Leisure and Private Life in England

英国的个人休闲生活

    在英国，工厂的假日都集中在七月中旬到八月中旬这段时间。英国人喜欢旅游，你知道他们一般到什么地方旅游，又是怎么去旅游的吗?

    In England，factory holidays are much concentrated in the period between mid- July and mid-August．State schools usually only have six weeks off in summer，from about mid-July to the end of August．

The coast is the most popular objective of English people for their annual holiday，but there are few new seaside hotels．Food in British hotels and restaurants is reasonably cheap, but rooms are not．Few English people rent houses or flats for their holidays，but one of the traditional ways of spending a summer holiday is in a boarding house．Some boarding-house keepers provide all meals for their guests．Others provide breakfast only．

The British may be conservative about the times at which they take their holidays，but they have shown themselves very ready to take to new places．They have always been pioneers in traveling far away, and Englishmen were among the first to climb many of the great Alpine summits．Now foreign travel is within reach of most working people，and each year more English men，women and children become familiar with some part of continental Europe．Many take their cars，often with tents，crossing the Channel by ferry；others use the travel agents’ plans for group travel. When they get home again，they talk endlessly of how they spent their leisure and private life．

Notes

leisure n．＆ adj．休闲(的)；空闲(的)

objective n．目标；目的

    conservative adj．保守的

    boarding-house n．供膳的寄宿处

    summit n．顶点；首脑

continental adj．大陆的；大陆性的

pioneer   n

．先驱者；先锋

Comprehension questions

1．State Schools in England usually have ________for summer holidays．

A．a month　　　　　　　　   B．two month

C．42 days　　　　　　　　   D．fifty days

2．The prices of food in British hotels and restaurants are reasonably ________.

    A．cheap　　　　 B．expensive　　    C．high　　    D．low

3．The British people are fond of ________．

A．traveling far away for their holidays

B．staying at home for their holidays

C．renting houses for their holidays

D．talking about their work when they get home

阅读理解

Leisure and Private Life in England

英国的个人休闲生活

    在英国，工厂的假日都集中在七月中旬到八月中旬这段时间。英国人喜欢旅游，你知道他们一般到什么地方旅游，又是怎么去旅游的吗?

    In England，factory holidays are much concentrated in the period between mid- July and mid-August．State schools usually only have six weeks off in summer，from about mid-July to the end of August．

The coast is the most popular objective of English people for their annual holiday，but there are few new seaside hotels．Food in British hotels and restaurants is reasonably cheap, but rooms are not．Few English people rent houses or flats for their holidays，but one of the traditional ways of spending a summer holiday is in a boarding house．Some boarding-house keepers provide all meals for their guests．Others provide breakfast only．

The British may be conservative about the times at which they take their holidays，but they have shown themselves very ready to take to new places．They have always been pioneers in traveling far away, and Englishmen were among the first to climb many of the great Alpine summits．Now foreign travel is within reach of most working people，and each year more English men，women and children become familiar with some part of continental Europe．Many take their cars，often with tents，crossing the Channel by ferry；others use the travel agents’ plans for group travel. When they get home again，they talk endlessly of how they spent their leisure and private life．

Notes

leisure n．＆ adj．休闲(的)；空闲(的)

objective n．目标；目的

    conservative adj．保守的

    boarding-house n．供膳的寄宿处

    summit n．顶点；首脑

continental adj．大陆的；大陆性的

pioneer   n．先驱者；先锋

Comprehension questions

1．State Schools in England usually have ________for summer holidays．

A．a month　　　　　　　　   B．two month

C．42 days　　　　　　　　   D．fifty days

2．The prices of food in British hotels and restaurants are reasonably ________.

    A．cheap　　　　 B．expensive　　    C．high　　    D．low

3．The British people are fond of ________．

A．traveling far away for their holidays

B．staying at home for their holidays

C．renting houses for their holidays

D．talking about their work when they get home

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?