学位英语

第二篇Pop Music in Africa

Young musicians in African countries are creating a new kind of pop music. The tunes and the rhythms of their music combine African traditions with various forms of music popular today, such as hip-hop, rap, rock, jazz, or reggae. The result is music that may sound familiar to listeners anywhere in the world, but at the same time is distinctly African. It is different also in another way: Many of the songs are very serious and they deal with important social or political issues in Africa Today.

Eric Wainaina is one of these African musicians. He grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, in a family of musicians. As a teenager, he listened to pop music from the United States, and later he moved to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music. Now he has produced a CD in Kenya. Eric' s most popular song, “Land of 'A Little Something' ” is about Kenya' s problem of bribery, or paying others for illegal favors. He wants people to listen to his songs and think about how to make Kenya a better place to live.

Another musician who writes serious songs is Witness Mwaijaga from Tanzania. Her own experiences have helped her understand the suffering of many African women. At the age of fifteen she lost her home, but she was luckier than other homeless young people. She could make a living by writing songs and singing on the street. By the time she was eighteen years old, she had become a star. Her songs are written in rap or hip-hop style about the problems that she sees in Tanzania, especially AIDS and the lack of rights for women.

Baaba Maal, from Senegal, also feels that pop music must go beyond entertainment. He says that in Senegal, storytellers have always been important people. In the past, they were the ones who kept the history of their people alive. Baaba believes that songwriters now have a similar responsibility. They must write about the world around them and help people understand how it could be better. The words of his songs are important, in fact. They speak of peace and cooperation among Africans, as well as the rights of women, love for one' s family, and saving the environment.

One of South Africa' s most popular musicians is Brenda Fassie. She is sometimes compared to Madonna, the American pop star, because she likes to shock people in her shows. But she also likes to make people think. She became famous in the 1980s for her simple pop songs against apartheid. Now that apartheid has ended, her songs are about other issues in South African culture and life. To sing about these, she uses local African languages and a new pop style called kwaito.

In recent years, people outside of Africa have also begun to listen to these young musicians. Through music, the younger generation of Africans are connecting with the rest of the world and, at the same time, influencing the rest of the world.

36 This passage is about how African pop music is________.

A usually about love and romance

B more serious than most pop music

C popular with young people in Africa

D mostly written just for entertainment

37 For people outside of Africa, African pop music is________.

A the same as other pop music

B not usually very interesting

C entirely strange to them

D both familiar and different

38 The musicians mentioned in this passage all________.

A write about serious problems

B studied in the United States

C lost their homes at a young age

D write songs in a new pop style

39 Eric Wainaina________.

A prefers to sing in English

B listened to traditional music

C studied music in Boston

D performs only in the United States

40 Witness Mwaijaga writes about the problems of women partly because________.

A she has had a difficult life herself

B there are many problems in Tanzania

C she has had an easy life herself

D there are no other women singers

（责任编辑：vstara）

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