世界节假日博览 第87期:国际爵士日（在线收听）

 International Jazz Day is usually celebrated each year on May 23. It is one day of the year when people around the world can celebrate this great music form. Jazz started in the USA and is America's only indigenous art form. Music lovers and musicians around the globe go to concerts, hold celebrations, or simply get together and listen to their favourite jazz artists. International Jazz Day was started in 1991 by jazz musician and bandleader D. Michael Denny. He was on the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Jazz Society. His aim was for a global day of appreciation for jazz. His idea worked. It is now backed by the United Nations Jazz Society. This sponsors jazz workshops and encourages musicians to make a living from their music.

每年的5月23为国际爵士日。全球爵士迷可以尽情庆祝。爵士源于美国，它也是美国唯一一种本土艺术形式。全球的乐迷，音乐家会听演唱会，举办庆祝活动，或仅仅是一起聆听爵士大师的经典曲目。1991年，爵士音乐人，乐队领袖迈克尔·丹尼发起了该节日。他曾是新泽西爵士乐学会理事成员。他的目标就是要创建属于全球爵士乐的节日。他的想法最终成为了现实。如今，该节日获得了联合国爵士乐协会的大力支持。该组织发起爵士乐研讨会，鼓励音乐家以爵士乐为生。
Jazz originated at the beginning of the 20th century in the Southern United States. It is a combination of African and European music styles. It has a strong influence from West African traditional music. One expert said jazz differed from European music because it has "a special relationship to time, defined as 'swing' and a spontaneity and vitality of musical production in which improvisation plays a role". It is unclear exactly where the word “jazz” came from. Many believe it was California slang to refer to the new music black musicians were playing in Chicago around 1915. The new music quickly grew into a wide variety of styles and a cultural phenomenon. Today we have genres that include acid jazz and jazz funk. Jazz even influences hip-hop.
20世纪初，爵士乐诞生于美国南部。爵士乐融合了非洲和欧洲音乐形式。并受到了西非传统音乐的深远影响。某专家认为，爵士乐有别于欧洲音乐，原因在于它与时间产生了特殊关系，在创作上呈现灵活自发，并伴有激情与活力，即兴创作也是爵士乐的一部分。“Jazz”一词的来源还不得而知。许多人认为，“Jazz”是加州俚语，指的是1915年左右芝加哥黑人音乐家的创作形式。爵士迅速演变成多种音乐形式，并成为文化符号。如今，爵士乐形式包括酸爵士，放克爵士。爵士乐甚至还影响了嘻哈音乐。
1.art form 艺术形式
例句：The short story is a difficult art form to master.
短篇小说是一种很难掌握的艺术形式。
2.refer to 提到
例句：He never referred to his sisters in his letters.
他在信里从未提到过他的姊妹。
3.define as 给…下定义
例句：Collins English Dictionary defines a workaholic as 'a person obsessively addicted to work'.
《柯林斯英语词典》给“工作狂”一词下的定义是“一个过分沉溺于工作中的人”。
4.a variety of 各种各样的
例句：The department store carries a variety of leather shoes. 
这家百货商店经售各种皮鞋。
  原文地址：http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/sjjrbl/358952.html