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
Somehow California is always at the cutting edge, be it in the flower-power days of the 1960s or the dotcom boom of the 1990s. A
Somehow California is always at the cutting edge, be it in the flower-power days of the 1960s or the dotcom boom of the 1990s. A
admin
2012-07-22
46
问题
Somehow California is always at the cutting edge, be it in the flower-power days of the 1960s or the dotcom boom of the 1990s. As Kevin Starr points out in his History of the State, California has long been "one of the prisms through which the American people, for better and for worse, could glimpse their future".
Mr. Starr is too good a historian to offer any pat explanation; instead, he concentrates on the extraordinary array of people and events that have led from the mythical land of Queen Calafia, through the rule of Spain and Mexico, and on to the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, an iron-pumping film star with an Austrian accent. Moreover, he does so with such elegance and humor that his book is a joy to read.
What emerges is not all Californian sunshine and light. Think back to the savage violence that accompanied the 1849 Gold Rush; or to the exclusion orders against the Chinese; or to the riots that regularly marked industrial and social relations in San Francisco. California was very much the Wild West, having to wait until 1850 before it could force its way to statehood.
So what tamed it? Mr. Starr’s answer is a combination of great men, great ideas and great projects. He emphasizes the development of California’s infrastructure, the development of agriculture; the spread of the railroads and freeways; and, perhaps the most important factor for today’s hi-tech California, the creation of a superb set of public universities.
All this, he writes, "began with water, the sine qua non of any civilization." He goes on cheerfully to note the "monumental damage to the environment" caused by irrigation projects that were "plagued by claims of deception, double-dealing and conflict of interest".
One virtue of this book is its structure. Mr. Start is never trapped by his chronological framework. In-stead, when the subject demands it, he manages deftly to flit back and forth among the decades. Less satisfying is his account of California’s cultural progress in the 19th and 20th centuries: does he really need to invoke so many long-forgotten writers to accompany such names as Jack London, Frank Norris, Mark Twain or Raymond Chandler?
But that is a minor criticism for a book that will become a California classic. The regret is that Mr. Starr, doubtless pressed for space, leaves so little room--just a brief final chapter--for the implications of the past for California’s future. He poses the question that most Americans prefer to gloss over: is California governable? "For all its impressive growth, there remains a volatility in the politics and governance of California, which became perfectly clear to the rest of the nation in the fall of 2003 when the voters of California recalled one governor and elected another."
Indeed so, and Mr. Start wisely avoids making any premature judgment on their choice. Ills such as soaring house prices, grid locked freeways and "embattled" public schools, combined with the budgetary problems that stem from the tax revolt of 1978 would test to the limit any governor, even the Terminator. As Mr. Starr notes, no one should cite California as an unambiguous triumph: "There has al-ways been something slightly bipolar about California. It was either utopia or dystopia, a dream or a night-mare, a hope or a broken promise--and too infrequently anything in between."
From the text we can learn that Mr. Starr is very ______ as a historian.
选项
A、conservative
B、cunning and shrewd
C、objective and canny
D、critical and aggressive
答案
C
解析
推理判断题。根据文章第二段的前两句话可以看出他很客观,用事实说话,第八段第一句话也说他避免做出不成熟的结论,这些都说明他客观、谨慎、负责,而不是狡猾、保守,所以排除了选项A 和B ;Mr.Starr并没有咄咄逼人、特别具有批判性,所以排除选项D ;在赞扬加州美丽的同时也不回避其缺点,说明他作为历史学家很客观,故选择C 。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/jcmK777K
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
Beingsomewhatshortsighted,shehadthehabitof______atpeople.
Peoplewholiveinthecountrysideorinthemountain,wheretheeyesareconstantly______themselvestoobjectsatadistance,
Tomorroweveningabout20millionAmericanswillbeshown,ontheirtelevisionscreens,howeasyitistostealplutoniumandpr
AlthoughIaminperfecthealth,andinpossessionofavalidclass-oneCaliforniadrivinglicense,Iamrunning【C1】______prob
Thisisthelifeofsomeonewhowrotelittle,spokelittle,andaboutwhomtherearefewmemories.Yetifanyone’slifeisworth
Anobviouschangeofattitudeatthetoptowardswomen’sstatusinsocietywill______throughthecurrentlawsysteminJapan.
Tolearnwithsuccessisnotaverydifficulttaskofsomefundamentalprinciples【C1】______tobeitsbases.【C2】______discu
Whatdoyoulookforinapotentialdate?Sincerity?Goodlooks?Character?Conversationalability?Askedto【C1】______suchquali
Mostofusspendourlivesseekingthenaturalworld.Tothis【C1】______wegofishing,sitinthegarden,drinkoutsideratherth
They______inspiteoftheextremelydifficultconditions.
随机试题
TheOriginoftheSong"HappyBirthdaytoYou"Ifthereisonesongthatweallknowithastobetheclassic"HappyBirthda
正常人粪便中可见到的结晶是
宇宙万物的共同构成本原是
老年人合理营养总的原则不包括
依据《中华人民共和国合同法》对合同变更的规定,以下表述中正确的是()。
根据《中华人民共和国劳动争议调解仲裁法》的规定,下列选项中,()属于造成劳动仲裁时效中断的情形。
下列有关鉴证业务要素的说法中,恰当的有()。
合作是新形势下实现共同发展的必由之路。唯有合作,我们才能____彼此分歧;唯有合作,我们才能不断____共同利益;唯有合作,我们才能有效应对各种挑战,____共赢的彼岸。依次填入划横线部分最恰当的一项是()。
共产党员如果敢于坚持真理,那么,必须同歪风邪气进行针锋相对的斗争:如果对错误的东西一味顺着、跟着、护着,那么只能助长不正之风的恶性蔓延。所以( )。
并不是只有人类和动物才懂得爱和恨,植物也有“爱和恨”。当然,植物的“爱和恨”不是感情的表现,【C6】______:有的植物能和睦相处,有的则难以共生。科学家经过实验证明:洋葱和胡萝卜是好朋友,【C7】______;葡萄园里种上紫罗兰,能使
最新回复
(
0
)