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  3. Between the eighth and eleventh centuries A.D., the Byzantine Empire staged an almost unparalleled economic and cultural revival

Between the eighth and eleventh centuries A.D., the Byzantine Empire staged an almost unparalleled economic and cultural revival

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问题     Between the eighth and eleventh centuries A.D., the Byzantine Empire staged an almost unparalleled economic and cultural revival, a recovery that is all the more striking because it followed a long period of severe internal decline. By the early eighth century, the empire had lost roughly two-thirds of the territory it had possessed in the year 600, and its remaining area was being raided by Arabs and Bulgarians, who at times threatened to take Constantinople and extinguished the empire altogether. The wealth of the state and its subjects was greatly diminished, and artistic and literary production had virtually ceased. By the early eleventh century, however, the empire had regained almost half of its lost possessions, its new frontiers were secure, and its influence extended far beyond its borders. The economy had recovered, the treasury was full, and art and scholarship had advanced.
    To consider the Byzantine military, cultural, and economic advances as differentiated aspects of a single phenomenon is reasonable. After all, these three forms of progress have gone together in a number of states and civilizations. Rome under Augustus and fifth century Athens provide the most obviously examples in antiquity. Moreover, an examination of the apparent sequential connections among military, economic, and cultural forms of programs might help explain the dynamics of historical change.
    The common explanation of these apparent connections in the case of Byzantium would run like this: when the empire had turned back enemy raids on its own territory and had begun to raid and conquer enemy territory, Byzantine resources naturally expanded and more money became available to patronize art and literature. Therefore, Byzantine military achievements led to economic advances, which in turn led to cultural revival.
    No doubt this hypothetical pattern did apply at times during the course of recovery. Yet it is not clear that military advances invariably came first, economic second, and intellectual advances third. In the 860’s the Byzantine Empire began to recover from Arab incursions so that by 872 the military balance with the Abbasid Caliphate had been permanently altered in the empire’s favor. The beginning of the empire’s economic revival,however, can be placed between 810 and 830. Finally, the Byzantine revival of learning appears to have begun even earlier. A number of notable scholars and writers appeared by 788 and, by the last decade of the eighth century, a cultural revival was in full bloom, a revival that lasted until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Thus the commonly expected order of military revival followed by economic and then by cultural recovery was reversed in Byzantium. In fact, the revival of Byzantine learning may itself have influenced the subsequent economic and military expansion.
Which of the following does the author mention as crucial evidence concerning the manner in which the Byzantine revival began?
选项 A、By the early eleventh century the Byzantine Empire had regained much of its lost territory.
B、The Byzantine cultural revival lasted until 1453.
C、The’Byzantine economic recovery began in the 900’s.
D、The revival of Byzantine learning began toward the end of the eighth century.
答案D
解析 结构题。问作者把以下的哪个作为最有说服力的证据来说明拜占庭的复兴开始方式?这实际上是问一个论点的主要论据。所以解题首先要弄清观点是什么。本题所讨论的观点复兴开始方式根据文章主题，我们可以知道是先文化后经济军事。掌握观点后再看选项：A到11世纪占得许多失地并不违背观点，但这个论据出现在第一段，远早于观点的引出，联系不紧：B文化复兴持续到1453年这与观点间无逻辑联系；C经济复兴始于900年不正确。D文化在8世纪就开始复兴了是对的，因为这是文化先于经济和军事的证据。
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