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| Les Paul is one of the most influential people in modern popular music. He was a skillful guitarist who played an energetic mixture of jazz and country songs. He was also an inventor. The electric guitar and recording devices he created changed the sound of popular music and greatly influenced rock and roll. Les Paul is best known for creating one of the first solidbody electric guitars and the eighttrack recording device. He also perfected new recording methods to give special effects to his music. Les Paul was born Lester William Polfuss (POLLfuss)in 1915 in Waukesha, (WAHkuhshaw) Wisconsin. By the age of nine, he had taught himself to play the harmonica and had built a radio. He also learned to play the guitar and banjo. He could not read music, but he could play music that he heard. And he had a good sense of musical structure. Les Paul was soon performing in country bands in the Midwest. He left high school to perform full time on radio shows. He performed using the names "The Wizard of Waukesha", "Hot Rod Red" and "Rhubarb Red". He also started playing music influenced by great jazz guitarists including Django Reinhardt. By 1937, he had formed the Les Paul trio. He moved to New York City the next year. Les Pau l played with many famous performers including the popular singer Bing Crosby. Around 1941, Les Paul invented his famous guitar. He wanted to make an instrument that could play a note longer than notes played on a traditional acoustic guitar. He developed a new kind of electric guitar that had a solid body. On an acoustic guitar, the strings vibrate and the hollow part of the instrument, or the sound box, also vibrates. Les Paul wanted an instrument in which only the strings vibrated. In the 1970s, Les Paul made two records with the country guitarist Chet Atkins. One was called "Chester and Lester". It won a Grammy Award in 1976. Starting in the early 1980s, Paul began playing in jazz clubs in New York City. He kept on performing weekly until a few months before his death. 1. Which of the following shows the right order of Les Paul's experience? a. He moved to New York. b. He had taught himself to play the harmonica. c. He performed full time on radio shows. d. He began playing in jazz clubs in New York City. e. He invented his famous guitar. A. abcde B. bcade C. bcdea D. bcaed 2. According to the passage, the author develops the passage ________. A. in order of time B. in order of importance C. by giving examples D. by listing reasons 3. Which of the following best describes Les Paul? A. He is a creative man. B. He is a lazy man. C. He is a naughty man. D. He is a crazy man. 4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? A. He influenced Django Reinhardt. B. He had no good sense of musical structure. C. He could play and read music when he was a child. D. He made two records with Chet Atkins in the 1970s. |