阅读理解

　　Today, air travel is far safer than driving a car on a busy motorway. But still there is a danger that grows every year. Airliners(n.定期班机,客机)get larger and larger. Some airplanes can carry over 300 passengers. And the air itself becomes more and mere crowded. If one huge airliner struck into another in midair,600 lives could be lost.

　　From the moment an airliner takes off to the moment it lands, every movement is watched on radar screens. Air traffic controllers tell the pilot exactly when to turn, when to climb, and when to come down. The air traffic controllers around a busy airport like London Heathrow may deal with2500 planes a day. Not all of them actually land at the airport. Any plane that flies near the airport comes under the orders of the controllers there. Even a small mistake on their part could cause a terrible accident.

　　Recently such a disaster almost happened. Two large jets(n. 喷气式飞机)were flying towards the airport. One was carrying 69 passengers from Toronto, the other 176 passengers from Chicago. An air traffic controller noticed on his radar screen that the two planes were too close to each other. He ordered one to turn to the right and to climb. But he made a mistake. He ordered the wrong plane to do this. So, instead of turning away from the second plane, the first plane turned towards it. Fifteen seconds later it flew directly in front of the second plane. They avoided (vt. 避免；回避)each other by the smallest part of a second. The distance between them was less than that of a large swimming pool. This is an example of the danger that grows every, year.

(1)Which of the following is true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Travelling by air is as safe as by car.

B．Travelling by air is not as safe as by car.

C．Travelling by car is as dangerous as by air.

D．Travelling by ear is more dangerous than by air.

(2)The air traffic controllers of an airport________.

[　　]

A．control all the planes flying near the airport

B．give orders to planes leaving the airport

C．only deal with the planes that want to land there

D．are allowed to handle 250 planes a day

(3)The danger of air crashes grows every year because________.

[　　]

A．airliners are getting larger and air traffic is becoming heavier

B．a pilot does not always hear a controller' s order

C．a controller is likely to make more and more mistakes

D．airports can hardly serve the growing number of air- planes

(4)The example in the passage is to show that________.

[　　]

A．air traffic controllers are often careless

B．air traffic controllers should pay much attention to a- voiding accidents

C．it is difficult for airplanes to avoid terrible accidents

D．two planes should not fly too close to each other

Read first and then discuss the questions.

　　Where did jazz originate? What musical, social, and cultural ingredients (n. 成分, 因素) combined to form jazz? These questions, and their respective answers, are important for the student of jazz history to investigate.

　　Jazz is the only indigenous American art form and it is truly a cultural product of the United States. Western and African musical culture were the seeds of jazz, but America was the soil where jazz grew and prospered (V．成功, 兴隆, 昌盛). Jazz is neither a music of Blacks nor the music of Whites, but jazz is actually a blending of a variety of traditions, heritages, and philosophies (n. 哲学, 哲学体系) .

　　During the early history of America, slavery was a standard social practice. Slaves were forcibly brought from Africa to America. While in America, the displaced African’s (including African musicians who brought their musical traditions and talents with them) would learn from already established Western musical theories and performance practices. At the same time, Western musicians would learn African (Eastern) musical theories and performance practices from the African musicians.

　　Primitive (原始的) African culture places a great emphasis on music, much more so than Western societies. Music is an important aspect (n. 方面) of many of the day-today activities of the primitive African societies. As a primitive musical expression, early African music placed a great emphasis on rhythmic (adj. 节奏的, 合拍的) activity with a more simple use of melody (n. 悦耳的音调) and harmony (n. 协调, 融洽). African rhythms are quite complex and very advanced, yet the melodies and harmonies are simple. This strong emphasis on musical tradition and usage was brought with the African populations during their forced exile of slavery to America.

　　While in America, these new Black Americans still expressed themselves through their musical traditions. Since they were in America, their old musical traditions could not be reproduced exactly for many reasons, including not being allowed to use traditional African instruments. To understand a comparable situation, let us assume (vt. 假定, 设想) that we have a fictional American rock band who are forcibly taken to a foreign country. While in slavery, the rock musicians still desire to create their music. Unfortunately, their new “owners” give them permission to perform their rock music, but the rock band is not allowed to use any electric guitars, an electric bass, a drum set, keyboards, or any type of electronic instruments. This would cause quite a problem for the rock band, but if they have a strong enough desire to create their music, they would have to find a way to do so with the resources (instruments etc. ) that were available to them. This imaginary (adj. 假想的, 想象的) scenario (剧情概要, 或是某一特定情节) was exactly what the African musicians faced as slaves in America.

　　Along with finding new instruments, the African musicians were being exposed to the Western musical culture. This exposure was a vital essence to the evolution of jazz. These new Western melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and aural traditions affected the African musicians tremendously. Of course, White musicians were also being affected by what they head from the African musicians. As time passes, the give and take between the African and Western musical traditions would blossom into what would be called Jazz.

　　To this day, elements that started with the African slaves can still be heard in jazz and rock. One example still in use is the African “call and response” method of early African songs. In a call and response, the soloist sings a portion of a melody while the group responds afterwards (much like a musical question and answer) .

　　Another example is “pitch-bending”. During the advent of jazz, the musicians would bend pitches for expressive purposes. This bent pitch catches our ears because the ear does not know where the pitch will actually end up, thus creating a musical surprise. Countless jazz and rock musicians use this technique today. Listen to a rock lead-guitar solo and count all the pitch-bends utilized. Most of today's synthesizers even have a pitch-bend device built in.

　　The roots of jazz are from African and Western musical traditions blended together. Over a period of many years, these traditions exchanged musical qualities and slowly evolved into jazz. The African emphasis on rhythm combined with Western theoretical musical thought created a new music for all musicians and audiences to enjoy. As the jazz musical tree grew, other sub-styles of music grew from the trunk of jazz. Music styles such as Rhythm and Blues (n. 节奏和布鲁斯) Soul, Funk, Rap, and Rock and Roll are all descendants (n. 子孙, 后裔, 后代) of jazz and the jazz heritage.

Questions For Discussion:

1．Does Jazz come from Africa?

2．Does Jazz come from Blues?

阅读理解

　　Today, air travel is far safer than driving a car on a busy motorway. But still there is a danger that grows every year. Airliners(n.定期班机,客机)get larger and larger. Some airplanes can carry over 300 passengers. And the air itself becomes more and mere crowded. If one huge airliner struck into another in midair,600 lives could be lost.

　　From the moment an airliner takes off to the moment it lands, every movement is watched on radar screens. Air traffic controllers tell the pilot exactly when to turn, when to climb, and when to come down. The air traffic controllers around a busy airport like London Heathrow may deal with2500 planes a day. Not all of them actually land at the airport. Any plane that flies near the airport comes under the orders of the controllers there. Even a small mistake on their part could cause a terrible accident.

　　Recently such a disaster almost happened. Two large jets(n. 喷气式飞机)were flying towards the airport. One was carrying 69 passengers from Toronto, the other 176 passengers from Chicago. An air traffic controller noticed on his radar screen that the two planes were too close to each other. He ordered one to turn to the right and to climb. But he made a mistake. He ordered the wrong plane to do this. So, instead of turning away from the second plane, the first plane turned towards it. Fifteen seconds later it flew directly in front of the second plane. They avoided (vt. 避免；回避)each other by the smallest part of a second. The distance between them was less than that of a large swimming pool. This is an example of the danger that grows every, year.

(1)Which of the following is true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Travelling by air is as safe as by car.

B．Travelling by air is not as safe as by car.

C．Travelling by car is as dangerous as by air.

D．Travelling by ear is more dangerous than by air.

(2)The air traffic controllers of an airport________.

[　　]

A．control all the planes flying near the airport

B．give orders to planes leaving the airport

C．only deal with the planes that want to land there

D．are allowed to handle 250 planes a day

(3)The danger of air crashes grows every year because________.

[　　]

A．airliners are getting larger and air traffic is becoming heavier

B．a pilot does not always hear a controller' s order

C．a controller is likely to make more and more mistakes

D．airports can hardly serve the growing number of air- planes

(4)The example in the passage is to show that________.

[　　]

A．air traffic controllers are often careless

B．air traffic controllers should pay much attention to a- voiding accidents

C．it is difficult for airplanes to avoid terrible accidents

D．two planes should not fly too close to each other