Section B
Some of the world’s most famous musiciansrecently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annualInternational Jazz Day. UNESCO( United Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization) recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness ofjazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying(联合) voice across cultures.
Despite the celebrations, though, in theU.S. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music hasfailed to connect with younger generations.
It’s Jason Moran’s job to help change that.As the Kennedy Center’s artistic adviser for jazz, Moran hopes to widen theaudience for jazz, make the music more accessible, and preserve its history andculture.“Jazz seems like it’s not really a part of the American appetite,”Moran tells National Public Radio’s reporter Neal Conan. “What I’m hoping toaccomplish is that mu generation and younger start to reconsider and understandthat jazz is not black and write anymore. It’s actually color, and it’sactually digital.”
Moran says one of the problems with jazz today is that theentertainment aspect of the music has been lost. “The music can’t be presentedtoday the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because theway the world works is not the same,” says Moran.
Last year, Moran worked on a project that arranged Fats Waller’smusic for a dance party, “Just to kind of put it back in the mind that Walleris dance music as much as it is concert music,” says Moran. “For me, it’s therecontextualization. In music, where does the emotion(情感) lie? Are we, as abstract as aCharlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and ourthoughts? Sometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context,” saysMoran, “So I want to continue those dialogue. Those are the things I want tofoster.”
Why did UNESCO set April 30 as International Jazz Day?
细节理解题。根据题干关键词答案定位在第一段最后一句话。UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying（联合）voice across cultures. 它的目的就是增强大家对于爵士乐的意识，提高大家对它的重视度。与C选项的关注它的价值为同义词替换。
What does theunderlined word “that” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
代词指代题。that为代词，它所指代的内容在上一段的内容。Despite the celebrations, though, in the USA. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music has failed to connect with young generations.此句话含有though作为转折。所以后面的内容重要。译文：爵士乐的听众数量在不断减少，而且出现了老龄化现象，爵士乐也没能和年轻一代产生联系。种种迹象表明，爵士乐是不被年轻一代所喜爱的。根据 以及 可知，故B项正确。
What can weinfer about Moran’s opinion on jazz?
细节理解题。根据题干关键词答案定位在“The music can’t be presented today the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because the way the world works is not the same," says Moran.译文“如今，音乐不能以1908年或者1958年的方式来呈现了。世界运行的方式在改变，音乐的表现形式也需要变化。”
Which of thefollowing can be the best title for the text?
主旨大意题。文章由国际爵士乐日为导入点，讨论了爵士乐目前所面临的问题，探讨了改变的方法，也表达了Moyan对于爵士乐的期待。所以总体来说，文章在探索爵士乐将何去何从。