Jazz is Americas contribution to popular music.【C1】______ classical music, which follows formal European traditions, jazz is【C2】______ and free-form. The【C3】______ of this music are as interesting as the music itself. Jazz was【C4】______ by American Negroes, who were brought to the Southern states as slaves. They were sold to plantation owners and forced to work long hours in the cotton and tobacco fields. This work was hard and life was【C5】______. When a Negro died his friends and relatives formed a procession【C6】______ the body to the cemetery. A band often【C7】______ the procession. On the way to the cemetery the band played slow, solemn music suited to the【C8】______. But on the way home the【C9】______ changed. Spirits lifted. Everybody was happy. Death had removed one of their number,【C10】______ the living were glad to be alive. The band played happy music, improvising【C11】______ both the harmony and the melody of the tunes presented at the funeral. This music made everyone want to dance. It was an early form. of jazz. Music has always been important in Negro life.【C12】______ mainly from West Africa, the blacks who were brought to America already【C13】______ a rich musical tradition. This music【C14】______ on religious ceremonies【C15】______ dancing, singing, clapping, and stamping to the【C16】______ of a drum were important forms of musical and rhythmic【C17】______. As these people settled【C18】______ their new life in the plantations of the South, music【C19】______ its importance. In the fields, they【C20】______ work songs. Singing made the hard work go faster.

【C1】

A．Inferior to

B．In contrast to

C．Similar to

D．Superior to