All of America's popular music — jazz, country, rock and roll, and hip hop — develops from the Delta blues. Its words gave voice to the lives of workers in the fields of the Deep South, who were deeply affected by slavery (奴隶制度). The blues may be concerned with sadness, but singing it is an act of defiance, not despair (绝望). The blues reminds us of our weak points while encouraging us to see how far we can actually go.
We can still almost touch the origin of this art form. Looking back on the journey the blues took north up the Mississippi River — when African Americans left the South in search of new jobs — photographer Gail Mooney travelled from Chicago clubs down to the Delta to get the stories of blues men and blues women. They are still here today to attach us to the music's early days.
“In our conversations, we talked so much more about other things than their music，” says Mooney, whose exhibition on the blues has just begun a US tour this spring.“We talked about their childhoods, their cultural origin, and a time in America when people moved to live in large cities. I would listen, and sometimes I would get a feeling.”
These photos show some of the musicians who worked and studied with blues pioneers — drummer Sam Carr was the son of Robert Nighthawk, while Pinetop Perkins and Willie“Big Eyes”Smith played together with Muddy Waters.
Already, this generation is leaving us: Little Milton, guitarist and vocalist, and Robert“Junior”Lockwood (who learned from Robert Johnson, the greatest blues man of all) have passed away since Mooney began her project. However, they left many valuable things to us. Turn on your radio and some little piece of the Delta gets passed down again.
语篇解读：大多美国流行音乐是由the blues发展而来的，为了探寻它的起源与历史，摄影家Mooney展开了一次长途跋涉的旅行。
1．From the passage we know that the blues ________.
A．contains many kinds of music
B．aims to give people sad feelings
C．was created by workers in the fields
D．described the lives of workers in the fields
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据第一段第二句可知，the blues反映了劳动人民的生活。
2．Why did Mooney travel from Chicago clubs down to the Delta?
A．To learn to play the blues.
B．To find the origin of the blues.
C．To take more beautiful photos.
D．To learn about different cultures.
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第二段最后两句及第三段中Mooney所说的话可知，她旅行的目的是寻找the blues的起源，从而更好地了解早期the blues。第三段中的origin是对本题的暗示。
3．From what Mooney said we can learn that ________.
A．blues men and blues women like their lives more than their music
B．blues men and blues women like living in large cities
C．the blues has a wonderful history
D．the blues is very popular
解析：选C 推理判断题。根据第三段中Mooney所说的话可推知，the blues有着精彩的历史。
