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考研英语阅读理解模拟试题及解析
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三
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Proponents of different jazz styles
have always argued that
their
predecessor''s musical style did not include
essential
characteristics that define
jazz as jazz. Thus, 1940''s swing was
belittled by beboppers of the 1950''s
who were themselves
attacked by free
jazzes of the 1960''s. The neoboppers of the
1980''s and 1990''s attacked almost
everybody else. The titanic
figure of
Black saxophonist John Coltrane has complicated
the
arguments made by proponents of
styles from bebop through
neobop
because in his own musical journey he drew from
all
those styles. His influence on all
types of jazz was
immeasurable. At the
height of his popularity, Coltrane largely
abandoned playing bebop, the style that
had brought him
fame, to explore the
outer reaches of jazz.
Coltrane himself probably believed that
the only
essential characteristic of
jazz was improvisation, the one
constant in his journey from bebop to
open-ended
improvisations on modal,
Indian, and African melodies. On the
other hand, this dogged student and
prodigious technician -
who insisted on
spending hours each day practicing scales
from theory books - was never able to
jettison completely the
influence of
bebop, with its fast and elaborate chains of notes
and ornaments on melody.
Two stylistic
characteristics shaped the way Coltrane
played the tenor saxophone: he favored
playing fast runs of
notes built on a
melody and depended on heavy, regularly
accented beats. The first led Coltrane
to sheets of sound
where he raced faster
and faster, pile-driving notes into each
other to suggest stacked harmonies. The
second meant that his
sense of rhythm
was almost as close to rock as to bebop.
Three
recordings illustrate Coltrane''s energizing
explorations. Recording Kind of Blue
with Miles Davis, Coltrane
found
himself outside bop, exploring modal melodies.
Here he
played surging, lengthy solos
built largely around repeated
motifs -
an organizing principle unlike that of free jazz
saxophone player Ornette Coleman, who
modulated or altered
melodies in his
solos. On Giant Steps, Coltrane debuted as
leader, introducing his own
compositions. Here the sheets of
sound,
downbeat accents, repetitions, and great speed are
part
of each solo, and the variety of
the shapes of his phrases is
unique.
Coltrane''s searching explorations produced solid
achievement. My Favorite Things was
another kind of
watershed. Here
Coltrane played the soprano saxophone, an
instrument seldom used by jazz
musicians. Musically, the
results were
astounding. With the soprano''s piping sound,
ideas that had sounded dark and
brooding acquired a feeling
of giddy
fantasy.
When
Coltrane began recording for the
Impulse
！
Label,
he was still searching. His music became raucous,
physical. His influence on rockers was
enormous, including Jimi
Hendrix, the
rock guitarist, who, following Coltrane, raised
the
extended guitar solo using repeated
motifs to a kind of rock art
form.
The primary
purpose of the text is to
[A] discuss the place of Coltrane in
the world of jazz
and describe his
musical explorations.
[B] examine the nature of bebop and
contrast it with
improvisational jazz.
[C] analyze the
musical sources of Coltrane''s style and
their influence on his work.
[D] acknowledge
the influence of Coltrane''s music on
rock music and rock musicians.
Which of the
following best describes the organization
of the fourth
paragraph
？
[A] A thesis referred to
earlier in the text is mentioned
and
illustrated with three specific examples.
[B] A thesis is
stated and three examples are given
each suggesting that a correction needs
to be made to a thesis
referred to
earlier in the text.
[C] A thesis referred to earlier in the
text is mentioned,
and three examples
are presented and ranked in order of their
support of the thesis.
[D] A thesis is stated,
three seemingly opposing
examples are
presented, and their underlying correspondence
is explained.
According to the text, John Coltrane
did all of the
following during his
career EXCEPT
[A] improvise on melodies from a number
of different
cultures.
[B] perform as leader as
well as soloist.
[C] spend time improving his technical
skills.
[D]
eliminate the influence of bebop on his own music.
According to
the text a major difference between
Coltrane and other jazz musicians was
the
[A] degree
to which Coltrane''s music encompassed all
of jazz.
[B] repetition of motifs that Coltrane
used in his solos.
[C] number of his own compositions that
Coltrane
recorded.
[D] indifference Coltrane
maintained to musical
technique.
In terms of its
tone and form, the text can best be
characterized as
[A] dogmatic explanation.
[B] indignant
denial.
[C]
enthusiastic praise.
[D] speculative study.
[
答案与考点解析
]
「答案」
A
「考点解析」本题是一道中心主旨题。第一段的倒数第一、<
/p>
二句是全文的中心主旨句，全文就是根据这两句话展开论述的。抓住
这两句话就可以找出本题的正确选项
A.
考生在解题时，
尤其是破解中
心主旨题时，一定要先找出全文的中心主旨句。
「答案」
C
「考点解析」
这是一道例（举）证与细节理解题。第四段第
一句明确指出
三张唱片为科尔特兰尼富有活力的探索提供了证明
。
这说明第四段将讲述三个例子用来说明在前一段即第三段所提出的论
点。另外这三个例子是按着先后顺序给出的，因此本题的正确选项是