In contrast to rock musicians, jazz players prefer to spend their time with their music and tend to measure success by that single standard, as a trombonist once put it: “A jazz musician would rather play a good concert for three people than a bad one for three thousand.” All the same, with their fellow players, jazzmen are collegiate and gregarious, exchange musical ideas in a spirit of mutual support or friendly competition, uniting in a collaborative effort to raise the level of their art. Even the greatest individuals have benefited from the talents of others.
In this legendary band, Duke Ellington provided star soloists with the ideal framework for their abilities. At the same time, they inspired him with the rich material of their personal idioms and phrases, which found their way into his compositions. In fact, Ellington was so adept at recycling what he heard that one of them described him as " not a composer but a compiler".
Ellington's creative gifts were genuine and vast, but for much of his life he did receive crucial assistance not only from the involvement of his band, but from an actual day-in, day-out collaborator. In 1938 he met Billy Strayhorn, a young pianist-composer who was immediately brought into the ducal fold. Strayhorn became Ellington's altered ego, contributing scores to the band but functioning even more importantly as a silent partner, completing pieces Ellington left unfinished, reworking others and acting as all-purpose composer — sometimes credited, more often not.
Ellington provided Strayhorn with financial security, artistic respect and the creative medium of the Ellington band. Throughout their partnership—which lasted until Strayhorn's death in 1967—they never had a contract. Ellington simply paid all creative equal and friends, describing him as "my favorite human being", Strayhorn, a homosexual bon vivant, brilliant but self-effacing, let Ellington take both the glory and the strain of stardom, while he relieved some of the artistic pressure with a talent comparable to the leader's own.
Though occasionally there was discord over the matter of official composer credit in their joint works, Ellington always publicly acknowledged his colleague's contributions, and the many Strayhorn originals in Ellington's book speak for themselves, including the band's famous theme and greatest hit, "Take the Train". Thought the young man was adept at imitating the ducal style, his own unique voice, full of subtle impressionist colors, influenced a generation of later jazz composers.
1.According to the article, jazzmen（）
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE about Duke Ellington?
3.Of the Strayhorn/Ellington relationship,the author believes（）
4.The author feels jazz musicians（）
5.It is indicated that Billy Strayhorn （）
6.The title for this passage would be （）
7. What is the possible meaning of the underlined word "hit" in the last paragraph?
问题1选项
A.compete fiercely with each other
B.are not sociable when they are with their fellow players
C.refuse to exchange ideas about music with their fellow players
D.collaborate a lot with their fellow players to improve the level of their art
问题2选项
A.He refused to collaborate with but a few talented musicians.
B.He had little natural talent but rather used other's genius for his own purposes.
C.He entered into a collaborative relationship with Billy Strayhorn that suited both men.
D.He often utilized material from lesser known musicians without proper acknowledgement.
问题3选项
A.both men were ultimately dissatisfied with their working arrangement
B.Strayhorn was respected and well compensated for his contributions to the band
C.Strayhorn provided the bulk of the creative talent while Ellington received the public recognition for their effort
D.while their professional relationship was productive, their personalities often clashed, putting a strain on their relationship
问题4选项
A.strive for commercial success over musical accomplishment
B.differ from rock musicians in their ability to raise the level of their music
C.are traditionally soloists who gain little from cooperative collaboration
D.gain much through mutual collaboration, although often individualists
问题5选项
A.wrote many famous songs and often attributed to Duke Ellington
B.ended his work with Duke Ellington amid tension and frustration
C.struggled financially as he never received proper credit for his work
D.was basically known for integrating different jazz themes into a larger compilation
问题6选项
A.Jazzmen Strayhorn and Ellington Walk Alone
B.A Classic Collaborative Effort during Jazz's Finest Hour
C.Strayhorn and Ellington: an Unequal and Frustration Collaboration
D.Jazz Is Never Played in Group: Ellington and Strayhorn Tell the World
问题7选项
A.A successful play
B.Striking vigorously
C.A song that was welcomed by the public
D.A headline printed prominently to draw the public attention
第1题:D
第2题:C
第3题:B
第4题:D
第5题:B
第6题:B
第7题:C
第1题:
细节推理题。根据题干关键词jazzmen定位到第一段的第二句“with their fellow players,...raise the level of their art.”爵士乐手与其他乐手合二为一，彼此交流音乐思想，互相支持，互相竞争，团结协作，共同提高自己的艺术水平。选项D符合原文。
第2题:
细节判断题。选项A在文中没有提及；根据第三段的第一句“Ellington's creative gifts were genuine and vast.”Ellington的创造天赋是真实而且巨大的，可知选项B错误；根据第三段的“Strayhorn became Ellington's altered ego.”可知Ellington和Strayhorn建立了良好的合作关系，选项C正确；选项D他经常在没有得到适当允许的情况下利用一些不知名音乐家的材料，与原文描述的他总是受到别人的启发，从而找到了自己作品的方向不符，所以选项D错误。
第3题:
细节推断题。根据原文第三四段的内容可知，两个人一直保持着良好的合作关系，所以选项A错误；根据第四段的第一句“Ellington provided Strayhorn with financial security, artistic respect and the creative medium of the Ellington band.”可知选项B符合原文；选项C与原文描述不符，选项D曲解了最后一段的第一句的原意。
第4题:
细节推断题。根据第一段的最后一句“Even the greatest individuals have benefited from the talents of others.”即便是最伟大的个人也能从别人身上受到启发。选项D符合原文。
第5题:
细节推断题。根据第四段的最后一句“let Ellington take both the glory and the strain of stardom, while he relieved some of the artistic pressure with a talent comparable to the leader's own.”选项B符合原文。
第6题:
主旨题。文章首段讲了爵士乐手的特性，提出一个主要观点：即使是最伟大的个人也能从他人的才能中获益。接下来便用Ellington和Strayhorn的经典例子论证了这一观点。选项B更符合全文主旨。
第7题:
语义题。根据原文意思，包括乐队的著名主题和最成功的 "Take the Train"。由此推断，hit应该指他们的作品，而且是著名和成功的作品，肯定受到了大众的喜爱，所以选项C正确。
