SAINT AGATHA has an important place in the history of the Christian church. She is believed to have been a young woman of noble birth who was martyred, after terrible tortures, under the Roman emperor Decius in 251AD. Apart from her native Sicily, she is revered in the Basque country, Germany’s Black Forest and Malta. She is one of seven female martyrs of the early church whose regular mention is prescribed in the traditional form of the Catholic Mass.
Sociologically, and even economically, Agatha still matters. In her home town of Catania, the annual rituals in her honor stretch over several days in early February, and they rank among the biggest festivals in the Catholic world. They are perhaps the main reason why Sicily can attract visitors in winter. But a respected 83-year-old priest has come to the conclusion that the church should sever all ties with this noisy exuberance.
In the view of Father Salvatore Resca, the festivities are incorrigibly tainted by activities that have no spiritual connection: gambling, cruelty to animals and petty and not-so-petty criminality. “There is no more religion in this celebration,” he says. “It stopped being a Christian feast decades ago.” As his words indicate, the perceived corruption of the event is a relatively recent phenomenon. In living memory, the festival had milder associations in local minds: nuns singing ancient hymns and an array of sweet delicacies baked in Agatha’s honor.
It has taken courage for the priest, the second-ranking cleric in one of Catania’s main churches, to speak out. He recalls that, after airing his views in a local newspaper last year, “I received dozens of death threats, even bullets in my mailbox.”
Among the high points of the festivities is the moment when a statue of the saint, and a silver casket containing part of her relics, are brought out of the local cathedral and paraded around the city’s neighborhoods. In years past, especially in the 1990s, the organizers of this event had clear criminal ties, as a long judicial investigation, lasting from 2008 to 2015, confirmed. In more recent times, the church has tried to reassert some control over the proceedings and to boost the influence of more decent citizens. Not with complete success, though: prominently involved in this year’s ritual (until his name was struck off the list today) was a man who was convicted in 2014 of usury.
The clean-up has not really worked, as Father Resca has concluded with a heavy heart. People still take bets on the duration of the statue’s tour of the city. That is one of many shady and lucrative businesses that thrive around the ritual. And the ubiquitous sale on the street of sizzling chunks of horse-meat, now a standard feature of the festival, is another reminder of dark forces not far away.
Last year, the track in Palermo, another Sicilian city where Agatha is revered, suspended all racing and emptied its stables after police found evidence of illegal gambling and rigged contests. And many horses never make it to a proper stable; they are kept in back-street locations, used in “informal” races, and sent for slaughter when they are exhausted or injured.
Dario De Luca, a Catania-based journalist, says February (either side of the saint’s feast day on February 5th) is now the time of year when criminal influence over the city is most palpable.
Good people have tried to change this. A committee “for the legality of the feast of Saint Agatha” was formed recently with the aim of cleaning up the proceedings, but Father Resca declined to join. He believes that the church should make a definitive break. As he puts it, “the problem is that they still think it’s a religious feast... The real turning-point will come when they admit that it’s now just a pagan event.”
Some practicing Catholics in Catania seem to agree with him, and they make a point of staying far away from the festivities. But for townspeople who are simply out to enjoy the fun, this is still an event not to be missed. They march exuberantly behind the statue as it makes its peregrination around the streets, bellowing out a slogan, supposedly of loyalty to Agatha, in Sicilian dialect. “Semu tutti devoti!” (We are all your devotees!)
This is an extreme case of a common phenomenon. All over the world, and throughout history, spiritual authorities have struggled with mixed success to keep control of pilgrimages, saints’ days and other high points in the religious calendar. They do not want to seem like killjoys, and yet they do not want to collude with activities that make a mockery of their doctrines. And sometimes, in Father Resca’s brave view, the appropriate thing would be to give up the struggle.
1. Which of the following is excluded in this year’s celebration of Saint Agatha in Catania?
2. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
3. The main purpose of the passage is to ________.
4. What is Father Salvatore Resca’s suggested course of action on the festival?
5. The word “collude” in the last paragraph probably means ________.
问题1选项
A.People gamble on the duration of the parade.
B.The saint’s statue parades in the city.
C.People buy and sell horse-meat.
D.Nuns sing ancient hymns in Agatha’s honor.
问题2选项
A.Saint Agatha is not revered in the Roman Catholic church.
B.Saint Agatha has been given too much importance in Sicily.
C.Saint Agatha is shamelessly abused in the pagan celebrations.
D.Saint Agatha is little known outside the small town of Catania.
问题3选项
A.encourage Roman Catholic clerics to speak up
B.introduce seven female martyrs and their contributions
C.explore why Sicily can attract visitors in winter
D.show how saintly commemorations get corrupted
问题4选项
A.Taint the activities.
B.Add more religiousness.
C.Have a Christian feast.
D.Withdraw from it.
问题5选项
A.clash
B.oppose
C.plot
D.celebrate
第1题:D
第2题:C
第3题:D
第4题:D
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following is excluded in this year’s celebration of Saint Agatha in Catania? 在今年卡塔尼亚的圣阿加莎庆祝活动中，以下哪项被排除在外？
A. People gamble on the duration of the parade. A. 人们押注游行的持续时间。
B. The saint’s statue parades in the city. B. 圣人的雕像在城市里游行。
C. People buy and sell horse-meat. C. 人们购买和出售马肉。
D. Nuns sing ancient hymns in Agatha’s honor. D. 修女们为纪念阿加莎而唱古老的赞美诗。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据选项关键词Nuns sing ancient hymns可以定位到文章第三段最后一句“在人们的记忆中（In living memory），这个节日在当地人的脑海中有更温和的联想：修女们唱着古老的赞美诗（nuns singing ancient hymns），还有一系列为纪念阿加莎而烘焙的美味佳肴”，说明修女们唱古老的赞美诗是人们记忆中过去的庆祝形式，而不是今年现在的庆祝活动。因此D选项“修女们为纪念阿加莎而唱古老的赞美诗。”符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“人们押注游行的持续时间。”，由People still take bets on the duration of the statue’s tour of the city.（人们仍对该雕像在这座城市巡游的时间进行下注。）可知，人们押注游行的持续时间是今年的庆祝活动，属于反向干扰；
B选项“圣人的雕像在城市里游行。”，由Among the high points of the festivities is the moment when a statue of the saint, and a silver casket containing part of her relics, are brought out of the local cathedral and paraded around the city’s neighborhoods.（庆祝活动的高潮之一是圣人的雕像和装有她部分遗物的银色匣子被带出当地大教堂，并在该市的各个街区游行。）可知，圣人的雕像在城市里游行是今年的庆祝活动，属于反向干扰；
C选项“人们购买和出售马肉。”，由And the ubiquitous sale on the street of sizzling chunks of horse-meat, now a standard feature of the festival, is another reminder of dark forces not far away.（大街上随处可见的咝咝作响的大块马肉的销售，现在是这个节日的标准特色，是不远处黑暗势力的另一个提醒。）可知人们购买和出售马肉是今年的庆祝活动，属于反向干扰。
第2题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage? 根据这篇文章，以下哪项陈述是正确的？
A. Saint Agatha is not revered in the Roman Catholic church. A. 圣阿加莎在罗马天主教会中并不受到尊敬。
B. Saint Agatha has been given too much importance in Sicily. B. 圣阿加莎在西西里岛被赋予了过多的重要性。
C. Saint Agatha is shamelessly abused in the pagan celebrations. C. 圣阿加莎在异教徒的庆祝活动中被无耻地滥用。
D. Saint Agatha is little known outside the small town of Catania. D. 圣阿加莎在卡塔尼亚这个小城之外鲜为人知。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据选项关键词pagan可以定位到文章第九段最后一句“当他们承认它现在只是一个异教活动时（it’s now just a pagan event），真正的转折点才会到来”，说明圣阿加莎的庆祝活动现在已经变成了异教徒的庆祝活动，接着第十段说到“但对于那些仅仅是为了享受乐趣的城镇居民来说（townspeople who are simply out to enjoy the fun），这仍然是一个不容错过的活动。他们兴高采烈地跟在雕像后面，当它在街道上游走时，用西西里方言大声喊出一个口号，据说是对阿加莎的忠诚（supposedly of loyalty to Agatha）。‘我们都是你的信徒！’”，说明不是宗教徒的人也打着纪念圣阿加莎的口号。因此C选项“圣阿加莎在异教徒的庆祝活动中被无耻地滥用。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“圣阿加莎在罗马天主教会中并不受到尊敬。”，由She is one of seven female martyrs of the early church whose regular mention is prescribed in the traditional form of the Catholic Mass.（她是早期教会的七位女殉道者之一，在天主教传统的弥撒形式中，经常提到她。）和In her home town of Catania, the annual rituals in her honor stretch over several days in early February, and they rank among the biggest festivals in the Catholic world.（在她的家乡卡塔尼亚，每年二月初为纪念她而举行的仪式持续数天，是天主教世界中最大的节日之一。）可知，圣阿加莎在罗马天主教会中是受到尊敬的，属于反向干扰；
B选项“圣阿加莎在西西里岛被赋予了过多的重要性。”，由They are perhaps the main reason why Sicily can attract visitors in winter.（它们也许是西西里岛能够在冬季吸引游客的主要原因。）圣阿加莎对于西西里岛很重要，但没有被赋予过多的重要性，属于过度推断；
D选项“圣阿加莎在卡塔尼亚这个小城之外鲜为人知。”，由Apart from her native Sicily, she is revered in the Basque country, Germany’s Black Forest and Malta.（除了她的家乡西西里，她在巴斯克地区、德国的黑森林和马耳他都受到尊敬。）可知，圣阿加莎在卡塔尼亚之外也广为人知，属于反向干扰。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The main purpose of the passage is to ________. 这篇文章的主要目的是________。
A. encourage Roman Catholic clerics to speak up A. 鼓励罗马天主教的神职人员大声疾呼
B. introduce seven female martyrs and their contributions B. 介绍七位女殉道者和她们的贡献
C. explore why Sicily can attract visitors in winter C. 探讨西西里岛为什么能在冬天吸引游客
D. show how saintly commemorations get corrupted D. 说明圣人纪念活动是如何被腐蚀的
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】本文主要讨论了西西里岛卡塔尼亚为纪念圣阿加莎而举行的年度庆祝活动，而现在这些活动已经变得与赌博、虐待动物和犯罪活动有关，文章详细介绍了现在的庆祝活动上出现的各种问题。因此D选项“说明圣人纪念活动是如何被腐蚀的”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“鼓励罗马天主教的神职人员大声疾呼”，文章只说到雷斯卡神父一些信奉天主教的人反对现在的庆祝活动，但没有鼓励神职人员大声疾呼，属于过度推断；
B选项“介绍七位女殉道者和她们的贡献”和C选项“探讨西西里岛为什么能在冬天吸引游客”只在文章的某部分提及，不能概括全文的主要目的，属于以偏概全。
第4题:
【选项释义】
What is Father Salvatore Resca’s suggested course of action on the festival? 萨尔瓦托雷·雷斯卡神父对该节日行动的建议是什么？
A. Taint the activities. A. 玷污活动。
B. Add more religiousness. B. 添加更多的宗教性。
C. Have a Christian feast. C. 举办一个基督教的盛宴。
D. Withdraw from it. D. 退出它。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Father Salvatore Resca可以定位到文章第九段第二、三句“最近成立了一个‘为了圣阿加莎节的合法性’的委员会，目的是清理程序，但雷斯卡神父拒绝加入（Father Resca declined to join）。他认为，教会应该彻底决裂（make a definitive break）”，说明雷斯卡神父认为教会应该与现在的庆祝活动彻底割席，接着最后一段最后一句说到“有时，在雷斯卡神父的勇敢观点中，适当的做法是放弃挣扎（the appropriate thing would be to give up the struggle）”，此处struggle是指上文“他们不想让自己看起来像个杀气腾腾的人，但他们又不想与那些嘲弄他们教义的活动勾结在一起。”，说明雷斯卡神父认为应该放弃，退出这个节日。因此D选项“退出它。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“玷污活动。”，由In the view of Father Salvatore Resca, the festivities are incorrigibly tainted by activities that have no spiritual connection（在萨尔瓦托雷•雷斯卡神父看来，节日活动无可救药地被那些与宗教无关的活动所玷污）可知，雷斯卡神父认为活动被玷污是存在的问题，不会建议去玷污它，属于反向干扰；
B选项“添加更多的宗教性。”，由As he puts it, “the problem is that they still think it’s a religious feast... The real turning-point will come when they admit that it’s now just a pagan event.”（正如他所说，“问题是他们仍然认为这是一个宗教节日。当他们承认它现在只是一个异教活动时，真正的转折点才会到来”。）可知，雷斯卡神父认为应该放弃节日的宗教性，属于反向干扰；
C选项“举办一个基督教的盛宴。”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
The word “collude” in the last paragraph probably means ________. 最后一段中的“collude”一词可能是指________。
A. clash A. 冲突
B. oppose B. 反对
C. plot C. 密谋
D. celebrate D. 庆祝
【考查点】词汇推断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词collude可以定位到文章最后一段倒数第二句“他们不想让自己看起来像个杀气腾腾的人，但他们又不想与那些嘲弄他们教义的活动collude在一起”，说明宗教权威不希望与那些嘲弄他们教义的活动相勾结，这意味着他们不希望一起参与或支持违背他们信仰的活动，collude指密谋或秘密合作做一些不诚实或非法的事情。因此C选项“密谋”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“冲突”，B选项“反对”和D选项“庆祝”在文中均无法体现，属于无中生有。
