I am a hip-hop head for life. I have tagged my moniker—— “kepo1”——on walls; break-danced on cardboard; bumped elbows with fellow hip-hoppers at legendary clubs like The Rooftop， Union Square and Latin Quarter in New York City， and done everything from organizing rap shows to working as a hip-hop journalist and managing music producers. This culture has not only rescued the lives of countless masses who look like me， but it has empowered more young， working-class black and Latino cats than the civil-rights movement.

Yet something peculiar erupts when you’ve been around hip-hop for a while. Although you still love it， you look at its culture from a more critical perspective， particularly if you have studied other music genres， traveled widely and reflected intensely. You realize that what began as party music has come to be the soundtrack for post-civil-rights America. You realize that hip-hop is urban folk art， and as much an indication of the conditions in impoverished areas as bluesman Robert Johnson’s laments in the 1930s. Naturally， you see a connection between the lives of Johnson and Tupac Shakur， not to mention a not-so-funny link between the mainstream hyping of Elvis and Eminem as innovators of black music forms. And， for sure， you wonder， loudly， if what happened to rock and roll will happen to hip-hop， if it hasn’t already.

That is the external battle for hip-hop today： corporate control and cooptation. But there is also a civil war going on within the hip-hop nation. Part of it， unquestionably， has to do with this corporate stranglehold. Part of it has to do with the incredibly apolitical times in which we live： for some white Americans the current economic boom has created the myth that things are swell for all Americans. Not the case; 20 years after the Reagan backlash on civil rights， the influx of crack and guns and the acceleration of a disturbing class divide in black America， hip-hop has come to symbolize a generation fragmented by integration， migration， abandonment， alienation and， yes， self-hatred. Thus， hip-hop， once vibrant， edgy， fresh and def， is now as materialistic， hedonistic， misogynistic， shallow and violent as some of the films and TV shows launched from Hollywood.

It wasn’t always that way. But， unfortunately， the golden era of hip-hop——that period in the late ’80s and early ’90s when such diverse artists as Public Enemy， N.W.A， Queen Latifah， MC Hammer， LL Cool J and De La Soul coexisted and there was no such thing as “positive” or “negative” rap——has long been dead. Gone as well is an embrace of hip-hop’s four elements： graffiti writing， the dance element (or what some call break-dancing)， DJing and MCing. The MC or “rapper” has been singled out to be his own man in this very male-centered arena， and the formula for a hit record is simple： fancy yourself a thug， pimp or gangster; rhyme about jewelry， clothing and alcohol; denigrate women in every conceivable way， and party and b.s. ad nauseam.

注(1)：本文选自Newsweek; 10/09/2000， p66;

注(2)：本文习题命题模仿对象2005年真题Text 1;

1.In the opening paragraph， the author introduces his topic by

[A]posing a contrast.

[B]justifying an assumption.

[C]explaining a phenomenon.

[D]making a comparison.

2.Paragraph 2 implies that

[A]blues， rock and roll and hip-hop are all urban folk music.

[B]the fates of the music represented by these singers are quite similar.

[C]the singers with the same background have the same fate.

[D]a wide knowledge about the lives of singers makes you well understand their music.

3.The music the author has loved for his life has been ruined because of

[A]corporate control and apolitical times.

[B]the Reagan backlash.

[C]the degenerated generation.

[D]the influence of Hollywood‘s films.

4.Today‘s hip-hop and some of Hollywood’s films and TV shows are quite

[A]related

[B]opposite

[C]similar

[D]different

5.What can we infer from the last paragraph?

[A]The four elements of hip-hop have broken up.

[B]The hip-hop has lost its characteristics as vibrant， edgy， fresh and def.

[C]The MC or “rapper” is misleading for the youngsters.

[D]The hip-hop will regain its glory in the future.

答案：CBACB

篇章剖析

本文采用的是记叙文模式，讲述了作者作为一名嘻哈乐爱好者，亲眼目睹了公司控制和对政治冷漠的时代是如何侵犯了他一生所钟爱的音乐的。第一段作者以自己作为一名嘻哈乐爱好者的经历入手，着重说明嘻哈乐对于无数爱好者和年轻人的影响和意义;第二段指出嘻哈乐是一种城市民间音乐，以及它代表的音乐与其它音乐形式的联系;第三段指出是什么原因使嘻哈乐失去了往日的辉煌;第四段指出今日的嘻哈乐是怎样的一种情形。

词汇注释

Hip-Hop：街头说唱，中文翻译为“嘻哈乐”。嘻哈文化(Hip-Hop Culture)是一种源自rap(饶舌音乐)的文化运动，主要包含4个主要部分：打碟(DJing)、说唱(MCing)、breaking(跳霹雳舞)和街头涂鸦艺术(Graffiti或Writing)。这些同时代产生的黑人地下文化并称为嘻哈四大元素。从英文字面意义来看，hip是臀部，hop是单脚跳，所以可以理解为轻扭臀部摇摆，Hip-Hop含有rap(饶舌)和R&B(rhythm and blues节奏蓝调)的复杂的节奏以及电唱机的音效，它随意而又健康。大约近20年来，这种原为美国特有的文化现象已经风靡全世界。

encroach vi. 侵犯，侵占;侵害

head n. 【俚语】经常服用毒品的人;狂热爱好者

for life 终生，直到生命终结

tag vt， vi. -gg- 加上标签，贴标签;尾随，紧随 (tag along with);(常与on， on to连用)附上;给……起浑名，

tag sth. on [onto， to] 把某物附加于……上面

moniker n. 名字， 绰号

cat [美俚]娼妓; 流动工人; 爵士乐演奏者[爱好者]

soundtrack 电影配乐

bluesman n. 演奏(或演唱)布鲁斯音乐(或歌曲)的人

lament n. 悲叹;哀悼;哀歌，挽歌

hype vt. 大肆宣传，大做广告;炒作;[俚](用刺激针剂等)强行刺激， 使兴奋(up)

cooptation招降，吸收，吸纳;增选

cooptate=co-opt vt. 增选，将…选为(指定为)新成员;指定…为新同事(或助手);吸收，同化;强占，征用;拉拢，笼络(对手等)，招降，收买，

stranglehold n. 掐住脖子;束缚; 压制， 严格控制

apolitical adj. 不关心政治的，对政治不感兴趣，与政治无关的，无政治意义的

incredible adj. 不能采纳的;难以相信的，不真实而令人难以置信的;惊人的

swell n. 大浪，巨浪;声音的增强，音量的增加;肿胀，膨胀;丰满;

backlash n. 反冲; 后冲力; (政治等方面)强烈的反响; 对抗性的反应

influx n. 流入(量)， 注入(量); 汇集; 涌进

not the case 实际情况并非如此

crack n. 缺陷脑力或体力上的弱点;缺陷;试图，尝试;俏皮话，挖苦话;【俚语】快克(一种经过高度化学提纯的可卡因药丸，通过玻璃烟管吸取，很容易使人上瘾)

integration n. [美]取消种族隔离; 给以种族上的平等待遇

abandonment n. 放弃， 放荡， 断念，自暴自弃;放肆，放纵

self-hatred自我仇恨

vibrant adj. 鲜明的，明快的;活泼的;生气勃勃的，有活力的; 激动的

edgy adj. 有锐利刀刃的，锋利的;尖锐的;轮廓分明的

fresh adj. 新鲜的，清爽的;年轻的，有活力的;健壮的

def=definite 确定的，一定的，明确的;有定数的，有界限的

materialistic adj. 实利主义，物质主义，物质中心主义(认为物质上的富足、世俗财物的拥有是人生中最有价值的、最美好的事物的理论或信条)

hedonistic adj. 快乐主义者的， 快乐论的， 快乐主义的

misogynist adj. 憎恶女人(者)的

shallow adj. 浅的;浮浅的，浅薄的;缺少智力、感情或知识、实质深度的

embrace n.热忱，热切的接受

the dance element n. D舞元素

Graffiti Writing涂鸦

single out vt. 选中，选出，是突出(经常与out连用)

DJ (disc jockey) 唱片骑士，播放唱片的人;流行音乐节目主持人

hit n.成功

party vi. 参加社交聚会

B.S. (=bull shit) n. vi. 胡说，胡说八道

ad nauseam adv. 令人作呕地

Notes：

Hip-Hop(嘻哈乐)的由来

HIP-HOP单纯作为一种音乐形式而言产生于上世纪70年代的美国，那时DISCO音乐统治着人们的耳朵。就在其他酒吧和俱乐部都在跟随潮流大肆播放热门舞曲的时候，一位叫做KOOL的DJ(disc jockey，流行音乐节目主持人)却独辟蹊径，为人们播放R&B(节奏与)和funk(乡土音乐)。并且他在放这些音乐时，常常将歌曲中没有歌词的换音点(Break独奏华彩段)反复播放，于是，人们就在这期间摇摆跳舞，尽情欢乐。同时，Kool为了渲染现场热闹气氛还会在音乐中大喊大叫，内容并没有什么特别之处，这是所谓说唱rapping的开始。人们便把KOOL称为break-boy(霹雳舞者)，而把在音乐中进行的舞蹈称为break-dancing(霹雳舞)。之后，KOOL另外请人来负责中间的说唱部分，自己则专注于Djing(打碟)，由此第一个可以被称为HIP-HOP的音乐团体诞生了。随着他们的不断努力与大胆尝试，说唱部分由简单的几句话发展成为大段大段的歌词与独白，而且说唱与音乐配合得也日趋完美。于是，有很多DJ也开始从事这种新颖的音乐风格的创作，为HIP-HOP的发展做出了贡献，他们当中也出现了一些相当有名的DJ.而HIP-HOP这个词被广泛接受则要归功于好莱坞，他在歌词中频繁地使用“hip-hop”这个词，所以人们就用它来命名这种音乐了。

难句突破

1.You realize that hip-hop is urban folk art， and as much an indication of the conditions in impoverished areas as bluesman Robert Johnson’s laments in the 1930s.

主体句式：you realize that …

结构分析：本句是“that”引导的宾语从句，其中“as much an indication of the conditions in impoverished areas as bluesman Robert Johnson’s laments in the 1930s.”和“urban folk art”是并列结构。在这个结构中，需要注意词组“as … as”的用法，意思是“同…一样”。

句子译文：嘻哈乐是一种都市民间艺术， 它像上个世纪30年代的布鲁斯歌手罗伯特?约翰逊演唱的哀歌一样，对贫困地区的环境和条件具有强烈的暗示作用。

2.Not the case; 20 years after the Reagan backlash on civil rights， the influx of crack and guns and the acceleration of a disturbing class divide in black America， hip-hop has come to symbolize a generation fragmented by integration， migration， abandonment， alienation and， yes， self-hatred.

主体句式：after the … backlash …， hip-hop has come to symbolize a generation …

结构分析：本句是一个复杂的简单句。关键在于理解介词“after”之后的名词，其中“backlash”和“divide”都是名词：“fragmented”之前省去了“which is”，这个过去分词是来修饰“a generation”的。

句子译文：里根政府曾对民权运动、泛滥成灾的快克和枪支以及美国黑人群体中加速出现的令人不安的阶级划分进行了限制。20年后，嘻哈乐逐渐成为被取消种族隔离、移民、自暴自弃，还有自我仇恨所瓦解一代的象征。

题目分析

1.答案为C， 属事实细节题。作者以自己作为一名嘻哈乐爱好者的经历入手，着重说明嘻哈乐对于无数爱好者和年轻人的影响和意义。

2.答案为B，属推理判断题。第二段提到的歌手分别是有名的布鲁斯歌手、摇滚乐歌手和说唱歌手。他们虽然演绎着不同的音乐形式，但在他们之间却存在着某些联系。这也就不难理解这句话“And， for sure， you wonder， loudly， if what happened to rock and roll will happen to hip-hop， if it hasn’t already.”，译为：“而且，如果摇滚乐遭遇到的境况也将发生在嘻哈乐身上，如果这种情况现在还没有发生，你一定会感到惊讶的。”暗含的意思是摇滚乐和嘻哈乐遭遇的情况应该是一样的。

3.答案为A，属推理判断题。原文对应信息是“That is the external battle for hip-hop today： corporate control and cooptation.”和“Part of it has to do with the incredibly apolitical times …”。

4.答案为C，属事实细节题。原文对应信息是“Thus， hip-hop， once vibrant， edgy， fresh and def， is now as materialistic， hedonistic， misogynistic， shallow and violent as some of the films and TV shows launched from Hollywood.”

5.答案为B，属推理判断题。原文中提到“The golden era of hip-hop has long been dead.”，而且现在的嘻哈乐是这样一种情况：“the formula for a hit record is simple： fancy yourself a thug， pimp or gangster; rhyme about jewelry， clothing and alcohol; denigrate women in every conceivable way， and party and b.s. ad nauseam.”它已失去了昔日热情奔放、充满活力、敏锐犀利、鲜明生动、棱角分明的特点。