D
If you want to tell the history of the whole world, a history that does not privilege one part of humanity, you cannot do it through texts alone, because only some of the world has ever had texts, while most of the world, for most of the time, has not. Writing is one of humanity’s later achievements, and until fairly recently even many literate (有文字的) societies recorded their concerns not only in writing but in things.
优技学元司19607c0a件软网8211公智-径广限有慧科途东升 Ideally a history would bring together texts and objects, and some chapters of this book are able to do just that, but in many cases we simply can’t. The clearest example of this between literate and non-literate history is perhaps the first conflict, at Botany Bay, between Captain Cook’s voyage and the Australian Aboriginals. From the English side, we have scientific reports and the captain’s record of that terrible day. From the Australian side, we have only a wooden shield (盾) dropped by a man in flight after his first experience of gunshot. If we want to reconstruct what was actually going on that day, the shield must be questioned and interpreted as deeply and strictly as the written reports.
In addition to the problem of miscomprehension from both sides, there are victories accidentally or deliberately twisted, especially when only the victors know how to write. Those who are on the losing side often have only their things to tell their stories. The Caribbean Taino, the Australian Aboriginals, the African people of Benin and the Incas, all of whom appear in this book, can speak to us now of their past achievements most powerfully through the objects they made: a history told through things gives them back a voice. When we consider contact (联系) between literate and non-literate societies such as these, all our first-hand accounts are necessarily twisted, only one half of a dialogue. If we are to find the other half of that conversation, we have to read not just the texts, but the objects.
12. What is the first paragraph mainly about?
A. How past events should be presented. B. What humanity is concerned about.
C. Whether facts speak louder than words. D. Why written language is reliable.
13. What does the author indicate by mentioning Captain Cook in paragraph 2?
A. His report was scientific. B. He represented the local people.
C. He ruled over Botany Bay. D. His record was one-sided.
14. What does the underlined word “conversation” in paragraph 3 refer to?
A. Problem. B. History. C. Voice. D. Society.
15. Which of the following books is the text most likely selected from?
A. How Maps Tell Stories of the World B. A Short History of Australia
C. A History of the World in 100 Objects D. How Art Works Tell Stories
【答案】12. A 13. D 14. B 15. C
【解析】
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【导语】本文是一篇议论文。本文讨论了仅仅依靠书面文本来讲述世界历史的局限性，并强调了将物品纳入历史叙事以更好地理解无文字社会的重要性。
【12题详解】
主旨大意题。根据文章第一段“If you want to tell the history of the whole world, a history that does not privilege one part of humanity, you cannot do it through texts alone, because only some of the world has ever had texts, while most of the world, for most of the time, has not. Writing is one of humanity’s later achievements, and until fairly recently even many literate (有文字的) societies recorded their concerns not only in writing but in things. (如果你想讲述整个世界的历史，一段不以人类某一部分为特权的历史，你不能仅仅通过文本来讲述，因为世界上只有一部分人曾经有过文本，而世界上大多数人，在大多数时间里，都没有。写作是人类较晚的成就之一，直到最近，甚至许多有文字的社会也不仅用文字，而且用物件来记录他们所关心的事情。)”可推知，第一段主要讲述的是历史应该如何呈现给我们。故选A。
【13题详解】
推理判断题。根据文章第二段首句“Ideally a history would bring together texts and objects, and some chapters of this book are able to do just that, but in many cases we simply can’t. (理想情况下，历史应该将文本和物品结合在一起，本书的某些章节能够做到这一点，但在许多情况下，我们根本做不到。)”可推断，作者认为历史应该是文本和物品相结合的产物，但是很多情况下，我们做不到。再根据所举例子的下文“From the English side, we have scientific reports and the captain’s record of that terrible day. From the Australian side, we have only a wooden shield (盾) dropped by a man in flight after his first experience of gunshot. (在英国方面，我们有科学报告和船长对那可怕的一天的记录。从澳大利亚方面来看，我们只有一个木制盾牌，这是一名男子在第一次经历枪击后在飞行中扔下的。)”可知，作者举这个例子是为了说明船长的记录是片面的，只从自己的角度描述了问题。故选D。
【14题详解】
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词句猜测题。根据划线单词上文“The Caribbean Taino, the Australian Aboriginals, the African people of Benin and the Incas, all of whom appear in this book, can speak to us now of their past achievements most powerfully through the objects they made: a history told through things gives them back a voice. When we consider contact (联系) between literate and non-literate societies such as these, all our first-hand accounts are necessarily twisted, only one half of a dialogue. (加勒比海的泰诺人、澳大利亚的土著人、贝宁的非洲人以及印加人，所有这些人都出现在这本书中，他们现在都可以通过他们制造的物品向我们讲述他们过去最强大的成就：通过物品讲述的历史给了他们一个声音。当我们考虑诸如此类的有文化社会和无文化社会之间的接触时，我们所有的第一手资料都必然是扭曲的，只有对话的一半。)”结合划线句“If we are to find the other half of that conversation, we have to read not just the texts, but the objects. (如果我们要找到对话的另一半，我们不仅要读文本，还要读物体。)”可知，我们对过去历史的了解，只是书写历史的人所想要让我们了解的历史，如果我们想要了解历史的另一半，我们不仅仅要读文本也要读对象。所以conversation指的是“历史”。故选B。【15题详解】
推理判断题。根据文章第一段“If you want to tell the history of the whole world, a history that does not privilege one part of humanity, you cannot do it through texts alone, because only some of the world has ever had texts, while most of the world, for most of the time, has not.(如果你想讲述整个世界的历史，一段不以人类某一部分为特权的历史，你不能仅仅通过文本来讲述，因为世界上只有一部分人的历史曾经被文字记录过，而世界上大多数人，在大多数时间里，都没有。)”结合最后一段的“ If we are to find the other half of that conversation, we have to read not just the texts, but the objects. (如果我们要找到对话的另一半，我们不仅要读文本，还要读物体。)”可知，本文讲述仅仅依靠书面文本来讲述世界历史有局限性，想要更好的了解历史就要将文本和物品结合在一起。从而推断文章最有可能选自《100件物品中的世界史》。故选C。
编辑：小徐