Intermediate passages 1 The best recruiting agents

69 The birth of rock and roll

A record producer who had been searching for a "white man with the Negro sound and the Negro feel" began recording the Memphis-based country singer Elvis Presley. In 1956 the 21-year-old Presley created a sensation with his rock 'n' rollstyled "Heartbreak Hotel", the first of his 14 records in a row that sold more than a million copies each. Presley's success inspired other country performers to begin singing rock and roll music in the late 1950s. The popularity of Presley also helped to encourage the practice of "cover" recordings. That is, when new records by black performers began to appear on the hit charts, white singers would record simplified versions of the same songs. The recordings by the white performers received wider distribution and were played on more radio stations than the original recordings. As rock and roll rapidly became the most popular music of the late 1950s, record industry executives became aware that young listeners made up the largest portion of this music's audience. Therefore they employed young, often adolescent, singers to record rock and roll music, and produced such teenage romance songs as "Young Love", "16 Candles", and "Teen-Age Crush".

1. As a result of Elvis Presley's success

1. 
   black musicians and singers became more popular
   
2. 
   his first 14 records sold one million copies altogether
   
3. 
   many country singers changed their style of music
   
4. 
   country music acquired large numbers of new fans
   

2. 
   One can conclude from the passage that the success of the "cover" recordings mentioned in the passage demonstrates that
   

A) the original versions were less complex than the re-recorded versions B) the newly recorded versions were better than the originals

C) Presley was so popular that even copies of his songs sold well D) the music industry in 1950s America was quite racist

2. 
   One significant result of the rise of rock and roll was that
   

1. 
   the record industry became more youth-oriented
   
2. 
   older versions of songs were adapted for a young audience
   
3. 
   teenagers started to become record industry executives
   
4. 
   older people started to enjoy music made by teenagers
   

70 Judo

Judo, which means "the gentle way" in Japanese, is a perfect example of how skill can overcome brute force, because it teaches a person to use an opponent's weight against them. So, although a woman may feel intimidated by a taller male opponent, through the skillful application of throws and holds, she can overpower him. It's easy to see why this sport produces self-confidence and is a great way of releasing tension. The sport of judo was invented in Japan in 1882 to combat bullying in schools. After years of studying other martial arts, Jigoro Kano founded a judo academy in order to discover the most efficient way of deterring his playground enemies. Initially, judo was not accepted by other martial artists, but in 1886, Tokyo's police force held a martial arts tournament and judo techniques scored highly. Recently, judo has been the most widely practised of the martial arts outside China and Japan.

1. 
   We are told in the passage that judo A) was invented by a Japanese policeman
   

B) was designed to fight bullying in Japanese schools C) was developed outside China and Japan

D) was never popular with many martial artists

2. 
   We can conclude from the information given in the passage that to be successful at judo, one must A) be bullied by someone much stronger
   

B) be physically stronger than an opponent C) be skilled in the techniques of the sport D) have a lot of tension to release

3. 
   We can infer from the passage that judo produces self-confidence because in judo
   

1. 
   one can enter international tournaments throughout the year
   
2. 
   the philosophy prepares one to feel strong enough to overpower anyone
   
3. 
   it is possible for one to beat an opponent who is physically stronger
   
4. 
   it is quite easy to apply the techniques one has learnt
   

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