In large part as a consequence of the feminist movement, historians have focused a great deal of attention in recent years on determining more accurately the status of women in various periods. Although much has been accomplished for the modern period premodern cultures have proved more difficult: sources are restricted in number, fragmentary, difficult to interpret, and often contradictory. Thus it is not particularly surprising that some earlier scholarship concerning such cultures has so far gone unchallengeD.An example is Johann Baehofen’s 1861 treatise on Amazons, women-ruled societies of questionable existence contemporary with ancient Greece.
Starting from the premise that mythology and legend preserve at least a nucleus of historical fact, Bachofen argued that women were dominant in many ancient societies. His work was based on a comprehensive survey of references in the ancient sources to Amazonian and other societies with matrilineal customs—societies in which descent and property rights are traced through the female line. Some support for his theory can be found in evidence such as that drawn from
Herodotus, the Greek “historian” of the fifth century B.C., who peaks of an Amazonian society, the Sauromatae, where the women hunted and fought in wars. A woman in this society was not allowed to marry until she had killed a person in battle.
Nonetheless, this assumption that the first recorders of ancient myths have preserved facts is problematiC.If one begins by examining why ancients refer to Amazons, it becomes clear that ancient Greek descriptions of such societies were meant not so much to represent observed historical fact-real Amazonian societies-but rather to offer "moral lessons" on the supposed outcome of women's rule in their own society. The Amazons were often characterized, for example, as the equivalents of giants and centaurs, enemies to be slain by Greek heroes. Their customs were presented not as those of respectable society, but as the very antitheses of ordinary-Greek practices.
Thus, I would argue the purpose of accounts of the Amazons for their male Greek recorders was didactic, to teach both male and female Greeks that all female groups, formed by withdrawal from traditional society, are destructive and dangerous. Myths about the Amazons were not for the male-dominated status quo,in which groups composed exclusively of either sex were not permitted to segregate themselves permanently from society Bachofen was thus misled in his reliance on myths for information about the status of women. The sources that will probably tell contemporary historians most about women in the ancient world are such social documents as gravestones, wills and marriage contracts. Studies of such documents have already begun to, show how mistaken we are when we try to derive our picture of the ancient world exclusively from literary sources, especially myths.
1.The primary purpose of the passage is to( ).
2.All of the following are stated by the author as problems connected with the sources for knowledge of premodern cultures EXCEPT( ).
3.Which of the following is presented in the passage as evidence supporting the author's view of the ancient Greeks' descriptions of the Amazons?
4.It can be inferred from the passage that the probable reactions of many males in ancient Greece to the idea of a society ruled by women could best be characterized as( ).
5.The author suggests that the main reason for the persisting influence of Bachofen's work is that( ).
问题1选项
A.compare competing new approaches to understanding the role of women in ancient societies
B.investigate the ramifications of Bachofen's theory about dominance of women in ancient societies
C.explain the burgeoning interest among historians in determining the actual status of women in various societies
D.criticize the value of ancient myths in determining the status of women in ancient societies
问题2选项
A.partial completeness
B.restricted accessibility
C.difficulty of interpretation
D.limited quantity
问题3选项
A.The requirement that Sauromatae women kill in battle before marrying
B.The failure of historians to verify that women were ever governors of ancient societies
C.The classing of Amazons with giants and centaurs
D.The well-established unreliability of Herodotus as a source of information about ancient societies
问题4选项
A.confused and dismayed
B.wary and hostile
C.cynical and disinterested
D.curious but fearful
问题5选项
A.feminists have shown little interest is ancient societies
B.Bachofen's knowledge of Amazonian culture is unparalleled
C.reliable information about the ancient world is difficult to acquire
D.ancient societies show the best evidence of women in positions of power.
第1题:D
第2题:B
第3题:C
第4题:B
第5题:C
1.主旨大意题。文章提及古代文化研究妇女在各历史时期的地位受到资料限制而且相互矛盾,之后谈及神话和传说对这一问题的分析,最后作者认为,对这类文献资料的研究早已开始证明,当我们通过神话来获取对古代世界的理解,是十分失误的。因此,综合考虑,这篇文章的主要目的是选项D。
2.细节事实题。通过题干关键词定位到原文“Although much has been accomplished forthe modern period premodem cultures have proved more difficult: sources are restricted in number, fragmentary, difficult to interpret, and often contradictory.”,中文翻译:虽然在现代时期 己经完成了很多,但前现代文化被证明是更困难的:来源受到限制,数量有限,不完整,难以解释,而且常常是矛盾的。因此最佳答案为B选项,只有B没有提及。
3.细节事实题。根据题干定位到原文 “If one begins by examining why ancients refer to Amazons, it becomes clear that ancient Greek descriptions of such societies were meant not so much to represent observed historical fact-real Amazonian societies-but rather to offer "moral lessons" on the supposed outcome of women's rule in their own society.”,中文翻译:如果我们先研究一下为什么古人会提到亚马逊人,下面的一点就变得清晰了,那就 是古希腊对于这种社会的庙睡不是太多的被用来表达观察的历史事实一一真正的亚马逊社会的_——而是为了对于妇女在其社会中的统治的预期后果提供一种“道德教导” 。 以及原文中 “The Amazons were often characterized, for example, as the equivalents of giants and centaurs , enemies to be slain by Greek heroes. Their customs were presented not as those of respectable society, but as the very antitheses of ordinary-Greek practices.”,原文翻译为:例如,亚马逊人经常被描述为巨人和马人的等份物,被希腊英雄杀死的敌人。他们的习俗并不是作为受人尊敬的社会的习俗来呈现的,而是作为普通希腊习俗的真实对照。由此可以推断出答案选择C。
4.推理判断题。根据题干定位到原文 “...to teach both male and female Greeks that all female groups, formed by withdrawal from traditional society, are destructive and dangerous. Myths about the Amazons were not for the male-dominated status quo, Lin which groups composed exclusively of either sex were not permitted to segregate themselves permanently from society.” .”。中文翻译为:是教诲古希腊的男性和女性这样一个道理,即那些脱离了传统社会而形成的纯女 性群体是破坏性的和危险的。有关亚马逊人的神话 是用作论据来为男人统治的现状做辩护的,在这种现状下,纯粹地由任一性别构成的群体是不允许与社会永久性地隔绝开来的。由此可知,B项符合题目描述。
5.推理判断题。根据题干可定位到原文 “Although much has been accomplished for the modern period premodern cultures have proved more difficult: sources are restricted in number, fragmentary, difficult to interpret, and often contradictory. Thus it is not particularly surprising that some earlier scholarship concerning such cultures has so far gone unchallengeD.An example is Johann Baehofen’s 1861 treatise on Amazons, women-ruled societies of questionable existence contemporary with ancient Greece.”中文翻译为:虽然对现当代的研究成就斐然,但是古代文化的研究要证明更为困难:资料来源数量有限,支离破碎,难以解释且经常互相矛盾。因此,人们并不特别惊讶地发现,有关这些古代文化的早期学术研究迄今为止听凭其流传下来,而未遭到质疑。其中一个实例就是约翰•巴霍芬1861年论述亚马逊人的论文,而所谓亚马逊人,即那些由女性统治的社会,其难置可否的存在与古希腊同期。综合可知。C选项是其主要原因。