TEXT 1

 

　　The word religion is derived from the Latin noun religio, which denotes both earnest observance of ritual obligations and an inward spirit of reverence. In modern usage, religion covers a wide spectrum of meaning that reflects the enormous variety of ways the term can be interpreted. At one extreme, many committed believers recognize only their own tradition as a religion, understanding expressions such as worship and prayer to refer exclusively to the practices of their tradition. Although many believers stop short of claiming an exclusive status for their tradition, they may nevertheless use vague or idealizing terms in defining religion for example, true love of God, or the path of enlightenment. At the other extreme, religion may be equated with ignorance, fanaticism, or wishful thinking.

 

　　By defining religion as a sacred engagement with what is taken to be a spiritual reality, it is possible to consider the importance of religion in human life without making claims about what it really is or ought to be. Religion is not an object with a single, fixed meaning, or even a zone with clear boundaries. It is an aspect of human experience that may intersect, incorporate, or transcend other aspects of life and society. Such a definition avoid the drawbacks of limiting the investigation of religion to Western or biblical categories such as monotheism (belief in one god only) or to church structure, which are not universal. For example, in tribal societies, religion unlike the Christian church usually is not a separate institution but pervades the whole of public and private life.

 

　　In Buddhism, gods are not as central as the idea of a Buddha. In many traditional cultures, the idea of a sacred cosmic order is the most prominent religious belief. Because of this variety, some scholars prefer to use a general term such as the sacred to designate the common foundation of religious life.

 

　　Religion in this understanding includes a complex of activities that cannot be reduced to any single aspect of human experience. It is a part of individual life but also of group dynamics. Religion includes patterns of behavior but also patterns of language and thought. It is sometimes a highly organized institution that sets itself apart from a culture, and it is sometimes an integral part of a culture. Religious experience may be expressed in visual symbols, dance and performance, elaborate philosophical systems, legendary and imaginative stories, formal ceremonies, and detailed rules of ethical conduct and law. Each of these elements assumes innumerable cultural forms. In some ways there are as many forms of religious expression as there are human cultural environments.

 

　　1.What is the passage mainly concerned about?

 

　　A.Religion has a variety of interpretation.

 

　　B.Religion is a reflection of ignorance.

 

　　C.Religion is not only confined to the Christian categories.

 

　　D.Religion includes all kinds of activities.

 

　　2.What does the word “observance” probably convey in Para. 1?

 

　　A.notice

 

　　B.watching

 

　　C.conformity

 

　　D.experience

 

　　3.According to the passage what people generally consider religion to be?

 

　　A.Fantastic observance

 

　　B.Spiritual practice

 

　　C.Individual observance of tradition

 

　　D.A complex of activities

 

　　4.Which of the following is not true?

 

　　A.It is believed by some that religion should be what it ought to be.

 

　　B.“The path of enlightenment” is a definition that the author doesn’t agree to.

 

　　C.According to the author, the committed believers define religion improperly.

 

　　D.The author doesn’t speak in favor of the definition of “the sacred”.

 

　　5.Which of the following is religion according to the passage?

 

　　A.Performance of human beings.

 

　　B.Buddha, monotheism and some tribal tradition.

 

　　C.Practice separated from culture.

 

　　D.All the above.

 

　　【答案】ACBDB

 

    TEXT 2

 

　　Art is considered by many people to be little more than a decorative means of giving pleasure. This is not always the case, however; at times, art may be seen to have a purely functional side as well. Such could be said of the sandpaintings of the Navaho Indians of the American Southwest; these have a medicinal as well as an artistic purpose.

 

　　According to Navaho traditions, one who suffers from either a mental or a physical illness has in come way disturbed or come in contact with the supernatural—perhaps a certain animal, a ghost, or the dead. To counteract this evil contact, the ill person or one of his relatives will employ a medicine man called a “singer” to perform a healing ceremony which will attract a powerful supernatural being.

 

　　During the ceremony, which may last from 2 to 9 days, the “singer” will produce a sandpainting on the floor of the Navaho hogan. On the last day of the ceremony, the patient will sit on this sandpainting and the “singer” will rub the ailing parts of the patient’s body with sand from a specific figure in the sandpainting. In this way the patient absorbs the power of that particular supernatural being and becomes strong like it. After the ceremony, the sandpainting is then destroyed and disposed of so its power will not harm anyone.

 

　　The art of sandpainting is handed down from old “singer” to their students. The material used are easily found in the areas the Navaho inhabit; brown, red, yellow, and white sandstone, which is pulverized by being crushed between 2 stones much as corns is ground into flour. The “singer” holds a small amount of this sand in his hand and lets it flow between his thumb and fore-finger onto a clean, flat surface on the floor. With a steady hand and great patience, he is thus able to create designs of stylized people, snakes and other creatures that have power in the Navaho belief system. The traditional Navaho does not allow reproduction of sandpaintings, since he believes the supernatural powers that taught him the craft have forbidden this; however, such reproductions can in fact be purchased today in tourist shops in Arizona and New Mexico. These are done by either Navaho Indians or by other people who wish to preserve this craft.

 

　　1.The purpose of the passage is to ___.

 

　　A.discuss the medical uses of sandpaintings in medieval Europe.

 

　　B.study the ways Navaho Indians handed down their painting art.

 

　　C.consider how Navaho “singer” treat their ailments with sandpaintings.

 

　　D.tell how Navaho Indians apply sandpainting for medical purposes.

 

　　2.The purpose of a healing ceremony lies in ___.

 

　　A.pleasing the ghosts

 

　　B.attracting supernatural powers

 

　　C.attracting the ghosts

 

　　D.creating a sandpainting

 

　　3.The “singer” rubs sand on the patient because ___.

 

　　A.the patient receives strength from the sand

 

　　B.it has pharmaceutical value

 

　　C.it decorates the patient

 

　　D.none of the above

 

　　4.What is used to produce a sandpainting?

 

　　A.Paint

 

　　B.Beach sand

 

　　C.Crushed sandstone

 

　　D.Flour

 

　　5.Which of the following titles will be best suit the passage?

 

　　A.A New Direction for Medical Research

 

　　B.The Navaho Indians’ Sandpainting

 

　　C.The Process of Sandpainting Creation

 

　　D.The Navaho Indians’ Medical History

 

　　【答案】DBACB

 

　　請將下面這段話翻譯成英文：

 

　　一個人的生命究竟有多大意義，這有什么標準可以衡量嗎?提出一個絕對的標準當然很困難;但是，大體上看一個人對待生命的態度是否嚴肅認真，看他對待勞動、工作等等的態度如何，也就不難對這個人的存在意義做出適當的估計了。古來一切有成就的人，都很嚴肅地對待自己的生命，當他活著一天，總要盡量多勞動、多工作、多學習、不肯虛度年華，不讓時間白白地浪費掉。我國歷代的勞動人民以及大政治家、大思想家等等都莫不如此。

 

　　【譯文答案】

 

　　Is there a standard to evaluate the significance of one's life?It's certainly difficult to offer a definite standard.But generally speaking,we can tell it by judging his attitude towards life and work,making clear whether he is serious about his life.

 

　　Throughout the history,the outstanding people were all very serious about their lives.They made best use of every minute of their lives to work and study as much as possible,never wasting their time.None of the working people and the great statesmen and their thinkers were of exception.

 

2020年全國新東方在線英語公開課視頻試題及答案。一個好的課堂導入，是建立師生感情的第一座橋梁，可以使學生自然而然地進入學習新知識的情境，并能激發學生的興趣和強烈的求知欲，在最短的時間內，使學生進入最佳的學習狀態。