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  3. Art is considered by many people to be little more than a decorative means of giving pleasure. This is not always the case, howe

Art is considered by many people to be little more than a decorative means of giving pleasure. This is not always the case, howe

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问题     Art is considered by many people to be little more than a decorative means of giving pleasure. This is not always the case, however; at times, art may be seen to have a purely functional side as well. Such could be said of the sand-paintings of the Navaho Indians of the American Southwest; these have a medicinal as well as an artistic purpose.
    According to Navaho traditions, one who suffers from either a mental or a physical illness has in some way disturbed or come in contact with the supernatural-perhaps a certain animal, a ghost, or the dead. To counteract this evil contact, the ill person or one of his relatives will employ a medicine man called a "singer" to perform a healing ceremony which will attract a powerful supernatural being.
    During the ceremony, which may last from 2 to 9 days, the "singer" will produce a sandpainting on the floor of the Navaho(纳瓦霍人) Hogan (印第安草屋). On the last day of the ceremony, the patient will sit on this sandpainting and the "singer" will rub the ailing (生病 的) parts of the patient’s body with sand from a specific figure in the sandpainting. In this way the patient absorbs the power of that particular supernatural being and becomes strong like it. After the ceremony, the sandpainting is then destroyed and disposed of so its power will not harm anyone.
    The art of sandpainting is handed down from old "singer" to their students. The material used are easily found in the areas the Navaho inhabit; brown, red, yellow, and white sandstone, which is pulverized (研磨成粉) by being crushed between 2 stones much as corns is ground into flour. The "singer" holds a small amount of this sand in his hand and lets it flow between his thumb and fore-finger onto a clean, flat surface on the floor. With a steady hand and great patience, he is thus able to create designs of stylized people, snakes and other creatures that have power in the Navaho belief system. The traditional Navaho does not allow reproduction of sandpaintings, since he believes the supernatural powers that taught him the craft have forbidden this; however, such reproductions can in fact be purchased today in tourist shops in Arizona and New Mexico. These are done by either Navaho Indians or by other people who wish to preserve this craft.
What is used to produce a sandpainting?
选项 A、Paint.
B、Beach sand.
C、Crushed sandstone.
D、Flour.
答案C
解析 可定位于第4段第2句：The material．．．brown，red，yellow，and whitesandstone…指出：沙绘所用材料是在纳瓦霍族居住地常见的褐色、红色、黄色和白色的沙石，这些沙石在两块石头之间被研磨成粉，就如同玉米被磨成面粉一样。选项A意为“颜料”，选项B意为“沙滩上的沙”，选项D意为“面粉”，只有选项C意为“磨碎的沙石”符合文中表述，故正确选项为C。
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