Question

    As long as people have been telling stories, crones(丑陋的老太婆) have been scaring the wits out of children. “Nags(怨妇), witches, evil stepmothers, cannibals(食人妇). It’s quite dreadful,” says Maria Tatar, who teaches a course on folklore and mythology at Harvard. "But old women are also powerful—they're often the ones who can work magic.” In the Disney film Snow White, there’s a scene in which the beautiful, charming, wicked queen turns into an old hag and poisons Snow White so she'll sleep forever. The old lady in Hansel and Gretel wants to roast children in her oven and the witch in The Little Mermaid cuts out Ariel’s tongue.

Tatar says old women villains(恶人) are especially scary because, historically, the most powerful person in a child’s life was the mother. “Children do have a way of splitting the mother figure into...the evil mother—who’s always making rules and regulations, policing your behavior, getting angry at you—and then the kind mother—the one who is giving and protects you, makes sure that you survive.”

Veronique Tadjo, a writer who grew up in the Ivory Coast, thinks there’s a fear of female power in general. She says a common figure in African folk tales is the old witch who destroys people’s souls. Still, they're not all bitter and evil hags. Elderly women in folk tales often use their knowledge and experience of the world to guide the troubled protagonist(主人公). Tadjo points to the Kenyan story Marwe In The Underworld about a girl who commits suicide by drowning herself and enters the Land of the Dead where she meets an old woman. “That old woman teaches her quite a lot of things,” Tadjo says. “And also, when Marwe starts longing for the world of the living, she helps her go back to the surface with a lot of riches. And we understand that Marwe has been rewarded for her goodness.” In other words: Do your chores and you’ll be rewarded. The point of these ancient tales, no matter what continent they come from, may have been to scare children into behaving.

Perhaps the scariest old woman character—the ugly Baba Yaga—comes from Russia. She’s bony with a hooked nose and long, iron teeth. Her hut(小屋) stands on chicken legs and she kidnaps children and eats them. Safe to say Baba Yaga has been making Eastern European children sleepless for centuries. In one interpretation, a mean stepmother sends the young girl Vasilisa to Baba Yaga's hut in the woods to get a candle. The girl is sure she’s being sent to her death. Baba Yaga forces her to cook and clean, and Vasilisa does everything she's told. In the end, the old crone gives her what she needs and sends her home. “You see this kind of double face of the hag,”Maria Tatar says. “On the one hand: aggressive, threatening. And on the other hand: sometimes to make sure that there is a happily ever after.”

There's that power again. In Japanese folklore, the Yama Uba(山姥) is an equally ambiguous old woman. She’s a mountain witch who, like Baba Yaga, lures people into her hut and eats them. But she'll also help a lost traveler. Noriko Reider is a professor at Miami University of Ohio who's done extensive research on Yama Uba stories. “She brings fortune and happiness,” Reider says. “She can also bring death and destruction for those who are not very good.”

According to Cuban-American writer Alma Flor Ada, in Hispanic(拉美地区的) culture old women are multi-talented. Ada is co-author of Tales Our Grandmas Told, which includes a story about Caliph’s son who becomes seriously ill. After “all of the best physicians in the land” fail to cure him, Caliph sends his messengers searching for help. Then one morning, an old woman arrives with this advice: To get well, the prince must wear the overcoat of a man who is truly happy. And of course it works.

1.What does the underlined phrase in Para 1 “scaring the wits out of children” mean？

A. making children frightened B. making children stupid

C. making children interested D. making children confused

2.Among all the characters mentioned, ________ is terribly treated by an old woman.

A. Caliph B. Marwe C. Ariel D. Vasilisa

3.The images of ________ show double faces of a hag by doing both good and evil things.

A. Snow White and The Little Mermaid B. Hansel and Gretel

C. Veronique Tadjo and Noriko Reider D. Baba Yaga and Yama Uba

4.About the cultural images of an old woman, ________ has a different view from others.

A. Maria Tatar B. Veronique Tadjo C. Noriko Reider D. Alma Flor Ada

5.All the following words can be used to describe Baba Yaga EXCEPT ________.

A. aggressive B. sensitive C. dreadful D. merciful

6.According to the passage, why are old women often the face of evil in fairy tales and folklore?

A. Because they are always nags, witches, evil stepmothers and cannibals.

B. Because they are scary by recalling the general fear of female power.

C. Because they are intended to scare children into behaving well.

D. Because they are multi-talented with the ability to work magic.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.D

5.B

6.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。人们总是在讲故事时用丑陋的老太婆吓唬孩子，文中也提及了几个文学作品丑陋的老太婆角色，她们邪恶恐怖。但是也有人对此有不同的意见。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段“Nags, witches, evil stepmothers, cannibals. It’s quite dreadful,” says Maria Tatar可知，这些丑陋的老太婆在故事中是怨妇，女巫，邪恶的继母，食人族，是可怕的。所以在讲故事时，她们被用来吓唬小孩，故选A项。

2.细节理解题。根据最后一段the witch in The Little Mermaid cuts out Ariels tongue.可知，Ariel被女巫剪掉了舌头，所以是被老太婆严重虐待，故选C项。

3.细节理解题。根据第四段可知，Baba Yaga强迫一个小女孩做饭打扫，但最后又给她她需要的东西；根据第五段可知，日本故事中，the Yama Uba引诱人们进入她的小屋并吃掉他们，但她也会帮助一个迷路的旅行者。这两个角色都是做了好事，也做了坏事，故选D项。

4.细节理解题。根据前几段可知在各个国家的故事中，老女人的形象一般都是邪恶的，根据According to Cuban-American writer Alma Flor Ada, in Hispanic culture old women are multi-talented.可知，对于古巴裔美国作者Alma Flor Ada来说，老女人是多才多艺的，所以她和别人的看法不同，故选D项。

5.推理判断题。根据“You see this kind of double face of the hag,”Maria Tatar says. “On the one hand:aggressive, threatening可知，文中Maria直接用aggressive来形容Baba Yaga。根据Safe to say Baba Yaga has been making Eastern European children sleepless for centuries.可知Baba Yaga让很多小孩晚上睡不着觉，也就是说BabaYaga很可怕，可以用dreadful来形容。根据In the end, the old crone gives her what she needs and sends her home.可知，Baba Yaga最后给了那个小女孩她需要的，并把小女孩送回了家，这体现了她仁慈的一面，可以用merciful来形容。综上所述，A项aggressive, C项 dreadful, D项merciful都可以用来形容Baba Yaga, 文中没有体现她敏感的(sensitive)的一面，故选B项。

6.推理判断题。根据第二段中的Tatar says old women villains (恶人) are especially scary because，historically, the most powerful person in a child’s life was the mother. 可知，老女恶人令人尤其害怕的原因是孩子的生活当中最有权力的就是妈妈。由此可以推断因为唤起了对女性权力的恐惧，老女人在故事中总是邪恶的代表，故选B项。