英语四级阅读理解精选练习:爵士乐兴盛的代价

>>2019英语四级模拟试题：英语四级阅读理解精选练习:爵士乐兴盛的代价

>>大学英语四级经典课程

Key To Keep The Jazz Hot

It's not easy running a jazz club anywhere at anytime, much less in largely suburban New Jersey, in what are hardly the best economic times.

The audience for the music, while dedicated, is small. Jazz accounted for only 3 percent of recorded music sales in the year 2003, according to Nielsen SoundScan1, which tracks retail sales nationwide.

Being next to New York cuts both ways, say musicians, promoters and patrons. While more people are aware of and exposed to the music , a New Jersey jazz fan working in Manhattan can stay in the city and choose from over a dozen places to hear music nearly any night of the week. On the plus side, the northern half of the state can listen to WBGO- FM2 , an award-winning public radio station devoted exclusively to jazz , which frequently announces local performances. And many professional jazz musicians live in Essex, Bergen and Houston countries, ranging from respected sidemen, and studio players to better known leaders and stars.

" It is damn difficult,"said Enrico Granafei, one of Trumpets'owners. Mr. Granafei, who was born in Italy in 1952 , runs Trumpets with his wife, Massari. They took over the business in 1999, three year after another couple failed to revive it. Trumpets was founded in the late 1980's by Emily Wingert, who ran it for eight years.

David Niu and his wife , Martha Chang, own Shanghai Jazz. They took Shanghai Jazz over3 from Ms. Chang's parents, who ran it as a Chinese restaurant, until they retired in 1995.

Neither couple has children, and both share a passion for jazz. Mr. Granafei is a working jazz harmonica player, and often sits in with the musicians at Trumpets; many are his friends. Mr. Niu has an infectious4 fan's enthusiasm for the groups he presents "Wow! Was that great music or what?"He exclaimed happily before a cheering crowd on a Saturday night after a lively set by Mr. Lee's group, which featured a guest appearance by the trumpeter Jon Faddis, the former director of the Canegie Hall Jazz Band.

While both couples share the tasks of running their clubs, they know other parts of the working world as well. Ms Massari has been an Italian teacher in public school system for 14 years. Besides being a musician, Mr. Granafei worked as a" freelance interpreter"to make ends meet. Ms. Chang, a former scholar, is completing her doctorate in Chinese politics at Harvard while she runs the restaurant with her husband. Mr. Niu is a lawyer who practiced in Morristown and Manhattan before becoming a fulltime restaurateur and club owner.

While Mr. Granafei proudly calls Trumpets a club with food, not a restaurant with music, he admitted it was hard to attract people who don't really care about the music — which complicates the club's finances.

练习题：

Ⅰ. True or False:

1. It's not easy running a jazz club anywhere at anytime.

2. Both couples have children and share a passion for jazz.

3. Apart from running a jazz club, both couples have no other jobs.

Ⅱ. Complete sentences according to the Chinese meaning in the bracket:

1. Military force has (接管) the country.

2. Jazz (占) only 3 percent of record music sales in the year 2003.

3. He has a(n) (有感染力的) fan's enthusiasm for the groups he presents.

答案：

Ⅰ. 1. T 2. F 3 . F

Ⅱ. 1. taken over 2. accounted for 3. infectious

参考译文：

爵士乐兴盛的代价

无论在何时何地, 经营爵士乐俱乐部都不容易, 在多为郊区的新泽西州更不容易, 而且, 时下经济也实在说不上好。

观众很热忱, 却很少。据全国音乐产品跟踪系统( N ielsen SoundScan ) 的数据表明,2003 年爵士乐售出数仅占音乐产品的3% 。

音乐家们说, 情况跟纽约差不多, 经营者和顾客都在减少。懂音乐和接触音乐的人更多了, 在曼哈顿工作的新泽西爵士乐迷想听音乐的话, 一周中任何一天在城里就有十多家可供选择。另外, 新泽西州的北部地区可以收听WBGO -FM。这是一个专门的爵士乐公共电台, 获过奖, 经常预告当地的演出节目。许多职业爵士音乐人, 从有名的伴奏队员和录音师到名气更大的领军人物和明星, 都住在艾塞克斯、卑尔根、休斯敦的乡间。

“ 太困难了。”艾锐克· 格拉纳夫说。他是一个爵士乐队的老板之一。格拉纳夫先生1952 年出生在意大利, 和他的妻子玛萨丽经营乐队。1999 年, 他们在另一对夫妻经营失败三年之后, 接管了这桩生意。这个乐队80 年代后期由艾米丽· 温格特创建, 并经营了8 年。“ 上海爵士乐”归大卫· 刘和他的妻子玛莎· 张所有。他们从张的父母那里接过了这家店面( 张的父母开的是餐馆, 一直经营到1995 年他们退休) 。

这两对夫妇都没有孩子, 都酷爱爵士乐。格拉纳夫是和声乐手, 经常坐在乐队中间, 其中好些是他的朋友。刘对自己乐队的热情极富感染力。周六晚上听完李先生乐队的现场表演后, 他对着一大群人, 开心地大喊,“ 噢, 那不是伟大的音乐, 又是什么? ”李先生的乐队由于小号手琼· 伐迪斯———前肯尼基音乐厅爵士乐队指挥的友情出演而别具特色。

但是, 两对夫妇都是业余经营俱乐部, 他们还有别的工作领域。玛萨丽在公立学校做了14 年老师。除了做音乐外, 格拉纳菲还做“ 自由翻译”以维持生计。张原本是个学者。她和丈夫经营餐馆的时候, 正在哈佛大学攻读中国政治的博士。在全职经营餐馆和俱乐部之前, 刘在莫里森镇和曼哈顿做律师。

尽管格拉纳菲自豪地称自己的乐队是提供食物的爵士乐俱乐部, 而不是带音乐的餐馆, 但他承认俱乐部很难吸引那部分不怎么真正在乎音乐的顾客, 这给俱乐部的经济带来困难。

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