Question

    Earlier this month， the University of Glasgow in Scotland launched a course entitled： D'oh! The Simpsons Introduce Philosophy． The course's aim is to ease students into the typically heavy topic by relating it to the popular cartoon family．

"The Simpsons is one of the modern world's greatest cultural artifacts， partly because it is so full of philosophy，" John Donaldson， creator of the course， told the BBC． "Aristotle， Kant， Marx， Camus and many other great thinkers' ideas are represented in what is arguably the purest of philosophical forms - the comic cartoon．"

While this may seem like an unusual way to attract pupils to a traditionally dull topic， this class isn't the first of its kind． In 2009， Liverpool Hope University in the UK began offering a master's degree on the music of internationally known 60's group The Beatles， which still runs today． The following year， the UK's Durham University gave students the chance to enroll on a Harry Potter-themed module， covering contents such as "Gryffindor and Slytherin： prejudice and intolerance in the classroom" and "muggles and magic"．

To some， these courses may seem like a waste of a valuable education， but Donaldson believes that packaging certain topics into something easier to relate to will enhance the learning experience， without distraction from the main subject． "Firstly， scholars want to be taken seriously by other scholars and ideas like this can be seen as not serious，" he tells iNews． "There are definitely ways to incorporate popular culture into academic subjects that still remains substantial and doesn't take away from the quality of the ideas．"

Already booked full， Donaldson's Simpsons class isn't meant to be taken as seriously， however． The lecturer says that his one-day course， which will pose philosophical questions around morality， free will， and religion by relating them to scenarios from The Simpsons， aims to introduce students to his area of expertise greatly while they have a bit of fun．

1.From Paragraph 2， we can learn that ______ ．

A. many great thinkers appear in The Simpsons

B. The Simpsons contains many philosophical ideas

C. John Donaldson creates the cartoon The Simpsons

D. the main reason for The Simpsons' success is its philosophy

2.The third paragraph is developed mainly ______ ．

A. by making a comparison

B. by following the order of time

C. by analyzing the process

D. by giving examples

3.What does the underlined word " scenarios" in the last paragraph mean？ ______

A. Characters． B. Settings．

C. Plots． D. Images．

4.The passage mainly talks about ______ ．

A. a creative philosophy course

B. a popular comic cartoon

C. a reform of traditional subjects

D. an enterprising lecturer

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.A

【解析】

本文主要讲述了动画辛普森一家是现代世界上最伟大的文化艺术品之一，因为它充满了哲学。

1.推理判断题。根据第二段"The Simpsons is one of the modern world's greatest cultural artifacts （制造物）， partly because it is so full of philosophy，" John Donaldson， creator of the course， told the BBC．（辛普森一家是现代世界上最伟大的文化艺术品之一，因为它充满了哲学）可知，我们可以了解到"辛普森一家"包含许多哲学思想。故选B。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段内容While this may seem like an unusual way to attract pupils to a traditionally dull topic， this class isn't the first of its kind．（虽然这可能看起来像吸引学生一个传统的沉闷主题的不寻常方式，但这个课程并不是第一个．本段举出了其他例子）可知，第三段主要是通过举例子来发展的。故选C。

3.词义猜测题。根据上下文内容可知，The lecturer says that his one-day course， which will pose philosophical questions around morality， free will， and religion by relating them to scenarios from The Simpsons， aims to introduce students to his area of expertise greatly while having a bit of fun．（他的为期一天的课程将通过将他们与辛普森一家的情景联系起来，围绕道德，自由意志和宗教提出哲学问题，旨在向学生介绍他的专业领域，同时享受一些乐趣）可推知，划线词意为“场景”。故选D。

4.主旨大意题。阅读全文，根据文章内容可知，本文主要讲述了创意哲学课程。故选A。