Module 4 　 Music Born in AmericaModule 4 　 Music Born in America

Section Introduction & Reading — Pre readingⅠ Section Introduction & Reading — Pre readingⅠ

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1 ． Do you know the origin of hip hop music?

2 ． How many historical eras does hip hop music have?

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Hip hop music or rap music is an admiring and famous

style or genre of music in the USA. This well known music

genre is made up of two components, rapping and record

scratching. Rapping is also known as MC ing and DJ ing,

which comprises of audio mixing. These two main

components combined with graffiti and breakdancing form

the four core elements of hip hop.

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Hip hop was initiated as a cultural movement by inner city

youth, mostly Latinos, Hispanics, and African Americans in New

York City, in the early seventies. The word “rap” was derived in

the sixties, from a slang word that meant conversation.

Hip hop has two main historical eras, the old school hip hop

era from 1970 — 1985 and the golden age hip hop era from 1985

—1993. The golden age of hip hop began only when it entered

the mainstream of music and it consolidated the sounds of the

West Coast and the East Coast.

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The origin of hip hop music is from African American and

West African music. Contributions of griots (民间艺人 ) like The

Last Poets, Jalal Mansur Nurriddin, and Gil Scott Heron were

significant in a big way for the advent (出现 ) of hip hop in the

1960s. Hip hop had originally begun in the Bronx. Funk and soul

music were played a lot in block parties. In the beginning, the

DJs at these parties began separating the percussion breaks from

hit songs. They started realizing that these breaks were more

entertaining and groovy (绝妙的 ). This technique had become

widespread in Jamaica and had spread considerably in the New

York community via the Jamaican immigrants.

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Kool DJ Herc and Grandmaster Flash were the pioneers

in the hip hop industry and other DJs had extended the short

percussion interludes of Funk records and created a more

danceable sound. As a result, remixes had become popular

with the advent of mixing and scratching techniques. Many

styles of hip hop had developed in the golden age of hip hop.

At present, hip hop is enjoyed all around the world. In

spite of all the controversies created by hip hop artists they are

still growing in number. Hip hop music is sold all over the

world in stores and even online.

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1 ． Can you list some kinds of music? Which do you like best?

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参考答案： Classical music, pop music, jazz, hip hop, rock

and roll, blues, country music, soul music, folk music, gospel

music, etc. I like classical music best.

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2 ． Can you name the following instruments?

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True (T) or False (F)．1 ． Hip hop is an American cultural movement which started

in

the 1970s. ( )

2 ． It is the Jamaica DJs who started playing other kinds of

music, including rock and disco music. ( )

3 ． People still liked disco music and rock music in the mid

1970s. ( )

4 ． It is hard to dance to disco music. ( )

5 ． In the late 1980s, hip hop spread to many parts of the

world. ( )

T

T

F

F

T

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Choose the best answer according to the passage.

1 ． Which one is NOT hip hop's main aspect?

A ． Breakdance.　　　　　　 B ． Graffiti.

C ． DJ ing and MC ing. D ． Rock music.

2 ． Where was hip hop most suited to be played?

A ． Birthday parties. B ． Block

parties.

C ． Concert halls. D ． Jamaica.

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3 ． Which one is NOT the reason of the success of hip hop?

A ． People were bored with the pop music of the day.

B ． Hip hop is cheap and easy.

C ． Disco music and rock music were both in decline.

D ． Disco music had a strong beat.

4 ． Which of the following doesn't belong to the

breakthroughs

in developing hip hop?

A ． The appearance of rap music.

B ． The lengthening of percussion breaks.

C ． The appearance of reggae music.

D ． The start of breakdancing.

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5 ． From Part 4 we can conclude that ________.

A ． hip hop is also called trip hop

B ． hip hop is popular only in America and Europe

C ． music is always developing

D ． rappers are mainly from America

答案： 1.D 　 2.B 　 3.D 　 4.C 　 5.C

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Fill in the blanks according to the passage.

Hip hop is an American cultural 1. which

started in the 1970s at block parties in New York, especially in a

district called the Bronx. There are four main 2. of hip

hop: break dance and graffiti art plus two types of hip hop

music — DJ ing and rapping. Rapping is also 3. as MC

ing. Later. DJ Herc, one of the most popular Jamaican DJs

movement

aspects

known

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at the time, noticed that New York 4. didn't really

like reggae music, so he started playing other kinds of music,

5. rock and disco music. They 6. with

different vocal and rhythmic 7. , using rhyming

words. At the same time, people started breakdancing at block

parties. Because it is 8. and easy and because people

were 9. with the pop music of the day, hip hop became

10. .

audiences

including experimented

approaches

cheap

bored

successful

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What do you know about hip hop after reading the text?

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参考答案： Its origin; its components; the reason why it is

popular and the development of the music, etc.