Text 4
The most thoroughly studied in the history of the new world are the ministers and political leaders of seventeenth-century New England. According to the standard history of American philosophy, nowhere else in colonial America was "So much important attached to intellectual pursuits " According to many books and articles, New England's leaders established the basic themes and preoccupations of an unfolding, dominant Puritan tradition in American intellectual life.
To take this approach to the New Englanders normally mean to start with the Puritans' theological innovations and their distinctive ideas about the church-important subjects that we may not neglect. But in keeping with our examination of southern intellectual life, we may consider the original Puritans as carriers of European culture adjusting to New world circumstances. The New England colonies were the scenes of important episodes in the pursuit of widely understood ideals of civility and virtuosity.
The early settlers of Massachusetts Bay included men of impressive education and influence in England. `Besides the ninety or so learned ministers who came to Massachusetts church in the decade after 1629,There were political leaders like John Winthrop, an educated gentleman, lawyer, and official of the Crown before he journeyed to Boston. There men wrote and published extensively, reaching both New World and Old World audiences, and giving New England an atmosphere of intellectual earnestness.
We should not forget , however, that most New Englanders were less well educated. While few crafts men or farmers, let alone dependents and servants, left literary compositions to be analyzed, The in thinking often had a traditional superstitions quality. A tailor named John Dane, who emigrated in the late 1630s, left an account of his reasons for leaving England that is filled with signs. sexual confusion, economic frustrations , and religious hope-all name together in a decisive moment when he opened the Bible, told his father the first line he saw would settle his fate, and read the magical words: "come out from among them, touch no unclean thing , and I will be your God and you shall be my people." One wonders what Dane thought of the careful sermons explaining the Bible that he heard in puritan churched.
Meanwhile, many settles had slighter religious commitments than Dane's, as one clergyman learned in confronting folk along the coast who mocked that they had not come to the New world for religion . "Our main end was to catch fish. "
36. The author notes that in the seventeenth-century New England___________.
[A] Puritan tradition dominated political life.
[B] intellectual interests were encouraged.
[C] Politics benefited much from intellectual endeavors.
[D] intellectual pursuits enjoyed a liberal environment.
37. It is suggested in paragraph 2 that New Englanders__________.
[A] experienced a comparatively peaceful early history.
[B] brought with them the culture of the Old World
[C] paid little attention to southern intellectual life
[D] were obsessed with religious innovations
38. The early ministers and political leaders in Massachusetts Bay__________.
[A] were famous in the New World for their writings
[B] gained increasing importance in religious affairs
[C] abandoned high positions before coming to the New World
[D] created a new intellectual atmosphere in New England
39. The story of John Dane shows that less well-educated New Englanders were often __________.
[A] influenced by superstitions
[B] troubled with religious beliefs
[C] puzzled by church sermons
[D] frustrated with family earnings
40. The text suggests that early settlers in New England__________.
[A] were mostly engaged in political activities
[B] were motivated by an illusory prospect
[C] came from different backgrounds.
[D] left few formal records for later reference
Part B
Directions:
Directions: In the following text, some sentences have been removed. For Questions (41-45), choose the most suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blank. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the gaps. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)
Coinciding with the groundbreaking theory of biological evolution proposed by British naturalist Charles Darwin in the 1860s, British social philosopher Herbert Spencer put forward his own theory of biological and cultural evolution. Spencer argued that all worldly phenomena, including human societies, changed over time, advancing toward perfection. 41.____________.
American social scientist Lewis Henry Morgan introduced another theory of cultural evolution in the late 1800s. Morgan, along with Tylor, was one of the founders of modern anthropology. In his work, he attempted to show how all aspects of culture changed together in the evolution of societies.42._____________.
In the early 1900s in North America, German-born American anthropologist Franz Boas developed a new theory of culture known as historical particularism. Historical particularism, which emphasized the uniqueness of all cultures, gave new direction to anthropology. 43._____________.
Boas felt that the culture of any society must be understood as the result of a unique history and not as one of many cultures belonging to a broader evolutionary stage or type of culture. 44._______________.
Historical particularism became a dominant approach to the study of culture in American anthropology, largely through the influence of many students of Boas. But a number of anthropologists in the early 1900s also rejected the particularist theory of culture in favor of diffusionism. Some attributed virtually every important cultural achievement to the inventions of a few, especially gifted peoples that, according to diffusionists, then spread to other cultures. 45.________________.
Also in the early 1900s, French sociologist Émile Durkheim developed a theory of culture that would greatly influence anthropology. Durkheim proposed that religious beliefs functioned to reinforce social solidarity. An interest in the relationship between the function of society and culture—known as functionalism—became a major theme in European, and especially British, anthropology.
[A] Other anthropologists believed that cultural innovations, such as inventions, had a single origin and passed from society to society. This theory was known as diffusionism.
[B] In order to study particular cultures as completely as possible, Boas became skilled in linguistics, the study of languages, and in physical anthropology, the study of human biology and anatomy.
[C] He argued that human evolution was characterized by a struggle he called the "survival of the fittest," in which weaker races and societies must eventually be replaced by stronger, more advanced races and societies.
[D] They also focused on important rituals that appeared to preserve a people's social structure, such as initiation ceremonies that formally signify children's entrance into adulthood.
[E] Thus, in his view, perse aspects of culture, such as the structure of families, forms of marriage, categories of kinship, ownership of property, forms of government, technology, and systems of food production, all changed as societies evolved.
[F] Supporters of the theory viewed as a collection of integrated parts that work together to keep a society functioning.
[G] For example, British anthropologists Grafton Elliot Smith and W. J. Perry incorrectly suggested, on the basis of inadequate information, that farming, pottery making, and metallurgy all originated in ancient Egypt and diffused throughout the world. In fact, all of these cultural developments occurred separately at different times in many parts of the world.
Part C
Directions:
Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written carefully on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)
There is a marked difference between the education which everyone gets from living with others, and the deliberate educating of the young. In the former case the education is incidental; it is natural and important, but it is not the express reason of the association. (46) It may be said that the measure of the worth of any social institution is its effect in enlarging and improving experience; but this effect is not a part of its original motive. Religious associations began, for example, in the desire to secure the favor of overruling powers and to ward off evil influences; family life in the desire to gratify appetites and secure family perpetuity; systematic labor, for the most part, because of enslavement to others, etc. (47) Only gradually was the by-product of the institution noted, and only more gradually still was this effect considered as a directive factor in the conduct of the institution. Even today, in our industrial life, apart from certain values of industriousness and thrift, the intellectual and emotional reaction of the forms of human association under which the world's work is carried on receives little attention as compared with physical output.
But in dealing with the young, the fact of association itself as an immediate human fact, gains in importance. (48) While it is easy to ignore in our contact with them the effect of our acts upon their disposition, it is not so easy as in dealing with adults. The need of training is too evident; the pressure to accomplish a change in their attitude and habits is too urgent to leave these consequences wholly out of account. (49) Since our chief business with them is to enable them to share in a common life we cannot help considering whether or no we are forming the powers which will secure this ability. If humanity has made some headway in realizing that the ultimate value of every institution is its distinctively human effect we may well believe that this lesson has been learned largely through dealings with the young.
(50) We are thus led to distinguish, within the broad educational process which we have been so far considering, a more formal kind of education -- that of direct tuition or schooling. In undeveloped social groups, we find very little formal teaching and training. These groups mainly rely for instilling needed dispositions into the young upon the same sort of association which keeps the adults loyal to their group.
Section Ⅲ Writing
Part A
51. Directions:
Restrictions on the use of plastic bags have not been so successful in some regions. "White pollution "is still going on. Write a letter to the editor(s) of your local newspaper to
give your opinions briefly and
make two or three suggestions
You should write about 100 words. Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter. Use "Li Ming" instead. You do not need to write the address.
Part B
52. Directions:
In your essay, you should
1) describe the drawing briefly,
2) explain its intended meaning, and then
3) give your comments.
You should write neatly on ANSHWER SHEET 2. (20 points)
2009年考研英语真题答案
Section I: Use of English (10 points)
1. B2. A3. D4. B5. C
6. A7. D8. C9. B10. D
11. D12. B13. C14. D15. A
16. C17. B18. A19. A20. C
Section II: Reading Comprehension (60 points)
Part A (40 points)
21. C22. D23. A24. D25. A
26. A27. C28. D29. A30. B
31. D32. B33. B34. C35. C
36. B37. B38. D39. A40. C
Part B (10 points)
41. C42. E43. A44. B45. G
Part C (10 points)
46. 虽然我们可以说衡量任何一个社会机构价值的标准是其在丰富和完善人生方面所起的作用，但这种作用并不是我们最初的动机的组成部分。
47. 人们只是逐渐地才注意到机构的这—副产品，而人们把这种作用视为机构运作的指导性因素的过程则更为缓慢。
48. 虽然在与年轻人的接触中我们容易忽视自己的行为对他们的性情所产生的影响，然而在与成年人打交道时这种情况就不那么容易发生。
49. 由于我们对年轻人所做的首要工作在于使他们能够在生活中彼此相融，因此我们不禁要考虑自己是否在形成让他们获得这种能力的力量。
50. 这就使我们得以在一直讨论的广义的教育过程中进一步区分出一种更为正式的教育形式，即直接讲授或学校教育。
Section III: Writing (30 points)
Part A (10 points)
51. 参考范文
Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter to draw your attention to the deteriorating situation of “white pollution” in some regions despite the implementation of restrictions on the use of plastic bags.
In order to put an effective stop to the wide spread of “white pollution”, I would like to make the following suggestions . Firstly, the price of plastic bags should be further raised; Secondly , special government departments should be established to supervise the making and using of plastic bags to ensure they are used when really needed.
I hope my suggestions would be of help and thank you for your attention.
Sincerely Yours
Li Ming
Part B (20 points)
52. 参考范文
Vividly depicted in the cartoon is a race of humans on a social network that are isolated in their own little cubicles. They are all sitting in front of their computers, connected to each other through the Internet and their devoted looks and postures showed their addiction to the Internet.
This cartoon, I believe, intends to draw our attentions to the negative effects the Internet has brought to our daily life as it brings in some benefits, such as easy access to information, instant communication with people from afar and cheap cost of communication. The more people are hooked to the Net, the more isolated they are from the real world. Since people can easily pretend their identities on the Internet, everything online becomes illusive and untrustworthy. The Internet, which was intended to bring people closer to each other, in effect prevents people from making real acquaintances that one can make with a casual exchange of greetings and eye-contact in a face-to-face communication.
Serious consequences, such as fear of real-time interactions, online cheating or blackmailing, may follow if the use of the Internet is not brought under systematic control. I strongly suggest that people only use the Internet for necessary business transactions and personal contacts with those they have already known face to face.
