Part 5.- You are going to read an article about a jazz musician. For questions 31-36, choose
the answer (A, B, C, or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Jazz musician
Reporter John Bungey meets the US singer Gregory Porter, one of the hottest
names in jazz.
Gregory
Porter may be tired – he arrived from Zurich just 40 minutes ago – but at least
he knows where he is. This is not always the case. There is a smile as he sinks into a comfortable hotel
chair. ‘Yeah, it happens ll the time. I wake up slowly, I’m kind of brain dead
and I’m not sure where I am… and then you can lose days – fly over some data
line, and what happened to Thursday? ‘If another singer has a right to be
disoriented it is Porter, thanks to a midlife surge that propelled him fro
obscurity into becoming jazz’s music’s number one vocal draw. Last year he
spent 300 days on the road playing 250 dates. Every one sold out.
Porter
sings jazz, gospel and soul in a rich baritone voice, often in a style that
many thought had died out with black-and-white TV. He’s a road dog whose
career (line16) depends on profitable live shows, not on the slim pickings of
digital music streaming services. Hence a performing tour that sees him in
Europe, with the odd American detour, all spring and summer. ‘To be the most
streamed artist in jazz, what does that mean’ A cheque for about $120.’ Good
job, then, that he loves the roar of the crowd. ‘There are certain nights when
the voice is perfect and there’s nothing you can’t do. Your hearing is
crystal-clear. You never know when that’s going to happen and that’s the magic
of it.’
Porter,
at 1.9 metres, has the build of the professional American football player he
hoped he would be before injury intervened. He’s wearing trainers and jogging bottoms plus a smart tweed jacket and waistcoat – sort of half off-duty, half
on. And then there’s the famous cap with its enveloping chin strap. No
marketing department could dream him up.
At
the age of 45, delayed success is all the sweetener. After college he tried odd
jobs in a dog-food factory and mixing aromatherapy oils. He was a barista and
in his mid-20s began to think that cookery might be his professional calling.
In his free time he acted occasionally, but singing was a constant. ‘I had a
great voice when I was 22, but I was looking for someone to make on – a
producer and an arranger – and they never came. And I suffered.’
He says he has often
reflected on the forces that shape a life. ‘What fascinates me is: how do you
find your soil? Where is the best place to grow, to be what you can be?’
Perhaps some people never do find their place. ‘Yeah,’ he says. ‘Maybe that’s
the angry person behind the window (line 45) when you’ve got to buy your
ticket. Some people have settled in their discontent. I was pretty near there…
I just needed to make a statement, however small, even if nobody heard it.’
That small statement – a
demo, not a finished record – earned a hearing in Russia, where he played in
concert halls to great acclaim. While there, he met his Russian wife, Victoria.
Porter writes more of his
material than most singers in his field and says that spending so much of life
being transported around between concerts does not get in the way; in fact
sitting in the back of a car watching the scenery trundle by can inspire. ‘Something
about my eyes darting back and forth as things pass. Something about motion
always triggers me and my brain goes into a place where I start thinking about
my past,, my dreams, my future. The poetry comes to me; the melody comes to me;
they come together.’
31.- When meets the writer,
Porter is…
A) relieved to find he has
the right time and place.
B) more alert than he can
sometimes be.
C) unaware of how late he is.
D) apologetic for being
tired.
32.- The phrase ‘slim
pickings’ (line 16) tells us that Porter…
A) is now in a position to
choose the work he wants.
B) is listened to by
relatively few younger people.
C) likes the simplicity of
the idea of streaming.
D) earns little from
streaming services.
33.- In his description of
Porter’s appearance, the writer suggests that Porter…
A) doesn’t care much about
how he looks off-stage.
B) doesn’t yet have a
well-planned individual image.
C) doesn’t fit with the
marketing image created for him.
D) doesn't use his muscular
physique enough when performing.
34.- When Porter says he
‘suffered’ in his twenties, he is referring to the fact that…
A) none of the jobs he tried
suited him.
B) certain people he trusted
didn’t support him.
C) the opportunity he longed
for didn’t happen.
D) he was often too busy to
keep us his singing.
35.- The ‘angry person behind
the window’ (line 45) represents someone who…
A) has no capacity for deep
thoughts about life.
B) thinks of themselves
before other people.
C) should make more of an
effort in their job.
D) has accepted they’re never
going to achieve their dreams.
36.- Porter says that travelling in the back of a car…
A) is something he’s had to get used to.
B) enables him to think creatively.
C) is less than ideal for writing down new songs.
D) has become his way of switching off and relaxing.
