Question

    Myth was born in childhood of human being. It is a product of ancient imagination, which can conquer nature, dominate nature and make the power of nature have its own image. It is a cultural phenomenon in civilized society.

China and Greece are birthplaces of Orient and Western civilizations. Prime Minister Constantine Caramanlis of Greece once pointed out: '' The civilization of China brought light to the Far East and the whole of Asia, as Greece thought, the cornerstone of European civilization, brought light to the West. '' However, for some reasons, there are many differences between Chinese and Greek myth, which show their own unique national spirits and moral principles.

The ancestors of Chinese nation lived on land before one million and seven hundred thousand years. After long uncivilized times, ancient Chinese gradually created civilization. In prehistory, ancient Chinese lived and struggled. Most ancestors’ achievements of tribes have been passed down orally. This is old myth. According to some archaeological materials, single myth, which has the meaning of totem(图腾), had appeared in the Late Palaeolithic Age. As the mental belief, totem is the holiest and the most beautiful symbol in ancient tribes’ mind. It is their aesthetic conception(审美观). On the contrary, the history of Greece is shorter, and Greek myth produced later than Chinese myth. It produced in about eleventh century BC, and it was far from the age of totem worship. That was the Age of Heroes. Human wisdom had been more and more important and totem worship had tended to disappear. So ancient Greeks thought that human being was the most beautiful in the world. They gave their deities(神灵) the most beautiful images. Those are images of human beings.

China lies in an isolated pocket in East Asia, surrounded by impassable mountains, deserts, seas and valleys. This environment develops a continental culture where people are only looking inward, a farming culture centers on soil, discouraging any adventurous seefaring people. In addition, Chinese myth produced in the Yellow River and the Yangtze River Valley. In both zones, the volume of rain is abundant all the year round. Because the soil is fertile and the resources are rich, both areas are suitable for agriculture. It became the typical continental agriculture. They would not like to take their own lives to struggle with terrifying waves, but would rather work hard in gentle land. Just the ancient Chinese who lived in this continent created this unique myth, ancient Chinese myth.

Contrary to China, Greece is a poor country, barren and dry. Unlike the rich river valleys Yellow River and Yangtze River, its rivers are too small to be navigable, and they dry up in the heat of the mostly rainless summers. The Greek landscape is dominated by high mountains, which occupy about three quarters of the land. As rich land was limited in Greece, to survive, ancient Greeks had to look outward. Sea is the greatest Greek natural resource. It plays a central role in the life of Greeks. The Chinese seas don’t look navigable, but the Greek seas look like swimming pools. The Chinese sailor, if he happens to be, sails for days without any land in sight. In fact, he can easily get drowned before he has a chance to get anywhere. The Greek sailor, who is always fortunate, can spot islands in all directions on clear days. With these steppingstones, he can reach any part of the Mediterranean to trade, to stay, to conquer and to colonize. They like to learn advanced technique and cultures from other countries. This provided living space for independence of Greek myth. Frankly speaking, marine civilization created the great Greek myth.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A.The differences between Chinese and Greek myth.

B.The definition of myths and why they came into existence.

C.The reasons for the differences between Chinese and Greek myth.

D.The factors resulting in Chinese myth being more advanced than Greek myth.

2.What can we know about the author according to what he writes in this passage?

A.He has a strong affection for his country’s civilizations.

B.He holds a positive attitude towards the study of myth.

C.He agrees with Constantine in terms of Greek myth.

D.He presents his main point of view in an objective tone.

3.What can we infer from the 3^rd paragraph?

A.Chinese myth came into being 1.7 million years earlier than Greek myth.

B.The appearance of totem marked the birth of Chinese civilization.

C.Deities in Greek myth are wiser and more beautiful than Chinese ones.

D.The time when the myth produced has great influence on its images.

4.The author writes the 4^th and 5^th paragraphs mainly to _______.

A.display the geographical differences between China and Greece

B.compare the agriculture civilization and the marine civilization

C.show how environment causes the differences of the two myths

D.reveal why Chinese are more conservative than western people

5.What does the underlined word ''marine'' in the last sentence probably mean?

A.of advanced level B.of or relating to the sea

C.independent of anything D.willing to make adventures

6.The differences mainly talked about in the passage between Chinese and Greek myths are ______.

a. aesthetic conception   

b.surviving skills

c.independent spirits        

d.adventurous spirits     

e.forming process

A.ace B.bcd

C.ade D.abd

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.D

4.C

5.B

6.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。本文从历史和地理环境等角度分别阐述了中国和希腊神话区别的原因

1.主旨大意题。根据文章的主要内容，尤其是第二段的However, for some reasons, there are many differences between Chinese and Greek myth, which show their own unique national spirits and moral principles.(然而，因为一些原因，中国和希腊的神话有很多区别，这些神话展示了它们独特的民族精神和道德原则)可知，本文从历史和地理环境等角度分别阐述了中国和希腊神话区别的原因。C. The reasons for the differences between Chinese and Greek myth.(中国和希腊神话不同的原因)符合以上说法，故选C项。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段的However, for some reasons,there are many differences between Chinese and Greek myth,which show their own unique national spirits and moral principles．(然而，因为一些原因，中国和希腊的神话有很多区别，这些神话展示了它们独特的民族精神和道德原则)可以看出作者只是叙述事实，没有自己的观点，即作者客观的描述了中国和希腊神话不同的原因。D. He presents his main point of view in an objective tone.(他用客观的语调表达了自己的主要观点)符合以上推测，故选D项。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段的After long uncivilized times, ancient Chinese gradually created civilization. In prehistory, ancient Chinese lived and struggled. Most ancestors' achievements of tribes have been passed down orally. This is old myth. According to some archaeological materials, single myth, which has the meaning of totem(图腾), had appeared in the Late Palaeolithic Age. …It produced in about eleventh century BC, and it was far from the age of totem worship. That was the Age of Heroes. Human wisdom had been more and more important and totem worship had tended to disappear. So ancient Greeks thought that human being was the most beautiful in the world. They gave their deities(神灵) the most beautiful images. Those are images of human beings.(经过漫长的不文明时期，古代中国人逐渐创造了文明。在史前，古代中国人生活和斗争。大多数祖先的部落成就是口头传下来的。这是个古老的神话。根据古材料，单一的神话出现在旧石器时代，它有图腾的意思。……它生产于公元前11世纪，当时已经不是图腾崇拜的时期。那是英雄时代。人类的智慧变得越来越重要，图腾崇拜也逐渐消失。因此，古希腊人认为人类是世界上最美丽的。他们给他们的神灵最美丽的形象。这些是人类的形象)可知，不同时期的神话形象是不同的。故推测，作者想表达的是神话出现的时间对神话形象有很大影响。D. The time when the myth produced has great influence on its images.( 神话出现的时间对神话形象有很大影响)符合以上推测，故选D项。

4.主旨大意题。根据第四段的China lies in an isolated pocket in East Asia, surrounded by impassable mountains, deserts, seas and valleys. This environment develops a continental culture where people are only looking inward, a farming culture centers on soil, discouraging any adventurous seefaring people.(中国位于东亚一个孤立的地区，被无法逾越的山脉、沙漠、海洋和山谷包围。这种环境形成了一种大陆文化，在这种文化中，人们只关注自己，土壤是农耕文化的中心，不鼓励任何敢于冒险的人)和第五段的Unlike the rich river valleys Yellow River and Yangtze River, its rivers are too small to be navigable, and they dry up in the heat of the mostly rainless summers. The Greek landscape is dominated by high mountains, which occupy about three quarters of the land. As rich land was limited in Greece, to survive, ancient Greeks had to look outward.(与黄河和长江这两条富庶的河谷不同，这里的河流过于狭窄，无法通航，而且在几乎没有降雨的夏季，它们会在高温下干涸。希腊的地貌以高山为主，约占国土面积的四分之三。由于希腊富饶的土地有限，为了生存，故希腊人不得不向外看)可知，第四第五段主要讲述了环境因素对两种神话的影响。C. show how environment causes the differences of the two myths(表明环境是如何造成两种神话的不同)符合以上说法，故选C项。

5.词义猜测题。根据最后一段的The Greek sailor, who is always fortunate, can spot islands in all directions on clear days. With these steppingstones, he can reach any part of the Mediterranean to trade, to stay, to conquer and to colonize. They like to learn advanced technique and cultures from other countries. This provided living space for independence of Greek myth. Frankly speaking, marine civilization created the great Greek myth.可知，幸运的希腊水手可以在晴朗的日子看到四面八方的岛屿。有了这些垫脚石，他可以达到地中海的任何地方进行贸易、停留、征服和殖民。他们喜欢从其他国家学习先进的技术和文化。这位希腊神话提供了生存空间。坦率地说，marine文明创造了伟大的希腊神话。结合句意，尤其是sailor，Mediterranean可猜测划线部分的意思是“海洋的”。B. of or relating to the sea(海洋或者和海洋有关的)符合以上说法，故选B项。

6.细节理解题。根据第三段的It is their aesthetic conception. 可知，讲了他们的审美观，第四段的They would not like to take their own lives to struggle with terrifying waves, but would rather work hard in gentle land(他们不想在惊涛骇浪中生活，而愿在风平浪静的地方辛勤劳作)第五段的he can reach any part of the Mediterranean to trade, to stay, to conquer and to colonize．(他可以达到地中海的任何地方进行贸易、停留、征服和殖民)可知，这是他们冒险精神的区别，根据第三的主要内容可知讲述了形成过程。即讲述了a. aesthetic conception; d. adventurous spirits; e. forming process这三项的不同。故选C项。