Ragtime is a musical form that synthesizes folk melodies and musical techniques into a brief quadrille-like structure, designed to be played—exactly as written — on the piano. A strong analogy exists between European composers like Ralph Vaughan Williams, Edvard Grieg, and Anton Dvorak who combined folk tunes and their own original materials in larger compositions and the pioneer ragtime composers in the United States. Composers like Scott Joplin and lames Scott were in a sense collectors or musicologists, collecting dance and folk music in Black communities and consciously shaping it into brief suites or anthologies called piano rags.
It has sometimes been charged that ragtime is mechanical. For instance, Wilfred Mellers comments, “rags were transferred to the pianola roll and, even if not played by a machine, should be played like a machine, with meticulous precision.” However, there is no reason to assume that ragtime is inherently mechanical simply because commercial manufacturers applied a mechanical recording method to ragtime, the only way to record pianos at that date. Ragtime’s is not a mechanical precision, and it is not precision limited to the style of performance. It arises from ragtime’s following a well-defined form and obeying simple rules within that form.
The classic formula for the piano rag disposes three to five themes in sixteenth-bar strains, often organized with repeats. The rag opens with a bright, memorable strain or theme, followed by a similar theme, leading to a trio of marked lyrical character, with the structure concluded by a lyrical strain that parallels the rhythmic developments of the earlier themes. The aim of the structure is to rise from one theme to another in a stair-step manner, ending on a note of triumph or exhilaration.
Typically, each strain is divided into two 8-bar segments that are essentially alike, so the rhythmic-melodic unit of ragtime is only eight bars of 2/4 measure. Therefore, themes must be brief with clear, sharp melodic figures. Not concerned with development of musical themes, the ragtime composer instead sets a theme down intact, in finished form, and links it to various related themes. Tension in ragtime compositions arises from a polarity between two basic ingredients: a continuous bass ― called by jazz musicians a boom-chick bass—in the pianist’s left hand, and its melodic, syncopated counterpart in the right hand.
Ragtime remains distinct from jazz both as an instrumental style and as a genre. Ragtime style stresses a pattern of repeated rhythms, not the constant inventions and variations of jazz. As a genre, ragtime requires strict attention to structure, not inventiveness or virtuosity. It exists as a tradition, a set of conventions, a body of written scores, separate from the individual players associated with it. In this sense ragtime is more akin to folk music of the nineteenth century than to jazz.
1.According to the passage, each of the following is a characteristic of ragtime compositions that follow the classic ragtime formula EXCEPT（ ）.
2.The author rejects the argument that ragtime is a mechanical music because that argument （ ）.
3.It can be inferred from the passage that the essential nature of ragtime has been obscured by commentaries based on （ ）.
4.Which of the following is most nearly analogous in source and artistic character to a ragtime composition as described in the passage?
问题1选项
A.syncopation
B.a bass line distinct from the melodic line
C.rising rhythmic-melodic intensity
D.full development of musical themes
问题2选项
A.improperly identifies commercial ragtime music with the subtler classic ragtime style.
B.does not accurately describe the sound of ragtime pianola music.
C.confuses the means of recording and the essential character of the music.
D.exaggerates the influence of the performance style of professional ragtime players on the reputation of the genre.
问题3选项
A.the way ragtime music was first recorded
B.the musical sources used by Scott Joplin and James Scott
C.the dance fashions that were contemporary ragtime
D.early reviewers’ accounts of characteristic structure
问题4选项
A.Symphonic music derived from complex jazz motifs.
B.An experimental novel based on well-known cartoon characters.
C.A dramatic production in which actors invent scenes and improvise lines.
D.A ballet whose disciplined choreography is based on folk-dance steps.
第1题:
【选项释义】
According to the passage, each of the following is a characteristic of ragtime compositions that follow the classic ragtime formula EXCEPT（ ）. 根据这篇文章，除了（ ），以下每一项都是拉格泰姆作品的一个特征，它们遵循了经典的拉格泰姆公式。
A. syncopation A. 切分音
B. a bass line distinct from the melodic line B. 与主旋律线不同的低音线
C. rising rhythmic-melodic intensity C. 节奏-旋律强度的上升
D. full development of musical themes D. 音乐主题的全面发展
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据选项关键词musical themes定位文章第四段第三句Not concerned with development of musical themes, the ragtime composer instead sets a theme down intact, in finished form, and links it to various related themes.（拉格泰姆作曲家不关心音乐主题的发展，而是把一个主题完整地写下来，并把它与各种相关的主题联系起来），可知D选项“音乐主题的全面发展”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、C选项在文中第四段有所体现，均属于拉格泰姆作品的特征，属于反向干扰。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The author rejects the argument that ragtime is a mechanical music because that argument（ ）. 作者反对拉格泰姆音乐是机械的观点，因为这种观点（ ）。
A. improperly identifies commercial ragtime music with the subtler classic ragtime style A. 不恰当地将商业拉格泰姆音乐与更微妙的经典拉格泰姆风格区分开来
B. does not accurately describe the sound of ragtime pianola music B. 不能准确地描述拉格泰姆钢琴音乐的声音
C. confuses the means of recording and the essential character of the music C. 混淆了录音的方式和音乐的本质特征
D. exaggerates the influence of the performance style of professional ragtime players on the reputation of the genre D. 夸大了职业拉格泰姆乐手的演奏风格对该流派声誉的影响
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词ragtime is a mechanical music定位文章第二段全文It has sometimes been charged that ragtime is mechanical. For instance, Wilfred Mellers comments, “rags were transferred to the pianola roll and, even if not played by a machine, should be played like a machine, with meticulous precision.” However, there is no reason to assume that ragtime is inherently mechanical simply because commercial manufacturers applied a mechanical recording method to ragtime, the only way to record pianos at that date. Ragtime’s is not a mechanical precision, and it is not precision limited to the style of performance. It arises from ragtime’s following a well-defined form and obeying simple rules within that form.（有时有人指责拉格泰姆音乐是机械的。例如，威尔弗雷德·梅勒斯评论说，“破布被转移到自动钢琴卷上，即使不是由机器演奏，也应该像机器一样演奏，一丝不苟。”然而，没有理由仅仅因为商业制造商将机械记录方法应用于拉格泰姆，就认为拉格泰姆本质上是机械的，这是当时唯一记录钢琴的方法。拉格泰姆不是机械的精确，也不局限于演奏风格的精确。它起源于拉格泰姆遵循一个明确的形式，并在这种形式中遵守简单的规则），可以推断出C选项“混淆了录音的方式和音乐的本质特征”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、D选项均未在文中体现，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
It can be inferred from the passage that the essential nature of ragtime has been obscured by commentaries based on（ ）. 从文章中可以推断，拉格泰姆的本质已经被基于（ ）基础上的评论所掩盖。
A. the way ragtime music was first recorded A. 拉格泰姆音乐最初被录制的方式
B. the musical sources used by Scott Joplin and James Scott B. 斯科特·乔普林和詹姆斯·斯科特使用的音乐来源
C. the dance fashions that were contemporary ragtime C. 当代拉格泰姆舞曲的舞蹈风格
D. early reviewers’ accounts of characteristic structure D. 早期评论者对特征结构的描述
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】文章中第二段提到However, there is no reason to assume that ragtime is inherently mechanical simply because commercial manufacturers applied a mechanical recording method to ragtime, the only way to record pianos at that date.（然而，没有理由仅仅因为商业制造商将机械记录方法应用于拉格泰姆，就认为拉格泰姆本质上是机械的，这是当时唯一记录钢琴的方法），由此推断出拉格泰姆音乐的本质被评论是机械的，其依据是建立在机械记录方法的基础上，因此A选项“拉格泰姆音乐最初被录制的方式”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B、C、D选项均未在文中体现，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following is most nearly analogous in source and artistic character to a ragtime composition as described in the passage? 下列哪一项在来源和艺术特征上与文中描述的拉格泰姆音乐最为相似？
A. Symphonic music derived from complex jazz motifs. A. 从复杂的爵士主题中衍生出来的交响乐。
B. An experimental novel based on well-known cartoon characters. B. 一部以著名卡通人物为原型的实验性小说。
C. A dramatic production in which actors invent scenes and improvise lines. C. 演员们创造场景并即兴创作台词的一种戏剧作品。
D. A ballet whose disciplined choreography is based on folk-dance steps. D. 以民间舞蹈为基础的有纪律的舞台编排的芭蕾舞。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】文章第三段最后一句提到了拉格泰姆音乐的特征，The aim of the structure is to rise from one theme to another in a stair-step manner, ending on a note of triumph or exhilaration.（这种结构的目的是以阶梯的方式从一个主题上升到另一个主题，以胜利或兴奋的音符结束），结合文章尾句In this sense ragtime is more akin to folk music of the nineteenth century than to jazz.（从这个意义上说，拉格泰姆更像19世纪的民间音乐，而不是爵士乐），由此推断出“以民间舞蹈为基础的有纪律的舞台编排的芭蕾舞”与其在来源和艺术特征上相似，因此D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、C选项均与拉格泰姆音乐的来源和艺术特征不相似，属于曲解原文。
