Both civilization and culture are fairly modern words, having come into prominent use during the 19th century by anthropologists, historians, and literary figures. There has been a strong tendency to use them interchangeably as though they mean the same thing, but they are not the same.
Although modern in their usage, the two words derived from ancient Latin. The word civilization is based on the Latin civis, of a city. Thus civilization, in its most essential meaning, is the ability of people to live together harmoniously in cities, in social groupings. From this definition it would seem that certain insects, such as ants or bees, are also civilized. They live and work together in social groups. So do some microorganisms. But there is more to civilization, and that is what culture brings to it. So, civilization is inseparable from culture.
The word culture is derived from the Latin verb colere, till the soil. But colere also has a wider range of meanings. It may, like civis, mean inhabiting a town or village. But most of its definitions suggest a process of starting and promoting growth and development. One may cultivate a garden; one may also cultivate one’s interests, mind, and abilities. In its modern use the word culture refers to all the positive aspects and achievements of humanity that make mankind different from the rest of the animal world. Culture has grown out of creativity, a characteristic that seems to be unique to human beings.
One of the basic and best-known features of civilization and culture is the presence of tools. But more important than their simple existence is that the tools are always being improved and enlarged upon a result of creativity. It took thousands of years to get from the first wheel to the latest, most advanced model of automobile.
It is the concept of humans as toolmakers and improvers that differentiates them from other animals. A monkey may use a stick to knock a banana from a tree, but that stick will never, through a monkey’s cleverness, be modified into a hook or a ladder. Monkeys have never devised a spoken language, written a book, composed a melody, built a house, or painted a portrait. To say that birds build nests and beavers their dens is to miss the point. People once lived in caves, but their cleverness, imagination, and creativity led them to progress beyond caves to buildings.
1. What does the author think of the words “civilization”, and “culture”?
2. According to the author the word “civilization” originally refers to ____.
3. The Latin verb colere originally means “____”.
4. The author believes that creativity ____.
5. The author mentions monkeys in the last paragraph to show that ____.
问题1选项
A.They are identical.
B.They are different concepts.
C.They can often be used interchangeable.
D.They are defined differently by different people.
问题2选项
A.people’s way of life in cities
B.a type of social organizations
C.people’s ability to live together in cities
D.an advanced level of social life
问题3选项
A.live in a city
B.develop oneself
C.promote growth
D.cultivate the land
问题4选项
A.is a unique feature of civilized beings
B.brings forth the improvement of tools
C.is the result of human development
D.helps the advance of culture
问题5选项
A.monkeys are the same as birds
B.people once lived in caves like monkeys
C.monkeys can never develop into human beings
D.man is different from other animals such as monkeys
第1题:B
第2题:C
第3题:D
第4题:B
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
What does the author think of the words “civilization”, and “culture”? 作者是如何看待“文明”和“文化”这两个词的？
A. They are identical. A. 它们是相同的。
B. They are different concepts. B. 这是不同的概念。
C. They can often be used interchangeable. C. 它们通常可以互换使用。
D. They are defined differently by different people. D. 不同的人对它们有不同的定义。
【考查点】观点态度题
【解题思路】全篇文章都在讲这两个词，根据选项可知这道题是要判断两个词的区别。根据第三段的第三句It may, like civis, mean inhabiting a town or village. But most of its definitions suggest a process of starting and promoting growth and development.（它可能像civis一样，意味着居住在城镇或村庄。但它的大多数定义暗示了一个开始和促进增长和发展的过程。）其中的civis是civilization的发源词，it指的是culture的发源词colere，通过but后面的内容可知这两个词的概念是不一样的，故B项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、C选项根据第一段There has been a strong tendency to use them interchangeably as though they mean the same thing, but they are not the same.（有一种强烈的趋势是交替使用它们，就好像它们表示同一件事，但它们并不相同。）可知这两个词不同，A选项属于反向干扰；而根据文中信息“strong tendency”可知这两个词只是有可以互换的趋势而不能真正的互换使用，C选项属于曲解原文；
D选项，第一段提到了不同身份的人使用这两个词，而没有说对它们下定义，选项属于偷换概念。
第2题:
【选项释义】
According to the author the word “civilization” originally refers to ____. 根据作者的说法，“文明”一词原指____。
A. people’s way of life in cities A. 人们在城市中的生活方式
B. a type of social organizations B. 一种社会组织
C. people’s ability to live together in cities C. 人们在城市中共同生活的能力
D. an advanced level of social life D. 社会生活的高级水平
【考查点】事实细节题题
【解题思路】根据题干civilization，originally定位到第二段第二、三句The word civilization is based on the Latin civis, of a city. Thus civilization, in its most essential meaning, is the ability of people to live together harmoniously in cities, in social groupings.（文明这一词源于拉丁语civis，意为城市。因此，文明，在其最本质的意义上，是人们在城市中，在社会群体中和谐共处的能力。）故C项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项，原文说的是在城市中共处的能力，而不是生活方式，属于偷换概念；
B选项，原文说civis的意思是城市，城市不属于社会组织，这里属于曲解原文；
D项所说的高级的生活水平在定位处没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The Latin verb colere originally means “____”. 拉丁语动词colere最初的意思是“____”。
A. live in a city A. 生活在城市
B. develop oneself B. 发展自身
C. promote growth C. 促进成长
D. cultivate the land D. 培育土地
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据题干关键词colere和originally定位到第三段第一句，因为originally和derive from（来源于）同义替换。The word culture is derived from the Latin verb colere, till the soil.（“文化”一词来源于拉丁语动词“耕田”。）till表示耕作的意思和cultivate同义替换，因此这里的答案是D选项。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、C选项在文中均有提到，分别对应文章中的“inhabiting a town or village”（居住在城镇或村庄的），“positive aspects and achievements of humanity”（人性的积极方面和成就）“promoting growth and development”（促进成长和发展），但这些都不是colere原本的意思，而是后续衍生出来的意思，属于出处错位。
第4题:
【选项释义】
The author believes that creativity ____. 作者认为创造力____。
A. is a unique feature of civilized beings A. 是文明人类的独特特征
B. brings forth the improvement of tools B. 提出工具的改进
C. is the result of human development C. 是人类发展的结果
D. helps the advance of culture D. 有助于文化的进步
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据题干关键词的creativity定位到第四段第二句But more important than their simple existence is that the tools are always being improved and enlarged upon, a result of creativity.（但比它们的简单存在更重要的是，这些工具总是在改进和扩大，这是创造力的结果。）故答案是B选项。
【干扰项排除】
A选项的出处在第三段的最后一句Culture has grown out of creativity, a characteristic that seems to be unique to human beings.（文化产生于创造力，这似乎是人类独有的特征。）表示文化是人类的独有特征，而文化是起源于创造力，因此A选项不对，属于偷换概念；
C、D选项在文章中没有提及，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
The author mentions monkeys in the last paragraph to show that _____. 作者在最后一段提到猴子来表明____。
A. monkeys are the same as birds A. 猴子和鸟是一样的
B. people once lived in caves like monkeys B. 人们曾经像猴子一样住在洞穴里
C. monkeys can never develop into human beings C. 猴子永远不能发育成人类
D. man is different from other animals such as monkeys D. 人不同于猴子等其他动物
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】显然猴子是作者使用的论据，用来论证主题句，而最后一段的主题句是第一句It is the concept of humans as toolmakers and improvers that differentiates them from other animals.（正是人类作为工具制造者和改良者的概念使他们区别于其他动物。）这句话表明了作者的意图，即证明人类与其他动物不同，因此D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】A、B、C选项不是作者的写作意图，属于曲解原文。
