

　　3. …improvising on both the harmony and the melody of the tunes 根據曲調的和聲和旋律即興演奏

　　練習：

　　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

　　答案與題解：

　　1. B when jazz was born 是定語從句，修飾at the turn of the last century, 所以這里需要填入的是一個引導定語從句的關聯副詞，只有when具有這一功能。

　　2. A 當時美國還沒有明顯屬于自己的音樂，其他三個選項的詞義都十分具體，美國不可能沒有。

　　3. C 爵士是音樂，所以noticed 和 found 都不合適，listen 是不及物動詞，如果要用，也應該有個to，而這里是‘聽到’，不是‘聽著’的意思，所以應該用heard。

　　4. C 爵士樂不屬于古典音樂，也不屬于嚴肅音樂或圣樂，只可能是流行音樂。

　　5. B 古典音樂發端于歐洲，所以它遵循的是歐洲傳統。

　　6. C 從跟后面這幾個詞moods, interests, emotions 的搭配考錄，只能選expressing

　　7. A 爵士是音樂，是有聲音的，所以只能選sounded, 在二十世紀二十年代，爵士樂聽上去就像當時的美國。

　　8. D 下面要講的是有關爵士樂的起源，所以只能找origins，其他選項的詞義都不對。

　　9. C 黑人是作為奴隸被帶到南方各州來的。

　　10. B 他們自發形成一支隊伍，只能說form a procession, 其他三個詞的搭配都不對。

　　11. C 根據前一句很容易就可以判斷應該選 procession。

　　12. C 這句和前一句形成對比，所以應該選But。

　　13. B 與‘死’相對的是‘還活著’，英語就是alive。

　　14. C 可以想見，在回家路上他們演奏的音樂一定是比較輕快的。所以選happy,另外三個選項都和happy的意義相悖。

　　15. C 能和 tunes搭配的只有 sung和played兩個，但是上文中提到在新奧爾良葬禮上總有一個樂隊在演奏，所以這里應該選 played 而不是 sung。