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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
2011-02-11
40
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 troth. 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 dements 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.
To say that jazz captures the essence of America is for all the following reasons EXCEPT that
选项
A、it expresses the African roots of American culture.
B、in jazz all characteristics of the essence of America come together.
C、individual brilliance outshines the group efforts of the rhythm section.
D、it shows the African culture dominated much of what is American.
答案
C
解析
原文第3段第3句中的can’t take place without表明个人才气的展现得依赖整个乐队的节奏伴奏,C中的outshines一词与原文不符,故选C。
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