首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Considering how jazz is transcribed in Chinese (jueshi), you may be misled into assuming that it is an aristocratic cultural for
Considering how jazz is transcribed in Chinese (jueshi), you may be misled into assuming that it is an aristocratic cultural for
admin
2013-08-05
20
问题
Considering how jazz is transcribed in Chinese (jueshi), you may be misled into assuming that it is an aristocratic cultural form. Nothing could be further from the truth. It originated among black Americans at the end of the 19th century, at a time when they occupied the very bottom of the American social heap.
So how has something that was created by a once downtrodden and despised minority acquired a central place in today’s American culture? Perhaps the essence of America is that you could never get two Americans to agree on just what that might be. After thinking about it for a while, we might chuckle and say, "Hmm, seems like being American is a bit more complicated than we thought." Certainly things like individualism, success (the "American Dream"), innovation and tolerance stand out. But these things come together because of our ability to work with one another and find common purpose no matter how diverse we might be.
Some, like African-American writer Ralph Ellison, believe that jazz captures the essence of America. For good reason, for in jazz all of the characteristics I mentioned above come together. The solos are a celebration of individual brilliance that can’t take place without the group efforts of the rhythm section. Beyond that, though, jazz has a connection to the essence of America in a much more fundamental way. It is an expression of the African roots of American culture, a musical medium that exemplifies the culture of the Africans that came to dominate much of what is American.
That’s right, in many respects America’s roots are in Africa Read Ralph Ellison’s perceptive description of the transformation of separate African and European cultures at the hands of the slaves:
"... the dancing of those slaves who, looking through the windows of a plantation manor house from the yard, imitated the steps so gravely performed by the masters within and then added to them their own special flair, burlesquing the white folks and then going on to force the steps into a choreography uniquely their own. The whites, looking out at the activity in the yard, thought that they were being flattered by imitation and were amused by the incongruity of tattered blacks dancing courtly steps, while missing completely the fact that before their eyes a European cultural form was becoming Americanized, undergoing a metamorphosis through the mocking activity of a people partially sprung from Africa." Jazz brought together elements from Africa and Europe, fusing them into a new culture, an expression unique to the Americas.
Out of this fusion came an idea that we Americans believe central to our identity: tolerance. Both cultures represented in Ellison’s passage eventually came to realize each other’s value. Americans acknowledge that in diversity is our strength. We learn every day that other cultures and peoples may make valuable contributions to our way of life. Jazz music is the embodiment of this ideal, combining elements from African and European culture into a distinctly American music.
Jazz reflects two contradictory facets of American life. On the one hand it is a team effort, where every musician is completely immersed in what the group does together, listening to each of the other players and building on their contributions to create a musical whole. On the other hand, the band features a soloist who is an individual at the extreme, a genius like Charlie Parker who explores musical territory where no one has ever gone before. In the same sense, American life is also a combination of teamwork and individualism, a combination of individual brilliance with the ability to work with others.
According to the passage, Jazz is
选项
A、actually an aristocratic cultural form.
B、a cultural form peculiar to the upper class.
C、a cultural form despised by the Americans.
D、a cultural form originated in America.
答案
D
解析
第1段最后一句表明爵士乐源于美国黑人,D指出爵士乐起源于美国,意思符合原文该句内容,故选D。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/Gp4O777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Optimismcanhelpyoutobehappier,healthierandmoresuccessful.Pessimismleads,bycontrast,tohopelessness,sicknessand
______istheAmericanpresidentduringTheGreatDepressionwhoproposedNewDeal.
Oncefound"almostentirelyinthewesternUnitedStatesandinAsia,dinosaurfossilsarenowbeingdiscoveredonallsevencon
Oncefound"almostentirelyinthewesternUnitedStatesandinAsia,dinosaurfossilsarenowbeingdiscoveredonallsevencon
WiththerapiddevelopmentofChina’seconomy,manypeoplehaveboughtOrareplanningtobuycars.Somepeoplebelievethatpri
Ifyouwanttoseewhatittakestosetupanentirelynewfinancialcenter(andwhatisbestavoided),headforDubai.Thistin
TheCulturalRevivalintheByzantineEmpireBetweentheeighthandeleventhcenturiesA.D.,theByzantineEmpirestageda
OncefoundalmostentirelyinthewesternUnitedStatesandinAsia,dinosaurfossilsarenowbeingdiscoveredonallsevencont
随机试题
小儿食指络脉色深暗滞多见于
左心室及外周血管超声造影时,因造影剂必须通过毛细血管网,所有造影剂气泡直径必须小于
不是药物固体分散体常用的验证方法是
关于妊娠、分娩对心脏病的影响,下列错误的是
在履行建设工程设计合同过程中,双方发生争议,以下解决方式中不正确的是()
环境保护验收调查中,一般来说,对于交通运输问题,应给予严重关注的是( )。
下列选项中,不属于2013年深化经济体制改革重点工作中的财税体制改革的是()。
某俱乐部男、女会员的人数比是3:2,分为甲、乙、丙三组。已知甲、乙、丙三组的人数比是10:8:7.甲组中男、女会员的人数之比是3:1,乙组中男、女会员的人数之比是5:3。求丙组中男、女会员的人数之比?
函数f(x)=展开成的x-1的幂级数为__________.
Thegovernmentisnolongerpossibleto______allinformationandstifleeverycriticismintheInternetage.
最新回复
(
0
)