首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
"Paleolithic Art" → The several millennia following 30,000 B.C. saw a powerful outburst of artistic creativity. The artworks
"Paleolithic Art" → The several millennia following 30,000 B.C. saw a powerful outburst of artistic creativity. The artworks
admin
2012-01-14
30
问题
"Paleolithic Art"
→ The several millennia following 30,000 B.C. saw a powerful outburst of artistic creativity. The artworks produced range from simple shell necklaces to human and animal forms in ivory, clay, and stone to monumental paintings, engravings, and relief sculptures covering the huge wall surfaces of caves. From the moment in 1879 that cave paintings were discovered at Altamira, scholars have wondered why the hunter-artists of the Old Stone Age decided to cover the walls of dark caverns with animal images. Various answers have been given, including that they were mere decoration, but this theory cannot explain the narrow range of subjects or the inaccessibility of many of the paintings. In fact, the remoteness and difficulty of access of many of the cave paintings and the fact they appear to have been used for centuries are precisely what have led many scholars to suggest that the prehistoric hunters attributed magical properties to the images they painted. According to this argument, by confining animals to the surfaces of their cave walls, the artists believed they were bringing the beasts under their control. Some have even hypothesized that rituals or dances were performed in front of the images and that these rites served to improve the hunters’ luck. Still others have stated that the painted animals may have served as teaching tools to instruct new hunters about the character of the various species they would encounter or even to serve as targets for spears!
By contrast, some scholars have argued that the magical purpose of the paintings was not to
facilitate
the destruction of bison and other species. Instead, they believe prehistoric painters created animal images to assure the survival of the herds. Paleolithic peoples depended on for their food supply and for their clothing.A A central problem for both the hunting-magic and foodcreation theories is that the animals that seem to have been diet staples of Old Stone Age peoples are not
those
most frequently portrayed.B
Other scholars have sought to reconstruct an elaborate mythology based on the cave paintings, suggesting that Paleolithic humans believed they had animal ancestors. Still others have equated certain species with men and others with women and also found sexual symbolism in the abstract signs that sometimes accompany the images.C Almost all of these theories have been
discredited
over time, and art historians must admit that no one knows the intent of these paintings. D In fact, a single explanation for all Paleolithic murals, even paintings similar in subject, style, and composition (how the motifs are arranged on the surface), is unlikely to apply universally. For now, the paintings remain an enigma.
→
That the paintings did have meaning to the Paleolithic peoples who made and observed them cannot, however, be doubted.
In fact, signs consisting of checks, dots, squares, or other arrangements of lines often accompany the pictures of animals. Several observers have seen a primitive writing form in these representations of nonliving things, but the signs, too, may have had some other significance. Some look like traps and arrows and, according to the hunting-magic theory, may have been drawn to insure success in capturing or killing animals with these devices. At Pech-Merle in France, the "spotted horses" painted on the cave wall may not have spots. Some scholars have argued that the "spots," which appear both within and without the horses’ outlines, are painted rocks thrown at the animals.
→ Representations of human hands also are common. Those around the Pech-Merle horses, and the majority of painted hands at other sites, are "negative," that is, the artist placed one hand against the wall and then painted or blew pigment around it. Occasionally, the artist dipped a hand in paint and then pressed it against the wall, leaving a "positive" imprint. These handprints, too, must have had a purpose. Some scholars have considered them "signatures" of cult or community members or, less likely, of individual artists.
The word facilitate in the passage is closest in meaning to
选项
A、specify
B、permit
C、assist
D、discover
答案
C
解析
In this passage, assist is a synonym for "facilitate." Context comes from the contrast of "destruction" and "survival" in the same and following sentences.
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/WElYFFFM
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninReadingPassage2?Inboxes19-22onyouranswersheet,writeT
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeviewsofthewriterinReadingPassage3?Inboxes33-37onyouranswersheet,write
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeviewsofthewriterinReadingPassage3?Inboxes33-37onyouranswersheet,write
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeviewsofthewriterinReadingPassage3?Inboxes33-37onyouranswersheet,write
DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninReadingPassage2?Inboxes16-20onyouranswersheet,writeT
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.TheTawnyOwlMost【L31】______owlspeciesinUKStronglynocturna
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.TheTawnyOwlMost【L31】______owlspeciesinUKStronglynocturna
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.TheTawnyOwlMost【L31】______owlspeciesinUKStronglynocturna
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.ChimpanzeeBehavioursSpeciesWecanfindPanorPanTroglody
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.ChimpanzeeBehavioursSpeciesWecanfindPanorPanTroglody
随机试题
设A=[α1,α2,α3,α4],且η1=[1,1,1,1]T,η2=[0,1,0,1]T是齐次线性方程组Ax=0的基础解系,则().
Withoutproperplanning,tourismcancauseproblems.Forexample,toomanytouristscan【C1】________publicplacesthatarealsoe
项目财务评价的项目资本金财务现金流量表与项目财务现金流量表相比,现金流出所包含内容相同的有()。
注册建筑师、注册结构工程师等注册执业人员因过错造成质量事故的,责令停止执业( )。
填充柄可以将某单元格的内容快速复制到与其相邻的上下左右任一方向的单元格中。()
劳动争议调解的调解程序包括()。
甲公司2017年经营资产销售百分比为70%,经营负债销售百分比为37%。假设甲公司2018年上述比率保持不变,采用内含增长方式支持销售增长,预计销售增长率为10%,预计营业净利率为10%,则预计2018年股利支付率为()。
简述课程实施的价值取向。
在当代,法国负责监督宪法实施的机关是()。
「まだ若い」と思っていたが、来月60歳になる。会社を辞めることになっている。やめたら、何をすれぱいいかと考えていると、友達が【R4】________と言った。友達のお母さんは今85歳だが、5年前に目が悪くなってしまったそうだ。大きいものは少し見えるが、細
最新回复
(
0
)