2. 外语
  3. 　　(1) Jewish communities spread rapidly throughout the Mediterranean world from the first century A. D., but it was not until t

　　(1) Jewish communities spread rapidly throughout the Mediterranean world from the first century A. D., but it was not until t

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问题 　　(1)  Jewish communities spread rapidly throughout the Mediterranean world from the first century A. D., but it was not until the 11th century that Jewish people in any significant number began to cross the Channel and settle in England. This magnificent bronze cauldron (大锅) , from the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, is intimately bound up with the story of how the Jews first came to England in 1070, and what happened to them during the next 200 years before they were abruptly expelled from the country in 1290.
　　(2)  Known as the Bodleian Bowl, it was discovered at the end of the 17th century in a disused moat in Norfolk, and remained shrouded in mystery for several hundred years. It was bought in 1742 by Dr Richard Rawlinson, who bequeathed it to the University of Oxford on his death in 1755. Standing almost 25cm high and weighing at a hefty 5kg, the bowl has a long Hebrew inscription encircling the rim and is impressively decorated with hoof-shaped feet, birds, flowers, and stags. The bowl’s value and importance Were beyond doubt, but who owned it, what it was for and how it ended up in a Norfolk moat resisted answers for a long time.
　　(3)  The Marquis of Northampton, writing in 1696, thought the bowl "a great mystery" and described it as a "rabbinical porridge pot" , intended by its users to symbolize the biblical pot of manna (天赐食物). Other theories were that it might have been used by rabbis to wash their hands during ritual observance, or to hold water during the preparation of the dead for burial. It is now generally agreed that it was in all likelihood used to collect charitable donations. The Hebrew inscription also puzzled scholars with its tantalizing mixture of abbreviations, missing letters and words without clear meaning.  A credible translation for the inscription reads:
　　(4)  "This is the gift of Joseph, son of the Holy Rabbi Yechiel, may the memory of the righteous holy one be for a blessing, who answered and asked the congregation as he desired, in order to behold the face of Ariel as it is written in the Law of Jekuthiel. And righteousness delivers from death. "
　　(5)  Property deeds and other documents, which came to light in the 19th century, revealed that Joseph was a leading member of the Jewish community in Colchester in the 13th century, and the eldest son of Rabbi Yechiel of Paris, a leading Talmudic scholar in 13th-century France and head of the renowned Paris yeshiva. Joseph had spent time in prison and on his release made a vow to emigrate to the Holy Land, an intention he began to realize in around 1257. Before his departure, Joseph put his affairs in order, transferred his property in Stockwell Street, Colchester to his brother Samuel and presented the bowl as a gift to the local Jewish community, possibly to thank them for raising money to help fund his journey. Joseph left England in 1260, either with his father, or possibly after his father’s death, travelling first to France and Greece, then on to Palestine, where he subsequently died. He was buried not far from Haifa in a graveyard at the foot of Mount Carmel, alongside many other eminent rabbis.
　　(6)  The bowl’s decorative features, its owners and their connections with France reflect the origins of the Jewish community in medieval England, which came originally from Rouen in Normandy. Actively encouraged by William the Conqueror, who was keen to foster trade between the two countries, Norman Jews began arriving in England soon after the Norman Conquest. They spoke a form of medieval French in their daily life and studied Torah with the help of French translations. They also frequently had French names, such as Bonami, Bonafoy, Deulecresse and Joiette. Rabbi Joseph of Colchester was also known by the splendid name of Messire Delicieux.
　　(7)  For the next century, Jews flourished in England, forming settled communities in many towns and cities, including Norwich, Oxford, Hull, Lincoln and York. Highly literate and numerate, especially compared to the general population of medieval England, their opportunities for employment were nevertheless very restricted, but they played a vital part in the economic life of the country as financiers and moneylenders, the main occupations they were permitted to practice and which were forbidden to Christians.
　　(8)  One of the oldest Jewish communities in England was in Oxford, where Jews had begun to settle as early as 1075. Over the next two centuries they grew steadily in number, wealth and influence, owning some impressive stone properties in and around Great Jewry St. At its peak, between 1170 and 1220, the medieval Jewish population of Oxford consisted of around 100 people in a city of about 2,000, and owned perhaps as many as 100 to 150 properties. The graceful vaulted stone ceilings of one of these medieval Jewish homes have survived to this day and can be viewed in the current Town Hall. Archaeological excavations in 2015 from the old Jewish quarter included vessels that had been used for smelting metals, supporting theories that the Oxford Jewish community was involved in both the procurement of bullion (金条) for the Royal Mint and the actual production of coins. Earlier excavations revealed that houses in the Jewish quarter were connected by underground passageways, possibly designed for the safe traffic of money to and from the castle mint.
　　(9)   Jewish landlords and property owners also played a significant role in the establishment of the university. Merton College, one of the earliest colleges in Oxford, was established in the 1260s with the help of a wealthy local Jew named Jacob of Oxford, who was instrumental in the purchase and even the purpose-built designs of some of the buildings. Balliol College and Christ Church were also endowed with properties that were originally owned by the city’s medieval Jews.
We learn from the passage that the early Jewish settlers were________.
选项 A、mostly illiterate                                                      
B、indifferent to education
C、commercially engaged                                             
D、little interested in properties
答案C
解析 事实细节题。根据题干中的early Jewish settlers定位至第八段。该段首句提到，英国最古老的犹太人社区之一位于牛津，早在1075年犹太人就开始在那里定居，而随后在第五句中指出，2015年古犹太区的考古发掘中发现了用于冶炼金属的器皿，这印证了牛津的犹太社区曾参与皇家造币厂金条采购和硬币实际生产的推断。这些表明早期犹太定居者从事商业活动，故C为答案。A、B两项所述内容均与第七段第二句不符，该句指出犹太人的识字、识数能力很强，故排除；第八段第二至四句提到犹太人拥有诸多令人赞叹的房产，故排除D。
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