试题出自试卷《2015年四川师范大学考博英语真题解析》

Art is considered by many people to be no 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 sand paintings 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 some way disturbed or get in touch with the supernatural-perhaps a certain animal, a ghost, or the dead. To break away from this, the sick person or one of his relatives will employ a medical man called a “singer” to perform a curing ceremony which will attract a powerful supernatural being. During the ceremony, which may last from 2 to 9 days, the “singer” will produce a sand painting on the floor. On the last day of the ceremony, the patient will sit on this sand painting and the “singer” will rub the ailing parts of the patient’s body from a specific figure in the sand painting. In this way the patient absorbs the power of that particular supernatural being and becomes strong. After the ceremony, the sand painting is then destroyed and disposed of so its power won’t harm anyone.
The art of sand painting is handed down from old “singers”. The materials used are easily found where the Navaho settle: brown, red, yellow, and white sandstone, which is ground much as corn is ground into flour. The “singer” holds a small amount of this sand in his hand and lets it flow between his fingers 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 doesn’t allow copying sand paintings, 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. A good title for this article might be ______.
2. The purpose of healing ceremony is ______.
3. The “singer” rub sand on the patient because _______.
4. What is used to produce a sand painting?
5. It can be inferred that ______.