PASSAGETWO
(1)TheNobelsaretheoriginals,ofcourse.AlfredNobel,themanwhoinventeddeadlyexplosives,decidedtotryanddosomethinggoodwithallthemoneyheearned,andgaveprizestopeoplewhomadeprogressinliterature,science,economicsand—perhapsmostimportantly—peace.
(2)NotallrewardsareasnobleastheNobels.Eventhoughmostcountrieshaveasystemofrecognizing,honoringandrewardingpeoplewhohavedonesomethinggoodintheircountries,therearenowhundredsofawardsandawardceremoniesforallkindsofthings.
(3)TheOscarsareprobablythemostfamous,atimeforthe(mostly)Americanfilmindustrytotellitselfhowgooditisandanannualopportunityforlotsofbigstarstogiveeachotherawardsandmaketearfulspeeches.AswellasthattherearealsotheGoldenGlobes,evidentlyforthesamething.
(4)Butit’snotonlyfilms---therearealsoGrammies,Brits,theMercuryPrizeandtheMTVformusic.InBritain,awriterwhowinstheBookerPrizecanexpecttoseetheirdifficult,literarynovelhitthebestsellerlistsandcompetewiththeDaVinciCodeforpopularity.TheTurnerPrizeisanawardforBritishcontemporaryartists—eachyearitcausescontroversybyapparentlygivinglotsofmoneytoartistswhodothingslikedisplayingtheirbeds,puttinganimalsinglasscasesor—thisyear—buildingagardenshed.
(5)Awardsdon’tonlyexistforarts.TherearenowawardsforSportsPersonalityoftheYear,forEuropeanFootballeroftheYearandWorldFootballeroftheYear.Thisseemsverystrange—sometimesawardscanbegoodtogiverecognitiontopeoplewhodeserveit,ortohelppeoplewhodon’tmakealotofmoneycarryontheirworkwithoutworryingaboutfinances,butprofessionalsoccerplayersthesedayscertainlyaren’tshortofcash!
(6)Manysmalltownsandcommunitiesallovertheworldalsohavetheirownawardceremonies,forlocalwritersorartists,orjustforpeoplewhohavegraduatedfromhighschoolor,gotauniversitydegree.EventheBritishCouncilhasitsownawardsfor“InnovationinEnglishLanguageTeaching”.
(7)Whyhavealltheseawardsandceremoniesappearedrecently?Shakespeareneverwonaprize, nordidLeonardoDaVinciorAdamSmithorCharlesDickens.
(8)Itwouldbepossibletosay,however,thatinthepast,scientistsandartistscouldwin“patronageformrichpeople”—akingoralordwouldgivetheartistsorscientistsmoneytohavethempainttheirpalacesorhelpthemdevelopnewwaysofmakingmoney.Withthechangeinsocialsystemsacrosstheworld,thisnolongerhappens.Alotofscientificresearchisnoweitherfundedbythestateorbyprivatecompanies.
(9)Perhapsawardceremoniesarejustthemostrecentphaseofthisprocess.
(10)However,thereismoretoitthanthat.WhenafilmwinsanOscar,manymorepeoplewillgoandseeit,orbuytheDVD.WhenawriterwinstheNobelPrize,manymorepeoplebuytheirbooks.WhenagroupwinstheMTVawards,theceremonyisseenbyhundredsofthousandsofpeopleacrosstheworld.Theresult?Thegroupsellslotsmorerecords.(11)Mostawardceremoniesarenowsponsoredbybigorganizationsorcompanies.Thismeansthatitisnotonlythepersonwhowinstheawardwhobenefits---butalsothesponsors.TheMTVawards,forexample,aregreatforpublicizingnotonlymusic,butalsoMTVitself!
(12)Onthesurface,itseemstobea“Win-win”situation,witheveryonebeinghappy,butletmeaskyouaquestion—howfardoyouthinkthatpublicityandmarketingarewinninghere,andhowmuchgenuinerecognitionofachievementistakingplace?
1.Whatistheauthor’stonewhenhementionsawardssuchastheOscars,theGoldenGlobesand
Grammies(Paras.3&4)
A.Amused.
B.Appreciative.
C.Sarcastic.
D.Serious.
2.AccordingtoPara.4,whatwouldhappentoawardwinningwriters?
A.Theywouldenjoyamuchlargerreadership.
B.Theywouldturntopopularnovelwriting.
C.Theywouldcontinuenon-fictionwriting.
D.Theywouldtrycontroversialformsofart.
3.WhichofthefollowingstatementsbestsumsupPara.6?
A.Awardsceremoniesareheldforlocalpeople.
B.Awardsceremoniesareheldonimportantoccasions.
C.Awardsceremoniesareheldincertainprofessions.
D.Awardsceremoniesareheldforallsortsofreasons.
4.AccordingtoPara.8,onedifferencebetweenscientistsandartistsinthepastandthoseatpresent
liesin_____________.
A.natureofwork
B.personalcontact
C.sourceoffunding
D.socialstatus
5.ItcanbeconcludedfromPara.12thattheauthorthinksawards________.
A.promotemarketratherthanachievements
B.dogoodtobothmarketandpopularity
C.helpthosewhoarereallytalented
D.areeffectiveinmakingpeoplepopular
BernardBailynhasrecentlyreinterpretedtheearlyhistoryoftheUnitedStatesbyapplyingnewsocialresearchfindingsontheexperiencesofEuropeanmigrants.Inhisreinterpretation,migrationbecomestheorganizingprincipleforrewritingthehistoryofpreindustrialNorthAmerica.Hisapproachrestsonfourseparatepropositions.ThefirstoftheseassertsthatresidentsofearlymodernEnglandmovedregularlyabouttheircountryside;migratingtotheNewWorldwassimplyanaturalspillover.AlthoughatfirstthecoloniesheldlittlepositiveattractionfortheEnglishDtheywouldratherhavestayedhomeDbytheeighteenthcenturypeopleincreasinglymigratedtoAmericabecausetheyregardeditasthelandofopportunity.Secondly,Bailynholdsthat,contrarytothenotionthatusedtoflourishinAmericahistorytextbooks,therewasneveratypicalNewWorldcommunity.Forexample,theeconomicanddemographiccharacterofearlyNewEnglandtownsvariedconsiderably.Bailyn'sthirdpropositionsuggesttwogeneralpatternsprevailingamongthemanythousandsofmigrants:onegroupcameasindenturedservants,anothercametoacquireland.Surprisingly,Bailynsuggeststhatthosewhorecruitedindenturedservantswerethedrivingforcesoftransatlanticmigration.ThesecolonialentrepreneurshelpeddeterminethesocialcharacterofpeoplewhocametopreindustrialNorthAmerica.Atfirst,thousandsofunskilledlaborerswererecruited;bythe1730's,however,Americanemployersdemandedskilledartisans.Finally,Bailynarguesthatthecolonieswereahalf-civilizedhinterlandoftheEuropeanculturesystem.HeisundoubtedlycorrecttoinsistthatthecolonieswerepartofanAnglo-Americanempire.ButtodividetheempireintoEnglishcoreandcolonialperiphery,asBailyndoes,devaluestheachievementsofcolonialculture.Itistrue,asBailynclaims,thathighcultureinthecoloniesnevermatchedthatinEngland.Butwhatofseventeenth-centuryNewEngland,wherethesettlerscreatedeffectivelaws,builtadistinguisheduniversity,andpublishedbooksBailynmightrespondthatNewEnglandwasexceptional.However,theideasandinstitutionsdevelopedbyNewEnglandPuritanshadpowerfuleffectsonNorthAmericanculture.AlthoughBailyngoesontoapplyhisapproachtosomethousandsofindenturedservantswhomigratedjustpriortotherevolution,hefailstolinktheirexperiencewiththepoliticaldevelopmentoftheUnitedStates.Evidencepresentedinhisworksuggestshowwemightmakesuchaconnection.TheseindenturedservantsweretreatedasslavesfortheperiodduringwhichtheyhadsoldtheirtimetoAmericanemployers.Itisnotsurprisingthatassoonastheyservedtheirtimetheypassedupgoodwagesinthecitiesandheadedwesttoensuretheirpersonalindependencebyacquiringland.Thus,itisinthewestthatapeculiarlyAmericanpoliticalculturebegan,amongcolonistswhoweresuspiciousofauthorityandintenselyanti-aristocratic.
1.WhichofthefollowingstatementsaboutmigrantstocolonialNorthAmericaissupportedbyinformationinthetext
[A]AlargerpercentageofmigrantstocolonialNorthAmericacameasindenturedservantsthanasfreeagentsinterestedinacquiringland.
[B]Migrantswhocametothecoloniesasindenturedservantsweremoresuccessfulatmakingalivelihoodthanwerefarmersandartisans.
[C]MigrantstocolonialNorthAmericaweremoresuccessfulatacquiringtheirownlandduringtheeighteenthcenturythanduringtheseventeenthcentury.
[D]Bythe1730's,migrantsalreadyskilledinatradewereinmoredemandbyAmericanemployersthanwereunskilledlaborers.
2.TheauthorofthetextstatesthatBailynfailedto
[A]GivesufficientemphasistotheculturalandpoliticalinterdependenceofthecoloniesandEngland.
[B]DescribecarefullyhowmigrantsofdifferentethnicbackgroundspreservedtheircultureintheUnitedStates.
[C]TakeadvantageofsocialresearchontheexperiencesofcolonistswhomigratedtocolonialNorthAmericaspecificallytoacquireland.
[D]RelatetheexperienceofthemigrantstothepoliticalvaluesthateventuallyshapedthecharacteroftheUnitedStates.
3.Whichofthefollowingbestsummarizestheauthor'sevaluationofBailyn'sfourthproposition
[A]Itistotallyimplausible.
[B]Itispartiallyacceptable.
[C]Itishighlyadmirable.
[D]Itiscontroversialthoughpersuasive.
4.Accordingtothetext,BailynandtheauthoragreeonwhichofthefollowingstatementsaboutthecultureofcolonialNewEngland
[A]HighcultureinNewEnglandneverequaledthehighcultureofEngland.
[B]TheculturalachievementsofcolonialNewEnglandhavegenerallybeenunrecognizedbyhistorians.
[C]ThecolonistsimitatedthehighcultureofEngland，anddidnotdevelopaculturethatwasuniquelytheirown.
[D]ThesoutherncoloniesweregreatlyinfluencedbythehighcultureofNewEngland.
5.TheauthorofthetextwouldbemostlikelytoagreewithwhichofthefollowingstatementsaboutBailyn'swork
[A]BailynunderestimatestheeffectsofPuritanthoughtonNorthAmericanculture.
[B]BailynoveremphasizestheeconomicdependenceofthecoloniesonGreatBritain.
[C]Bailyn'sdescriptionofthecoloniesaspartofanAnglo-Americanempireismisleadingandincorrect.
[D]BailynfailedtotesthispropositionsonaspecificgroupofmigrantstocolonialNorthAmerica.
TheBentPyramidoutsideCairo__________ancientEgypt’sfirstattempttobuildasmooth-sidedpyramid.