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
2012-04-23
33
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 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 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. "
What does the first sentence of Paragraph 3 imply?
选项
A、Americans could hardly agree with each other.
B、It’s hard to define what is the essence of America.
C、Never have two Americans agree on what is the essence of America.
D、The essence of America might be the diversity of ideas.
答案
B
解析
此题关键在于对句子中代词that的理解“Perhaps the essence of America is that you could never get two Americans to agree on just what that might be.”第一个that引导一句宾语从句,较易理解。第二个that指代句子主语the essence of America,所以该句的主要含义是“恐怕你找不到两个美国人对美国的精髓有着相同的看法”,故答案为B,其余选项对原文理解都有歪曲。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/nBjYFFFM
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Butingeneral,theUnitedStateswasfoundeduponEuropean,andespeciallyBritish,precedents.Culturallyspeaking,Americami
InApril1995,ayoungChinesechemistrystudentatBeijingUniversitylaydyinginaBeijinghospital.Shewasinacoma,anda
InApril1995,ayoungChinesechemistrystudentatBeijingUniversitylaydyinginaBeijinghospital.Shewasinacoma,anda
InApril1995,ayoungChinesechemistrystudentatBeijingUniversitylaydyinginaBeijinghospital.Shewasinacoma,anda
Tilequestionofwhetherwarisinevitableisonewhichhasconcernedmanyoftheworld’sgreatwriters.Beforeconsideringthis
Tilequestionofwhetherwarisinevitableisonewhichhasconcernedmanyoftheworld’sgreatwriters.Beforeconsideringthis
InApril1995,ayoungChinesechemistrystudentatBeijingUniversitylaydyinginaBeijinghospital.Shewasinacoma,anda
InApril1995,ayoungChinesechemistrystudentatBeijingUniversitylaydyinginaBeijinghospital.Shewasinacoma,anda
ThenecessaryurbandevelopmentofourcitiesmustbecompatiblewiththeconservationoftheCulturalandHistoricalPatrimony.
随机试题
A.支气管扩张B.支气管哮喘C.心源性哮喘D.慢性支气管炎E.肺炎球菌肺炎患侧呼吸运动减弱,叩诊浊音,可闻及支气管呼吸音者,见于
背景北方某石油化工公司投资建设一蜡油深加工工程,经招标,由A施工单位总承包。该工程的主要工程内容包括两台大型加氢裂化反应器的安装,高压油气工艺管道安装、分体到货的压缩机组安装调试等静、动设备安装工程、管道安装工程以及土建工程、电气工程、自动化仪表
A公司销售给B公司一批库存商品,款项尚未收到,应收账款为含税价款1200万元,到期时B公司无法按合同规定偿还债务,2013年1月1日,经双方协商,A公司同意豁免B公司200万元债务,同时B公司以一项固定资产(房产)和一项投资性房地产抵偿部分债务。B公司的固
集装箱货物的16种交接方式中哪些属于多式联运?
关于维修加固教学楼及办公楼的请示报告市政府:前不久发生的地震,对我校的教学楼及办公楼造成了严重破坏,多间教室和办公室出现了不同程度的墙体开裂、变形等情况,严重威胁学生和老师的生命安全。根据市政府召开的抗震减灾扩大会议精神,我校已暂时将教学工作转
现存讲说水浒故事的最早话本是宋末元初的《_______》。
设A,B为n阶矩阵,则下列结论正确的是().
Dieting,accordingtoanoldjoke,maynotactuallymakeyoulivelonger,butitsurefeelsthatway.Nevertheless,evidencehas
Manyyearsagowhenthesummersseemedlongerandlifewaslesscomplicated,wehadrentedacottage【C1】______ariverinthehea
Theweatheronthatdaywaswindy.Thewriterhadlunchathisownhome.
最新回复
(
0
)