首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Civilization Before about 3500 BC, there were cultures, but not civilizations. Prehistoric men and women created societies,
Civilization Before about 3500 BC, there were cultures, but not civilizations. Prehistoric men and women created societies,
admin
2013-04-25
80
问题
Civilization
Before about 3500 BC, there were cultures, but not civilizations. Prehistoric men and women created societies, constructed houses, lived in villages, hunted and fished, farmed, made pottery, wove cloth and created languages. But unlike more advanced peoples, they did not build cities, read or write. Cities are the
cornerstone
of civilized life because with them came other civilizing elements, including differentiation of classes and employment, sophisticated religious and political systems, monumental architecture and the formation of states and empires.
Historians usually begin the story of civilization with
accounts
of the world’s first great writers and city-builders, the Sumerians. Because the Sumerians recorded ideas and sagas and listed the names of their rulers, we know more about them than about prehistoric peoples who left their legacy in stones, bones and pottery.
With the ability to build cities and record thoughts came the ability to communicate ideas and
innovations
over vast reaches of time and space. Human beings—who had formerly taken hundreds of thousands of years to learn that a stone ax sharpened on both sides is more useful than an ax sharpened on one side—progressed rapidly from foot travel to horse drawn carts, and later from railways to airplanes. With these and thousands of other innovations, people came to live longer, more comfortable lives.
Civilization also brought new ills to humanity. In the 20th century it brought nuclear warfare, global warming, and ozone depletion. More subtly, civilization removed human beings from regular encounters with the wonders of the natural world. Unlike people of modern civilizations,
primitive
people lived close to the sounds and smells of forest and grasslands. They looked at fire and the stars with awe and reverence. Civilization involves the ability to create a new political and cultural world. In the 19th century the American writer, philosopher and naturalist Henry David Thoreau noted that this artificial sphere separates humanity from primitive virtue.
"Most of the luxuries", he argued, "and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevations of mankind."
Thoreau believed that men and women should simplify their lives.
(A)To live well and happily usually doesn’t mean to live very luxuriously, the material enjoyment and much expense can satisfy you to some extent, but to enjoy a simple life also can make you feel fine and comfortable, something in your mind or in your spiritual world can bring more or influence much on your life and your happiness value.
(B)They expressed this sense of regret in the story of Prometheus and Pandora. Contrary to the wishes of other gods, Prometheus brought to humanity the gifts of fire, art and science. The jealous gods were unwilling to allow men and women to enjoy such blessings without cost, and so they sent Pandora to the world with a box containing disease, sorrow and other evils.
(C)From then on, the world wasn’t quiet or fortunate all the time, some people suffered from them and always got punished in one way or other. The people began to pay as well as they gain some achievement during the progress process. Human beings have viewed civilization as a mixed blessing. Civilized people have waged brutal wars, destroyed majestic forests and persecuted religious minorities.
(D)But civilizations have also achieved wonders.
We cannot list with words all the achievements of the human beings with the help and development of civilization. The abilities of writing and reading can spread one kind of culture or invention to other places, and advanced science and technology have allowed human beings to enjoy much more convenient and interesting lives. With many inventions of modern life, many places where people could not reach before can be explored and developed by human beings and many new materials with very good properties can improve people’s lives and help do many jobs which were thought very difficult or impossible before.
The author discusses Prometheus and Pandora in the passage in order to ______.
选项
A、tell us an interesting story
B、explain the concept of civilization
C、illustrate the development of civilization
D、show civilized people’s regret
答案
D
解析
本题属于修辞目的题,考查考生对作者写作手法、目的和所表达的态度的理解。题目问:作者在文中讨论了普罗米修斯和潘多拉,其目的是什么?此处讲述这个故事是为了表达现代文明人的遗憾,故选项D为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/i0yO777K
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
SECTION4Questions31-40Questions31-32Completethefollowingsummaryofthelecturer’sintroductionbyusingNOMORETHAN
Whatwasthestudentsurprisedtodiscoverhehadalotof?Theprofessorpointsoutthattheuniversitylanguagecentre______
Theprofessorsaysthatsuperhighways______.【26】
Theprofessorsaysthatsuperhighways______.【25】
Theprofessorsaysthatsuperhighways______.Thestudentbelievesthathighways______.
Theprofessorsaysthatsuperhighways______.Theprofessorsuggeststhatinfiveyears’time______.
Inthemiddlepart,Klaraneedstousea______.What’sthelastthingKlaraneedstodobeforegivingtheprofessorherproje
Completethelecturenotes.UseNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSforeachanswer.PurposeoftheminilectureToexperience【T32】______
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.BusinessCulturesPowercultureCharacteristi
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.BusinessCulturesPowercultureCharacteristi
随机试题
以下说法正确的是()。
尖锐湿疣的病原体是
A公司2012年2月1日在二级股票市场购入B公司的股票50万股,每股支付价款8元,发生交易费用15万元,A公司取得该项投资后划分为可供出售金融资产,B公司于2011年12月15日宣告分红,每股红利为0.5元,于2012年3月15日实际发放,6月30日,B公
上市金融企业应严格遵守证券交易所有关信息披露的规定,及时充分披露不良资产成因与处置结果等信息,以强化市场约束机制。()
某小区“夕阳红服务队”和“4点半课堂”在社区内有着良好的声誉,为了促进参与式社区治理,社会工作者小林策划由“夕阳红服务队”的助老志愿者和“4点半课堂”的孩子们到社区养老服务中心与那里的老人一起开展联欢活动,小林采取的社区资源连接方式是()
教师权利与义务实现过程中不受道德因素的影响。
远期
在汉语和英语中,“塔”的发音是一样的,这是英语借用了汉语;“幽默”的发音也是一样的,这是汉语借用了英语。而在英语和姆巴拉拉语中,“狗”的发音也是一样的,但可以肯定,使用这两种语言的人的交往只是近两个世纪的事,而姆巴拉拉语(包括“狗”的发音)的历史,几乎和英
为了保证信息传输的安全性,SET使用数字信封的方式更换专用传输密钥。其方法是:由发送方自动生成专用传输密钥,并将其用(36)加密传送给接收方;接收方用(37)解密,得到专用传输密钥。(37)
Beingabletomulti-taskishailedbymostpeopleasawelcomeskill,butnotaccordingtoarecentstudywhichclaimsthatyoun
最新回复
(
0
)