英語四級閱讀練習(xí)附答案-108 爵士樂興盛的代價

　　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.

　　練習(xí)題：

　?、? 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.

　?、? 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：

　?、? 1. T 2. F 3 . F

　?、? 1. taken over 2. accounted for 3. infectious

　　參考譯文：

　　爵士樂興盛的代價

　　無論在何時何地, 經(jīng)營爵士樂俱樂部都不容易, 在多為郊區(qū)的新澤西州更不容易, 而且, 時下經(jīng)濟也實在說不上好。

　　觀眾很熱忱, 卻很少。據(jù)全國音樂產(chǎn)品跟蹤系統(tǒng)( N ielsen SoundScan ) 的數(shù)據(jù)表明,2003 年爵士樂售出數(shù)僅占音樂產(chǎn)品的3% 。

　　音樂家們說, 情況跟紐約差不多, 經(jīng)營者和顧客都在減少。懂音樂和接觸音樂的人更多了, 在曼哈頓工作的新澤西爵士樂迷想聽音樂的話, 一周中任何一天在城里就有十多家可供選擇。另外, 新澤西州的北部地區(qū)可以收聽WBGO -FM。這是一個專門的爵士樂公共電臺, 獲過獎, 經(jīng)常預(yù)告當(dāng)?shù)氐难莩龉?jié)目。許多職業(yè)爵士音樂人, 從有名的伴奏隊員和錄音師到名氣更大的領(lǐng)軍人物和明星, 都住在艾塞克斯、卑爾根、休斯敦的鄉(xiāng)間。

　　“ 太困難了。”艾銳克· 格拉納夫說。他是一個爵士樂隊的老板之一。格拉納夫先生1952 年出生在意大利, 和他的妻子瑪薩麗經(jīng)營樂隊。1999 年, 他們在另一對夫妻經(jīng)營失敗三年之后, 接管了這樁生意。這個樂隊80 年代后期由艾米麗· 溫格特創(chuàng)建, 并經(jīng)營了8 年。“ 上海爵士樂”歸大衛(wèi)· 劉和他的妻子瑪莎· 張所有。他們從張的父母那里接過了這家店面( 張的父母開的是餐館, 一直經(jīng)營到1995 年他們退休) 。

　　這兩對夫婦都沒有孩子, 都酷愛爵士樂。格拉納夫是和聲樂手, 經(jīng)常坐在樂隊中間, 其中好些是他的朋友。劉對自己樂隊的熱情極富感染力。周六晚上聽完李先生樂隊的現(xiàn)場表演后, 他對著一大群人, 開心地大喊,“ 噢, 那不是偉大的音樂, 又是什么? ”李先生的樂隊由于小號手瓊· 伐迪斯———前肯尼基音樂廳爵士樂隊指揮的友情出演而別具特色。

　　但是, 兩對夫婦都是業(yè)余經(jīng)營俱樂部, 他們還有別的工作領(lǐng)域。瑪薩麗在公立學(xué)校做了14 年老師。除了做音樂外, 格拉納菲還做“ 自由翻譯”以維持生計。張原本是個學(xué)者。她和丈夫經(jīng)營餐館的時候, 正在哈佛大學(xué)攻讀中國政治的博士。在全職經(jīng)營餐館和俱樂部之前, 劉在莫里森鎮(zhèn)和曼哈頓做律師。

　　盡管格拉納菲自豪地稱自己的樂隊是提供食物的爵士樂俱樂部, 而不是帶音樂的餐館, 但他承認俱樂部很難吸引那部分不怎么真正在乎音樂的顧客, 這給俱樂部的經(jīng)濟帶來困難。