题文
In 1935, the clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman, aged just twentysix, left New York with his fourteenpiece “swing” band and, traveling in a ragtag group of cars, headed for the huge Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles. It was not an easy trip. There were half a dozen dismal, sparsely attended onenighters and three weeks at a dance hall in Denver, where the band was forced to play waltzes, tangos, and novelty numbers. On the opening night at the Palomar, the band played ballad numbers in the first set, and there was little response from the dancers. Then one of the musicians said, if they were going to bomb again they might well do it in style. So Goodman called for his hot, often uptempo arrangements, many of them by the ingenious black bandleader and arranger Fletcher Henderson, and the kids stopped dancing, clustered around the bandstand, and began roaring. Before the weeks at the Palomar were over, it was clear that Goodman had suddenly made jazz—still a suspect and largely subliminal American folk music, despite the brilliant inventions during the previous decade of Jelly Roll Morton and others—into a popular music.Goodmans surprising ways continued. In 1936, he shook up the white entertainment establishment by hiring two black musicians—the elegant pianist Teddy Wilson and the plunging vibraphonist Lione Hampton. (To be sure, Wilson and Hampton did not play in the band; instead, they appeared with Goodman and the drummer Gene Krupa during intermissions.) A year later, when the band went into the Paramount Theater in New York for three weeks, legions of kids appeared, and a screaming, dancing riot nearly took place. It was the first great American show frenzy, and it prepared the way for the Sinatra frenzy of 1947, and for all the Beatles frenzies, and for all the mindless rockborne frenzies of the Seventies and Eighties.
Then, on the night of January 16, 1938, Goodman, challenging the longhairs, took his band into a soldout Carnegie Hall. The big band played a dozen numbers, the trio two numbers, and the quartet five numbers. Despite the immediate rumblings from Olin Downes, the Timess classical music critic (“The playing last night, if noise, speed and beat, all old devices, are heat, was “hot” as it could be, but nothing came of it all, and in the long run it was decidedly monotonous”), Goodmans concert moved jazz even further up the American popular register. [412 words]
小题1: This passage is mainly
A a general review of Jazz music.
B a biography of Benny Goodman.
C about the origin of American folk music.
D about how jazz became popular in America.
小题2: Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A The bands first music show in Los Angles was an immediate success.
B Goodman is considered the father of Jazz music.
C Benny Goodman was unknown to public when he left New York.
D The band scheduled to play waltzes, tangos and novelty numbers at a dance hall in Denver.
小题3: It could be inferred from the passage that
A Jazz is a style of music native to America.
B Classic music had become outdated at Goodmans time.
C Morton and Goodman were contemporaries.
D Goodman was the first bandleader who hired Black musicians in 1930s.
小题4: The phrase “shake up” (Line 1,Paragraph 2) in the context probably means
A to give a very unpleasant shock.
B to make changes to an organization.
B to get rid of a problem.
D to point out, designate.
小题5: Towards Goodmans music show frenzy, Olin Downes, the classical music critic has
A approving attitude. B satirizing attitude.
C regretting mind. D exaggerated tone. 题型:未知 难度:其他题型
答案
小题1:D
小题2:C
小题3:A
小题4:B
小题5:B
解析
“if noise, speed and beat, all old devices, are heat”是插入语。despite: 介词,意为:不管,不顾;the Times: 美国《时代》杂志;in the long run: 最后,终究;register 此处意为:记录。【译文】 尽管美国《时代》杂志古典乐评论家Olin Downes 立即发出批评怨言,(“如果噪音、快速的音乐节奏和节拍以及所有的旧乐器就意味着热烈,昨天晚上的演出很‘热’,却毫无意义,终究无疑是单调乏味”),Goodman 的音乐会推进了爵士乐在美国通俗乐中的地位。
■全文精译
爵士乐的流行
1935年,只有26岁的单簧管演奏者兼乐队指挥 Benny Goodman率领由14件乐器组成的“摇摆”乐队,乘坐不甚显耀的车队离开纽约,前往(head for)洛杉矶巨大的巴罗默演奏厅。这是一次艰难的跋涉(be not an easy trip)。有六、七场(half a dozen)沉闷的(dismal)夜间演出,观众寥寥无几(sparsely attend)。乐队又在丹弗的一家舞厅演出了三个星期,不得已(be forced to)演奏了华尔兹、探戈及一些新奇的乐曲。在巴罗默首场演出晚会上,乐队首先演奏了芭蕾曲,却没有得到舞友的回应。一位乐师说:要想制造爆炸性效果就制造点新花样吧!Goodman便要求(call for)乐队演奏狂热、快速的改编乐曲,其中许多曲子是这位天才的黑人乐队指挥和乐曲改编者Fletcher Henderson演奏的。年轻人们都不跳舞了,他们全欢呼着围到了演奏台周围。很清楚,在帕罗马几个星期的演出结束前,Goodman突然将爵士乐——尽管在此前10年中Jelly Roll Morton和其他人都有卓越的创作,爵士乐当时仍然没有为人们所接受、在很大程度上仍然是潜意识的美国民间音乐——变成了一种通俗音乐。
Goodman令人惊奇的方式继续着。1936年,他邀请两位黑人乐师——优雅的钢琴演奏家(the elegant pianist)和专注的(the plunging)电颤琴演奏家Lione Hampton——加盟,这极大地影响了(shake up)白人娱乐圈。(而事实上(to be sure),两位黑人乐师都没有在乐队中演奏,只是在演奏间歇时同Goodman和鼓手Gene Krupa一起露露面。)一年后,当乐队入驻纽约市派拉蒙剧院演奏三周,大群年轻人到场,他们尖叫着、狂舞着,几乎发生了混乱。那是美国第一次由于演出引发的狂热现象(show frenzy),它为后来出现的1947年的西纳特拉狂热、披头士合唱队狂热和70、80年代忘我的摇滚乐产生的狂热铺平了道路。
接着,1938年1月16日晚,Goodman率领乐队进入已卖出的卡耐基大厅,对古典音乐发起挑战。庞大的乐队演奏了十多首乐曲、两曲三重奏、五曲四重奏。尽管美国《时代》杂志古典音乐评论家Olin Downes立即提出批评(“昨天晚上的演奏,如果噪音、快速的音乐节奏和节拍以及所有的旧乐器就意味着热烈,昨天晚上的演出很“热”,却毫无意义(nothing come of it all),终究无疑是单调乏味(monotonous)”), Goodman的音乐会进一步提高了爵士乐在美国通俗乐中的影响
考点
据考高分专家说,试题“In 1935, the clarine.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念:
要做好这类阅读,平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事,掌握一定背景知识,对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解,还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章,要抓住文章的核心,即文章整体和各段主要在说什么,也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题:
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁,语言鲜活,但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多,长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容,读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉,经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花,文章看完,一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨,同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章,我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式,我们可采取“顺读法”,以便抓关键语句,领会文章主旨;而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式,我们则可以采取“逆读法”,先读试题,再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急,因为你觉得难,其他人也一定是同感。在高考前,我们就要有这种心理准备,高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过,我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读,以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干:
根据英语中五种基本句型结构,把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来,其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干,句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句:
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句,在理解时,如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解,然后把大意拼凑起来,整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句:
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成,句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词,只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系,再把各层分句的意思加以连贯,整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词:
如果一个句子看完,一点句意的感觉也没有,下下策就是抓住句中的关键词,通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。



