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terial civilization developed.

£Û1£ÝThat argument, however, depended on historical evidence and reasoning, which had come to be considered ¡°soft¡± knowledge¡ªunscientific, subjective, itself cultureª²bound and, even more recently, as a selfª²serving tale told by white male patriarchs in order to oppress the rest.

To suggest that modern liberal civilization, science and technology emerged in Western Europe because of a particular cultural development linked to the assumptions, values and philosophies of classical Greece and Rome, the Jewish and Christian religions, and the ideas of the European Renaissance and Enlightenment, was thought to put down other civilizations where such development had not taken place.

This notion, ¡°popular early in the 20th century,¡± according to a New York Times report on the matter, is now ¡°unsettling scholars and policymakers,¡± since it ¡°challenges the assumptions of market economists and liberal thinkers.¡± These are nearly all, to some degree, economic determinists.

The matter is of practical concern in making policy. Take the worst case: the problem of contemporary Africa.

Until the 1950s, Africa was generally considered to be a region of preª²modern cultures, developed among a variety of peoples originally practicing simple agriculture, or hunting and gathering. Some cultures were of great artistic complexity; all had complex codes of value and ceremony; some were quite advanced politically, resembling in many respects European feudalism, but all were without written languages or written knowledge.£Û370 Words£Ý

26ª±What was possibly assumed before about humans and the fruit fly?

£ÛA£Ý They were equally complicated in terms of gene.

£ÛB£Ý Humans were much more genetically complicated than the fruit fly, genetically speaking.

£ÛC£Ý Humans were two times as complicated as the fruit fly in gene.

£ÛD£Ý The fruit fly was less stable than humans in the structure of genes.

27ª±Which of the following is true according to the text?

£ÛA£Ý Modern scholars tend to deny the influence of culture on social development.

£ÛB£Ý Only after the 1950s did scholars realize the great impact of culture.

£ÛC£Ý Positivism believes in the truth that culture has a lot to do with economic development.

£ÛD£Ý laymen would be surprised to see that culture is so influential on society.

28ª±By ¡°soft¡± knowledge it is meant that the argument for culture¬ðs impact on society is

£ÛA£Ý sound.£ÛB£Ý unapproachable.

£ÛC£Ý groundless.£ÛD£Ý naive.

29ª±The author took Afica as an example of

£ÛA£Ý political advancement.

£ÛB£Ý sophisticated economy.

£ÛC£Ý artistic complexity.

£ÛD£Ý underdeveloped cultures.

30ª±What is the main idea of the text?

£ÛA£Ý Culture and nurture are closely related to each other.

£ÛB£Ý Culture is a motive force in social development.

£ÛC£Ý Policymaking comes mainly from culture.

£ÛD£Ý Scientific culture directs economic development.

Text 3

A cofigurative culture is one in which the prevailing model for members of the society is the behavior of their contemporaries. £Û1£ÝAlthough there are records of postfigurative cultures in which the elders provide the model for the behavior of the young and in which there has been as yet no break in the acceptance of the ways of the ancestors, there are few societies in which cofiguration has become the only form of cultural transmission and none is known in which this model alone has been preserved through generations. In a society in which the only model was a cofigurative one, old and young alike would assume that it was ¡®society¡¯ for the behavior of each new generation to differ from that of the preceding generation.

In all cofigurative cultures the elders are still dominant in the sense that they set the style and define the limits within which cofiguration is expressed in the behavior of the young. There are societies in which approbation by the elders is decisive for the acceptance of new behavior, that is, the young look not to their peers, but to their elders, for the final approval of change. £Û2£ÝBut at the same time, when there is a shared expectation that members of a generation will model their behavior on that of their contemporaries, especially their adolescent age mates, and that their behavior will differ from that of their parents and grandparents, each individual, as he successfully embodies a new style, becomes to some extent a model for others of his generation.

Cofiguration has its beginning in a break in the postfigurative system. Such a break may come about in many ways through a catastrophe in which a whole population, but particularly the old who were essential to leadership, is decimated, as a result of the development of new forms of technology in which the old are not expert, following migration to a new land where the elders are, and always will be, regarded as immigrants and strangers, in the aftermath of a conquest in which subject populations are required to learn the language and ways of the conqueror, as a result of religious conversion, when adult converts try to bring up children to embody new ideals they themselves never experienced as children and adolescents, or as a purposeful step in a revolution that establishes itself through the introduction of new and different life styles for the young.£Û403 Words£Ý

31ª±Which is the most logical title for this passage?

£ÛA£Ý The Generation Gap: Cofigurative vs. Postifiguative.

£ÛB£Ý The Cultural Absorption: Cofigurative of Postfigurative.

£ÛC£Ý Postfiguative Cultures: The Breakdown of the Past.

£ÛD£Ý Cofiguative Cultures: Contemporaries as Models.

32ª±In cofiguative cultures the young

£ÛA£Ý never ask the elders¬ð approval of change.

£ÛB£Ý look to their peers for approval of change.

£ÛC£Ý model their behavior on that of their grandparents.

£ÛD£Ý expect to resemble the experience of their parents.

33ª±In cofigurative cultures the young see the elders as

£ÛA£Ý representatives of a past left behind.

£ÛB£Ý custodians of ancient wisdom.

£ÛC£Ý members of a higher caste.

£ÛD£Ý models for proper behavior.

34ª±Cofigurative cultures are well adapted for

£ÛA£Ý identifying cultural deviants in an unstable modem society.

£ÛB£Ý liberating enslaved peoples in long occupied land.

£ÛC£Ý maintaining traditional roles by the dominating class.

£ÛD£Ý absorbing new members into the prevailing structure of the time.

35ª±Which of the following events is LEAST likely to result in a cofigurative type of culture?

£ÛA£Ý Mass religuious conversion to a new faith.

£ÛB£Ý The development of firm caste lines.

£ÛC£Ý The enslavement of one tribe by another.

£ÛD£Ý Historical migration to a rich country.

Text 4

A metal with a builtª²in memory is one of the very useful discoveries made during America¬ðs space program. Nitinol was discovered by scientists working at the Naval Surface Weapons Center. They were looking for heatª²shield metals for missiles and satellites, but what they found was nitinol. This alloy can be formed into shapes just like any other metal, but it returns to its original form at a certain temperature.

When this alloy of nickel and titanium is first formed, it is shaped into ingots, brickª²shaped masses of the metal. Then it is drawn out into a wire of varying thickness, depending on the job it is destined to do. It is set into its desired curve or shape and heated briefly. It is then cooled off by dipping the wire in cold water. This ¡°sets¡± its memory. £Û1£ÝThe metal can then be formed into any desired shape, but whenever its temperature exceeds its room temperature, it returns to the shape it has memorized.

This makes nitinol perfect, of course, for spacecraft, for antennas, probes, shields, and folding ¡°arms¡± made of nitinol can be stored safely inside a spacecraft, protecting them from damage during launching. Then, once safe in orbit, the spacecraft would suddenly ¡°grow¡± antennas and other structures. The sun¬ðs rays would have warmed up the folded and coiled nitinol, and it would have returned to its original shape.

But scientists have found a more downª²toª²earth use