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
2012-12-01
24
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? Mr. Darrell A. Jenks, director of the American Center for Educational Exchange, and also a drummer in the jazz band Window, analyses the phenomenon for us here.
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 whose culture 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. " (Ralph Ellison, Living with Music, pp 83-84).
Jazz brought together elements from Africa and Europe, fusing them into a new culture, an expression unique to the Americans.
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 learii 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 cultures 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.
We hope that many Chinese friends can bring their own unique contributions to our music, adding their own culture to our American heritage. As Ralph Ellison said of the US, "We have the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and we have jazz. "
Why do the black people imitate the dancing steps of their masters?
选项
A、To mock their masters.
B、To show their respect.
C、To learn new dance steps.
D、To fit into a new culture.
答案
A
解析
本题主要考察对文中较生僻词“burlesque”的理解,burlesque意为“(嘲弄地)模仿;(通过模仿)取笑”,所以奴隶们模仿白人舞蹈不是出于尊敬或对其文化的向往,而是嘲弄他们笨重缓慢的舞步,故答案为A。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/IRaO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
IntroductiontoEnglishSynonymsEnglishhasthelargestvocabularyandthemostsynonymsofalllanguagesintheworld.This
DemographyisthestatisticalstudyofhumanpopulationItcanbea-generalsciencethatcanbeappliedtoanykindofdynamicp
TheAmericangovernmentisdividedintothreebranches:thelegislative,theexecutiveandthejudicial.Theyarerepresentedby
Threeweeksago,astorywepublishedputusinthemiddleofacontroversy.Itwashardlythefirsttimethathashappened,but
WhenIdecidedtoquitmyfull.timeemploymentitneveroccurredtomethatImightbecomeapartofanewinternationaltrend.
社区教育是外来名词,由联合国教科文组织对社区教育的界定引入到对我国社区教育的定义。随着我国经济的发展,城市化进程的加快,大批城乡居民搬迁新居,从而产生了一个个居民小区,社区由此形成。而社区教育适应了社区居民精神生活和终身学习的需要,满足了居民的受教育的权利
LastmonthHansonTransmissionsInternational,amakerofgearboxesforwindturbines,waslistedontheLondonStockExchange.
Forme,scientificknowledgeisdividedintomathematicalsciences,naturalsciencesdealingwiththenaturalworld(physicalan
Beforeconsideringthisquestionitisinterestingtoreviewbrieflytheevolutionofthe【M1】______mindastheinstrument.The
Beforeconsideringthisquestionitisinterestingtoreviewbrieflytheevolutionofthe【M1】______mindastheinstrument.The
随机试题
秦朝的立法指导思想是()。
中共十九大批准的中央纪律检查委员会书记是()
______isoneofthemostambivalentwritersintheAmericanliteraryhistory.()
男性,40岁,明显的“三多一少”症状10年,经胰岛素治疗后症状时轻时重,有明显的低血糖症状,近2个月眼睑及下肢浮肿,乏力,腰痛,BP160/100mmHg,尿蛋白(++),颗粒管型少许,尿糖(++),应诊断为
在建筑物低压电气装置中,下列哪些场所的设备可以省去间接接触防护措施?()
并购重组委员会审核()等并购重组事项的,适用《中国证券监督管理委员会上市公司并购重组审核委员会工作规程》。
目前,我国统计部门公布的失业率是()。
甲公司持有在境外注册的乙公司70%股权,能够对乙公司的财务和经营政策实施控制。甲公司以人民币为记账本位币,乙公司以欧元为记账本位币,发生外币交易时甲公司和乙公司均采用交易日的即期汇率进行折算。(1)20×2年10月20日,甲公司以每股1.5美元的
设f(x)=求函数F(x)=f(t)dt的表达式。
Nowadays,oursocietyisbeingreshapedbyinformationtechnologies—computers,telecommunicationsnetworks,andotherdigitalsy
最新回复
(
0
)