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
"Paleolithic Art" → The several millennia following 30,000 B.C. saw a powerful outburst of artistic creativity. The artworks
"Paleolithic Art" → The several millennia following 30,000 B.C. saw a powerful outburst of artistic creativity. The artworks
admin
2012-01-14
33
问题
"Paleolithic Art"
→ The several millennia following 30,000 B.C. saw a powerful outburst of artistic creativity. The artworks produced range from simple shell necklaces to human and animal forms in ivory, clay, and stone to monumental paintings, engravings, and relief sculptures covering the huge wall surfaces of caves. From the moment in 1879 that cave paintings were discovered at Altamira, scholars have wondered why the hunter-artists of the Old Stone Age decided to cover the walls of dark caverns with animal images. Various answers have been given, including that they were mere decoration, but this theory cannot explain the narrow range of subjects or the inaccessibility of many of the paintings. In fact, the remoteness and difficulty of access of many of the cave paintings and the fact they appear to have been used for centuries are precisely what have led many scholars to suggest that the prehistoric hunters attributed magical properties to the images they painted. According to this argument, by confining animals to the surfaces of their cave walls, the artists believed they were bringing the beasts under their control. Some have even hypothesized that rituals or dances were performed in front of the images and that these rites served to improve the hunters’ luck. Still others have stated that the painted animals may have served as teaching tools to instruct new hunters about the character of the various species they would encounter or even to serve as targets for spears!
By contrast, some scholars have argued that the magical purpose of the paintings was not to
facilitate
the destruction of bison and other species. Instead, they believe prehistoric painters created animal images to assure the survival of the herds. Paleolithic peoples depended on for their food supply and for their clothing.A A central problem for both the hunting-magic and foodcreation theories is that the animals that seem to have been diet staples of Old Stone Age peoples are not
those
most frequently portrayed.B
Other scholars have sought to reconstruct an elaborate mythology based on the cave paintings, suggesting that Paleolithic humans believed they had animal ancestors. Still others have equated certain species with men and others with women and also found sexual symbolism in the abstract signs that sometimes accompany the images.C Almost all of these theories have been
discredited
over time, and art historians must admit that no one knows the intent of these paintings. D In fact, a single explanation for all Paleolithic murals, even paintings similar in subject, style, and composition (how the motifs are arranged on the surface), is unlikely to apply universally. For now, the paintings remain an enigma.
→
That the paintings did have meaning to the Paleolithic peoples who made and observed them cannot, however, be doubted.
In fact, signs consisting of checks, dots, squares, or other arrangements of lines often accompany the pictures of animals. Several observers have seen a primitive writing form in these representations of nonliving things, but the signs, too, may have had some other significance. Some look like traps and arrows and, according to the hunting-magic theory, may have been drawn to insure success in capturing or killing animals with these devices. At Pech-Merle in France, the "spotted horses" painted on the cave wall may not have spots. Some scholars have argued that the "spots," which appear both within and without the horses’ outlines, are painted rocks thrown at the animals.
→ Representations of human hands also are common. Those around the Pech-Merle horses, and the majority of painted hands at other sites, are "negative," that is, the artist placed one hand against the wall and then painted or blew pigment around it. Occasionally, the artist dipped a hand in paint and then pressed it against the wall, leaving a "positive" imprint. These handprints, too, must have had a purpose. Some scholars have considered them "signatures" of cult or community members or, less likely, of individual artists.
The word discredited in the passage is closest in meaning to
选项
A、not attentive
B、not believed
C、not hopeful
D、not organized
答案
B
解析
In this passage, the phrase not believed describes "discredited." Choice A describes distracted. Choice C describes discouraged. Choice D describes disorderly. Context comes from the parts of the word. The prefix dis means "not." The root credit means "believe."
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/tNyO777K
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
ClassifythefollowinginformationasreferringtoAadoptedthewritingsystemfromanothercountryBusedorganicmaterialst
ClassifythefollowinginformationasreferringtoAadoptedthewritingsystemfromanothercountryBusedorganicmaterialst
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninReadingPassage1?Inboxes10-13onyouranswersheet,writeTR
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeviewsofthewriterinReadingPassage3?Inboxes33-37onyouranswersheet,write
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeviewsofthewriterinReadingPassage3?Inboxes33-37onyouranswersheet,write
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeviewsofthewriterinReadingPassage3?Inboxes33-37onyouranswersheet,write
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.TheTawnyOwlMost【L31】______owlspeciesinUKStronglynocturna
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.TheTawnyOwlMost【L31】______owlspeciesinUKStronglynocturna
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.TheTawnyOwlMost【L31】______owlspeciesinUKStronglynocturna
Choosethecorrectletter,A,BorC.WhatdoesJimthinkaboutthedifferenceamongspeciesinnaturalandartificiallight?
随机试题
慢性盆腔炎:闭经、不孕、输卵管碘油造影呈串珠状:
突然发作上腹部钻顶样疼痛是胆道蛔虫病的典型表现。()
根据《水利水电工程标准施工招标文件》,承包人不能提出增加费用和延长工期要求的暂停施工的情形包括()等。
某市政务服务中心办公大楼工程,地下为3层连体车库,地上24层,框架一剪力墙结构,由于现场场地开阔,并且地下水位埋藏较深,地质勘察报告和设计文件推荐基坑土方施工采用放坡大开挖。本工程无预应力,也未采用任何四新技术,均按常规施工,脚手架采用分段悬挑式,核心筒剪
下列项目中,违背会计信息质量的可比性要求的有()。
下列经济活动中,会引起资产和负债同时增加的是()。
拟寄生是指一种动物附着于其他动物个体表面或进人体内摄取营养,并通常杀死寄主的现象。根据上述定义,下列选项中不属于拟寄生的是()。
虽然人事激励对公司很重要,但是,一项研究结果表明,人事部门并不如此重要,因为人事部门不参加战略决策会议,而且雇佣高级经理都由CEO决定,人事部门很多时候只起支持和辅助的作用。以下哪项陈述如果为真,对上述论证的削弱最强?()
Electronicmailhasbeeninwidespreaduseformorethanadecade,simplifyingtheflowofideas,connectingpeoplefromdistant
打印机是一种输出设备,可以输出文稿、图形、程序等。下面是有关打印机的叙述Ⅰ.针式打印机能平推多层套打,特别适用于存折和票据打印Ⅱ.激光打印机打印质量高、速度快、噪音低Ⅲ.喷墨打印机能输出彩色图像、不产生臭氧,但耗材价格较贵Ⅳ
最新回复
(
0
)