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  3. The term "folk custom "is very broad, but it has been used by folklorists to refer to those shared patterns of behaviors in a pa

The term "folk custom "is very broad, but it has been used by folklorists to refer to those shared patterns of behaviors in a pa

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问题     The term "folk custom "is very broad, but it has been used by folklorists to refer to those shared patterns of behaviors in a particular folk group. Those patterns of behaviors are regarded as the traditional and established ways of members of the particular folk group. Folk custom is transmitted by word of mouth, demonstration or imitation. The folklore and folk customs of England are rich and varied. Many customs are ancient, passed down, generation to generation from our Germanic and Celtic ancestors. Others are more modern creations.
    One of the greatest problems in assessing most accounts of folk customs is that they tend to give only the antiquary’s point of view. After all, to most observers, the people they were looking at were simple and illiterate, unmindful of the true significance of the customs they had preserved. Why question them at length if they didn’t understand the essential nature of what they were doing? So a folklorist is likely to emphasize aspects of a tradition which reflect his or her own interests or which fit in with preconceived ideas, while possibly ignoring or giving only passing mention to aspects which may, in fact, be of equal importance.
    One aspect which generally gets left out of accounts is the viewpoint of the participants themselves: for instance, why they indulge in a particular activity at a particular time of year or of their lives and what feelings they experience while doing so. And now, ideas deriving from folklore studies are so widespread that they may easily have become an integral part of the attitude of the participants in a custom. So the folklorist is rather like a man staring at a scene in a mirror who must be aware, to fully understand that scene, that his own reflection is a major part of what he is looking at.
    It is, however, also true to say that many contemporary students of folklore are fully aware of the problems which beset their enquiries. Like true scientists they draw their conclusions by looking at available evidence, rather than selecting evidence which fits in with existing theories. Some have also looked away from the "obviously" ancient and turned their attention to folklore where it thrives, in the social life of modern cities, in industry and sport, etc. They may, for example, end up looking at the lore of the motor car, or of popular music, and at customs which, though they have no hints of paganism, nevertheless have much in common with older activities which do.
    Many folklorists have gradually come to the conclusion that folklore is not necessarily a thing of the past, a relic of ancient and outmoded ways of thinking, but the means by which people try to make sense of the world (or to confront its lack of sense) and try to alleviate boredom and suffering.  
The best title for the passage probably is________.
选项 A、Folklore and Folk Customs
B、Problems and Tendency of Folk Customs
C、The Revival of Folk Customs
D、Folklore and Folklorists
答案B
解析 主旨题。文章开篇介绍了什么是民俗以及英国民俗学的情况。第二段开始提到民俗学研究中遇到的一个问题：研究者的观点接近于文物收藏家的观点。之后分析其原因，并指出在民俗研究中遗漏了参与者的观点。而现在的民俗研究者容易受到早期研究的影响。最后指出现在的民俗学研究者们注意到了这些问题并对此加以改正，从研究古代民俗学转向研究现代民俗学。并得出结论：民俗学研究对人类心理有正面影响。可见，本文的主旨是民俗学研究中出现的问题及发展趋势，故B为答案。“folklore”和“folk customs”含义相同，属于不必要的重复，故排除[A]；虽然文章谈到民俗学研究的现状，但重点是其面临的问题，故排除[C]；[D]范围过大，故排除。
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