中国社会科学院研究生院 )SJ"IY\P
2015 年攻读博士学位研究生入学考试试卷 lx7]rkWo|a
英 语 j^/=.cD|
2015 年 3 月 14 日 \}!/z]u
8:30 – 11:30 TuC
1 7nsovWp
PART I: Vocabulary and Grammar <*9(m
Section A (10 points) tO?-@Qf/9<
Directions: Choose the answer that best fills in the blank. f`iDF+h<6
1. Even the president is not really the CEO. No one is. Power in a corporation is concentrated and =mSu^q(l
vertically structured. Power in Washington is ______________ and horizontally spread out. /!N=@z)
a. prudent b. reversible c. diffuse d. mandatory Y ` Z,52
2. In describing the Indians of the various sections of the United States at different stages in their 3"sXN)j
history , some of the factors which account for their similarity amid difference can be readily 13 %:3W(
accounted for, others are difficult to _______________. pK ^$^*#
a. refine b. discern c. embed d. cluster (/E@.z[1
3. The partial transfer of legislative powers from Westminster, implemented by Tony Blair, was ";/ogFi
designed to give the other members of the club a bigger ______________ and to counter 8c>xgFWp9
centrifugal forces that seemed to threaten the very idea of the union. S~R[*Gk_uT
a. say b. transmission c. decay d. contention qj4jM7
4. It can hardly be denied the proliferation of so-called dirty books and films has, to date, reached aj/+#G2
almost a saturation point. People do not acknowledge the _______________ fact that children /}
h"f5
are bound to be exposed to ―dirty words‖ in a myriad of ways other than through the public ]]e>Jym
airwaves. Z:^ S
-h
a. irrefutable b. concrete c. inevitable d. haphazard ~,Yd.?.TI
5. A condition is an essential term of the contract. If a contract is not performed, it may constitute a )1YX+',"
substantial breach of contract and allow the other party to _______________ the contract, that is, Y/?z8g'p
treat the contract as discharged or terminated. C XNYWx
a. repudiate b. spurn c. decline d. halt rHuzGSX54
6. Each of us shares with the community in which we live a store of words as well as agreed Q- w_@~
conventions ______________ these words should be arranged to convey a particular message. Z>l<.T"t'
a. as the way by which b. by the way in which 7-C])9
c. as to the way in which d. in the way of which ,gM:s}l!dJ
7. Rarely ______________ a technological development _______________ an impact on many k3KT'
:*
aspects of social, economic, and cultural development as greatly as the growth of electronics. -8R SE4)
a. has… had b. had…had c. has…has d. have…had mD|Q+~=|e
8. If early humans ______________ as much as they did, they probably ______________ to evolve D6"d\Fm<
into different species. '&2-{Y [!
a. did not move and intermingle…would continue <_]W1V:0
b. would not move and intermingle…had continued fJ6Q:7
c. had not moved and intermingled…would have continued sZ7~AJ
d. were not to move and intermingle…could have continued |68u4z K
2 ZE=
Yn~XM
9. It was ______________ the last time around the track ______________ I really kicked it WJ LqH<
in--passing the gossiping girlfriends, blocking out the whistles of boys who had already M%RH4%NZ0
completed their run and now were hanging out on the grassy hill, I ran--pushing hard, breathing 2+b}FVOe\
shallowly, knowing full well that I was going to have to hear about it from my disapproving >
_ G'o
friends for the next few days. Do5.
a. not until…when b. not until…that c. until…when d. until…that .}uri1k"@k
10.One impediment ______________ the general use of a standard in pronunciation is the fact C\vOxBAB
______________ pronunciation is learnt naturally and unconsciously, while orthography is P,xJVo\
learnt deliberately and consciously. bTZ.y.sI
a. in…which b. of …in which c. on…that d. to…that N2Ysi$
Section B (5 points) q*C-DiV
Directions: Choose the word that is the closest in meaning with the underlined word. BjA$
^ i|8
11. It is some 15 million Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims swept up in a tumultuous shuffle of citizens ledr[)
between India and Pakistan after the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. Q1x15pVku/
a. division b. turmoil c. fusion d. consolidation z.?slYe[
12. Concerning speculation, philosophy looks upon things from the broadest possible perspective; 2-Wy@\
for criticism, it has the twofold role of questioning and judging everything that pertains either *OIBMx#qxn
to the foundations or to the superstructure of human thinking. "WO0rh`
a. inebriates b. forsakes c. relates d. emaciates pU[yr'D.r
13. Meeting is, in fact, a necessary though not necessarily productive psychological side show. 4S[)5su
Perhaps it is our civilized way to moderating,if not preventing, change. B#35)QI
a. promoting b. impeding c. tempering d. arresting 3-)}.8F
14. The truth about alliances and their merit probably lies somewhere between the travel utopia
U0srwt97S
presented by the players and the evil empires portrayed by their critics. O6ugN-d>
a. collaboration b. worth c. triumph d. defect <P6d
-+
15. But Naifeh and Smith reveal a keen intellect, an avid reader and a passionate observer of other 4HX;9HPHE<
artists’ work who progressed from labored figure studies to inspired outbursts of creative energy. i}i>ho-8
Far from an artistic flash in the pan, he pursued his calling with dogged determination against z|Yt|W
nearly insurmountable odds. P=\Hi.]%
a. insuperable b. unsurpassable c. uncountable d. invaluable 9_e_Ne`i`?
Section C (5 points) ='_3qn.
Directions: Choose the letter that indicates the error in the sentence. qDz[=6BF
16. One of the most important non-legislative functions of the U.S. Congress is the power to 9zrTf%mF
3 +DR{aX/ll
investigate, which is usually delegated to committees—either standing committees, special
\Sv|yQUT
A B JnIG;/
committees set for a specific purpose, or joint committees consisting of members of both 5,V*aP
C D v\qyDZ VV
houses. H{Lt,#
17. One of the important corollaries to the investigative power is the power to publicize csxn"Dz\
investigations and their results. Most committee hearings are open to public and are reported {;zHkmx
A B }9
#GJ:x`
widely in the mass media. Congressional investigations thus represent one important tool ZM<UiN
C @
'N$5
available to lawmakers to inform the citizenry and to arouse public interest in national issues. VGu(HB8n#
D P4c3kO0
18. It is not a voice we recognize at once, whereas our own handwriting is something which we ~ _tK.m3
A B yf`_?gJ6d
almost always know. We begin the natural learning of pronunciation long before we start D`X<b4e8/
C ZrA*MN
learning to read or write, and in our early years we go on unconsciously imitating and !dcvG9JZ
D 61OlnmvE
practicing the pronunciation of those around us for many hours everyday. ;:ZD<'+N
19. It had happened too often that the farmers sold their wheat soon after harvest when farm debts <S6?L[_
A
QMrH%Y
were coming due, only to see prices rising and speculators getting rich. On various occasions, WX
_g
B 7^UY%t
producer groups, asked firmer control, but the government had no wish to become involved, at 4e;
le&
C .pm%qEh
least not until wartime when wheat prices threatened to run wild. 9.( [,J
D QQS"K
g
20. Detailed studies of the tribe by the food scientists at the University of London showed that ui|6ih$+
A uGW#z_{(n
gathering is a more productive source of food than is hunting. An hour of hunting yields on I3T;|;P7
B C ]~f-8!$$R
average about 100 edible calories as an hour of gathering produces 240. v4uQ0~k~X
D Ukf:m&G
PART II: Reading comprehension (30 points) vS3Y9|-:
Directions: Choose the best answers based on the information in the passages below. U7f
o4y1}
Passage 1 \:q @I]2
Plato’s Republic has been the source of great consternation, especially in literary circles, for its ",,.xLI7
4 $kMe8F_
attack on the poets. Socrates in fact asserts that they should have no place in the ideal state. Eric erTly2-SJ
Havelock suggests that there are several misunderstandings in this regard, and in his Preface to iS"6)#a72
Plato he identifies the issues, explains the historical context. )-}<}< oO
Havelock opens his discussion by suggesting that the very title of the Republic is the source of 6Rq +=X
much confusion. The book is commonly understood to be a treatise on the ideal political entity, but K>XZrt
even a casual analysis will show that only one-third of the text is concerned with statecraft. The 00y(E@~
other two-thirds cover a variety of subjects, but the thrust of Plato’s argument amounts to an attack Lk^bzW>f
on the traditional Greek approach to education. Txpj#JD
The educational methods still in use in the 4th century BC had their origins in what has been 6!*zgA5M'
called the Greek Dark Age beginning around 1200 BC when the Mycenaean era collapsed. Very +#(GU9_i+M
little is known about the whys and wherefores of this collapse, but it wasn’t until around 700 BC NxK.q)tj6
that the Phoenician alphabet began to be adapted and used in the Greek-speaking world. During the ,,#6SR(n
intervening centuries, all knowledge concerning Greek history, culture, mores and laws were orally WUQa2$.
transmitted down through the generations. The most effective device in aid of memorizing vast p#rqe<Ua
amounts of information was rhyme. The epic form we see in Homer’s Iliad grew out of the need to 4U'sBaY!K
preserve the Greek cultural memory. Havelock takes the reader through Book 1 of The Iliad and q_BMZEM
dissects it in detail to show how this cultural, historical and ethical heritage was conveyed. The #E<~WpP
Iliad takes on new and significant meaning to the reader of this minute examination. ,,)'YhG(
The Iliad and presumably other poetic vehicles were taught to children from an early age. The Ze[\y(K!
whole of the Greek-speaking world was immersed in the project of memorizing, and out of the #Wb
4*
masses arose those individuals with superior memories and theatrical skills who became the next BuC\Bd^0
generation of minstrels and teachers. Education was thus comprised of memorization and rote n}4q2x"
learning, and the people enjoyed constant reminders through public readings and festivals. 8hyXHe
Plato’s focus in the Republic and elsewhere is on Homer and Hesiod and to some extent the 3qV\XC+
dramatists which at the time were the centerpieces of the educational regime. Their works presented X
"HVK+
gods and heroes as fundamentally immoral and thus bad examples for youth. The overall result is |^F$Ta
that the Greek adolescent is continually conditioned to an attitude which at bottom is cynic al. It is ^ ~Tn[w W_
more important to keep up appearances than to practice the reality. Decorum and decent behavior -ni@+Dy
are not obviously violated, but the inner principle of morality is. Once the Republic is viewed as a _Vc4F_
critique of the educational regime, Havelock says that the logic of its total organization becomes L}g#h+GP[
clear. uX1{K%^<TW
What Plato was railing against was an ―oral state of mind‖ which seems to have persisted even 2:yXeSeA
though the alphabet and written documentation had been in use for three centuries. Illiteracy was #AO}JP
thus still a widespread problem in Plato’s time, and the poetic state of mind was the main obstacle i?mUQ'H
to scientific rationalism and analysis. This is why Plato regarded the poetic or oral state of mind as c<Q*g
the arch-enemy. In his teachings he did the opposite. He asked his students to ―think about what x{rjngp2
they were saying instead of just saying it.‖ The epic had become, in Plato’s view, not ―an act of 0B~x8f
creation but an act of reminder and recall‖ and contributed to what Havelock terms ―the Homeric $!\L6;:
state of mind.‖ It was Socrates’ project (and by extension Plato’s) to reform Greek education to AOTtAV_e
encourage thinking and analysis. Thus all the ranting and railing about the ―poets‖ in Plato’s ?1eu9; q\*
Republic was limited basically to Homer and Hesiod because of what he viewed as a wholly RYl\Q,#
inadequate approach to education of which these particular poets were an integral part. aH,NS
Unfortunately, Western culture has misconstrued what Plato and Socrates meant by ―the iI*qx+>f?
poets.‖ And because we view poetry as a highly creative and elevated form of expression, our Vk76cV
D
5 2xB
h
critics have failed to recognize that Plato’s diatribe had a very specific and limited target which had yK_$d0ZGE~
nothing to do with high-minded creativity, of which there is plenty, by the way, in the proscribed xa{.hp?
poets. It wasn’t really the poets who were the problem; it was the use of them that was deemed $lUz!mjG
unacceptable. lJS3*x#H
Post-Havelock, we can now read the Republic with the scales lifted from our eyes and see it FEV Ya#S
for what it really was: an indictment of an antiquated educational regime which had no place in a C9>^!?>
democratic society. i+I1h=
Comprehension Questions: =~21.p
21. The mistaken understanding of Plato's Republic consists in the widespread belief that it consists DKl\N~{F
of _______________. w.=rea~
a. literary criticism b. a treatise on the ideal polity C2DAsSw
c. a critique of rationalism d. an indictment of an obsolete pedagogy H8Z|gq1r
22. According to Havelock, Plato’ s anger with the poets arose from: h6tYy_(G
I: Their representation of gods and heroes as fundamentally immoral and thus bad examples for =>GGeEL
youth. &m TYMpA
II: Their transmission of culture, mores and laws. ~P*{%= a
a. I. b. II. c. Both I and II. d. Neither I nor II. ]l
23. Prior to the 4 A3.pz6iT>
th mZjP;6
century BC, recitation was considered the best educational method because @U =~c9
______________. x5M+\?I<2
a. poetry was seen as a highly creative and elevated form of expression J d,9<m$
b. rhyme was the most effective device in aid of memorizing vast amounts of information |HwEwL+
c. there was no writing system -L
wz
T
d. the people enjoyed constant reminders through public readings and festivals k<rJm
P{
24. In Plato's diatribe the poetic or oral state of mind is the arch-enemy of _______________. mdcsL~R
a. democratic society b. the Mycenaean Republic ]Z[0xs
c .the Phoenicians d. literacy bj?=
\u
25. A common critique of the present-day Chinese educational system resembles the educational z|$9%uz
"
system that Plato fulminated against in that it often _______________. G
P
`sOPr
a. asks students to think about what they were saying instead of just saying it _k(&<1i
b. comprises of memorization and rote learning iY5V4Gbo
c. has a very specific and limited target x,GLGGi}_x
d. encourages thinking and analysis nrbP3sf*
Passage 2 @r\{iSg&g.
To govern is to choose how the revenue raised from taxes is spent. So far so good, or bad. But UM^~a$t
some people earn more money than others. Should they pay proportionately more money to the [Y^h)k{-$
government than those who earn less? And if they do pay more money are they entitled to more KNOVb=#f_
services than those who pay less or those who pay nothing at all? And should those who pay FRayB VHL
nothing at all because they have nothing get anything? These matters are of irritable concern to our ^szi[Cj
6 }|Bs|$q
rulers, and of some poignancy to the rest. y'O<*~C(X
Although the equality of each citizen before the law is the rock upon which the American $|AasT5w
Constitution rests, economic equality has never been an American ideal. In fact, it is the one {~XnmBs
unmentionable subject in our politics, as the senator from South Dakota recently discovered when EIPX q
he came up with a few quasi-egalitarian tax reforms. The furious and enduring terror of a`LkP%
Communism in America is not entirely the work of those early cold warriors Truman and Acheson. o3h>)
4
A dislike of economic equality is something deep-grained in the American Protestant character. *<X*)A{C
After all, given a rich empty continent for vigorous Europeans to exploit (the Indians were simply a bo@,
B
disagreeable part of the emptiness, like chiggers), any man of gumption could make himself a good o1uM(
living. With extra hard work, any man could make himself a fortune, proving that he was a better NB-%Tp*d
man than the rest. Long before Darwin the American ethos was Darwinian. y>^0q/=]?O
The vision of the rich empty continent is still a part of the American unconscious in spite of the d;{k,rP6
Great Crowding and its attendant miseries; and this lingering belief in the heaven any man can 8O[l[5u&
make for himself through hard work and clean living is a key to the majority’s prevailing and "CZv5)
apparently unalterable hatred of the poor, kept out of sight at home, out of mind abroad. p+y"r4
Yet there has been, from the beginning, a significant division in our ruling class. The early %al
5 {
Thomas Jefferson had a dream: a society of honest yeomen, engaged in agricultural pursuits, zU_dk'&,
without large cities, heavy industry, banks, military pretensions. The early (and the late) Alexander iU(B#ohW"
Hamilton wanted industry, banks, cities, and a military force capable of making itself felt in world 5Sb-Bn
politics. It is a nice irony that so many of today’s laissez-faire conservatives think that they descend =r3g:j/>q
from Hamilton, the proponent of a strong federal government, and that so many liberals believe lr@w1*
themselves to be the heirs of the early Jefferson, who wanted little more than a police force and a s^Xs*T@~h
judiciary. Always practical, Jefferson knew that certain men would rise through their own good 7OS i2
efforts while, sadly, others would fall. Government would do no more than observe this Darwinian aX
Ie
spectacle benignly, and provide no succor. gAf4wq
In 1800 the Hamiltonian view was rejected by the people and their new President Thomas '%o^#gJ p
Jefferson. Four years later, the Hamiltonian view had prevailed and was endorsed by the reelected 7zIfsb
Jefferson. Between 1800 and 1805 Jefferson had seen to it that an empire in posse had become an KL$> j/qT
empire in esse. The difference between Jefferson I and Jefferson II is reflected in the two inaugural G\^<MR|
addresses. pgZQ>%
It is significant that nothing more elevated than greed changed the Dr. Jekyll of Jefferson I into ($W%&(:/
the Mr. Hyde of Jefferson II. Like his less thoughtful countrymen, Jefferson could not resist a deal. ixE w!t
Subverting the Constitution he had helped create, Jefferson bought Louisiana from Napoleon, ?Mn~XN4F_
acquiring its citizens without their consents. The author of the Declaration of Independence was .tQ(q=#
quite able to forget the unalienable rights of anyone whose property he thought should be joined to s!>9od6^
our empire—a word which crops up frequently and unselfconsciously in his correspondence. r3KNRr@
In the course of land-grabbing, Jefferson II managed to get himself into hot water with France, YHMJ5IM@.
England, and Spain simultaneously, a fairly astonishing thing to do considering the state of politics $: |`DCC
in Napoleonic Europe. Wu(^k25
Comprehension Questions: 1}+b4"7]
26. The author believes that Americans ________________. E&5S[n9{3
a. still believe America to be largely unpopulated -Q&@P3x
b. largely believe in lower taxation 0rm(i*Q
c. are in favor of taxation without representation TQ0ZBhd
7 c27(en(
d. should reconsider the Louisiana purchase
fNfa.0s
27. From the passage, we may assume that the senator from South Dakota _______________. 6a_U[-a9;
a. opposed tax reform b. was Thomas Jefferson S?J(VJqE
c. failed in his attempt to reform tax law d. was Alexander Hamilton XXA]ukj;r
28. Jefferson made it possible for ________________. 9)o@d`*
a. a potential empire to become a real one )=MK&72r
b. tax laws to reflect the will of the people *ZFF$0}
c. France, England, and Spain to simultaneously vacillate upon their mutual feelings towards H)EL0
Kv/
the United States. rm$dv%q
d. Darwinian social theories to be accepted without question p<}y'7(
29. Jefferson’s early political writings espoused what would today be called _______________. dUl"w`3
a. collectivism b. libertarianism c. socialism d. liberalism F`2h,i-9
30. The author holds that Jefferson’s purchase of the Louisiana territories _______________. -K H"2q
a. may be seen as a hypocritical act xXa4t4
gR
b. rigorously held with his previous views of inalienable rights b{{ H@LTW
c. cannot be seen as an act of empire-expansion P1B=fgT
d. was an act meant to lower taxes and improve the wealth of the nation a1/+C$
oB
Passage 3 `~"'\Hw
If, besides the accomplishments of being witty and ill-natured, a man is vicious into the bargain, <t*<SdAq>`
he is one of the most mischievous creatures that can enter into a civil society. His satire will then 8oXp8CC
chiefly fall upon those who ought to be the most exempt from it. Virtue, merit, and everything that b18f=<#
is praiseworthy, will be made the subject of ridicule and buffoonery. It is impossible to enumerate 23`salLclG
the evils which arise from these arrows that fly in the dark; and I know no other excuse that is or AI#.+PrC{/
can be made for them, than that the wounds they give are only imaginary, and produce nothing ~J>;l
s1
more than a secret shame or sorrow in the mind of the suffering person. It must indeed be confessed R5(([C1
that a lampoon or a satire do not carry in them robbery or murder; but at the same time, how many ccPWfy_
are there that would not rather lose a considerable sum of money, or even life itself, than be set up |yzv o"3
as a mark of infamy and derision? And in this case a man should consider that an injury is not to be ^FBu|eAkE
measured by the notions of him that gives, but of him that receives it. Those who can put the best MSeg7/ MF
countenance upon the outrages of this nature which are offered them, are not without their secret e84%Y8,0
anguish. I have often observed a passage in Socrates’ behavior at his death in a light wherein none R8eBIJ/@_
of the critics have considered it. That excellent man entertaining his friends a little before he drank Y~A I2H S
the bowl of poison, with a discourse on the immortality of the soul, at his entering upon it says that ^Jq('@
he does not believe any the most comic genius can censure him for talking upon such a subject at wVnmT94
such at a time. This passage, I think, evidently glances upon Aristophanes, who write a comedy on VwZ~ntk
purpose to ridicule the discourses of that divine philosopher. It has been observed by many writers gO"G/
that Socrates was so little moved at this piece of buffoonery, that he was s everal times present at its G/~gF7
being acted upon the stage, and never expressed the least resentment of it. But, with submission, I "J2q|@.
think the remark I have here made shows us that this unworthy treatment made an impression upon /F~/&p1<\k
8 9&.
md,U '
his mind, though he had been too wise to discover it. When Julius Caesar was lampooned by n*na6rV\k
Catullus, he invited him to a supper, and treated him with such a generous civility, that he made the `XK\',
}F
poet his friend ever after. Cardinal Mazarine gave the same kind of treatment to the learned Quillet, |3!)
who had reflected upon his eminence in a famous Latin poem. The cardinal sent for him, and, after 0H^*VUyW/
some kind expostulations upon what he had written, assured him of his esteem, and dismissed him hhZ%{lqL
with a promise of the next good abbey that should fall, which he accordingly conferred upon him in FdzdoMY
a few months after. This had so good an effect upon the author, that he dedicated the second edition j3/6hE>
of his book to the cardinal, after having expunged the passages which had given him offence. *.k*JsU~B
Though in the various examples which I have here drawn together, these several great men behaved g)r{LxT# +
themselves very differently towards the wits of the age who had reproached them, they all of them !bYVLFp=\_
plainly showed that they were very sensible of their reproaches, and consequentl y that they ./Ek+p*96H
received them as very great injuries. For my own part, I would never trust a man that I thought was y2s(]#8
capable of giving these secret wounds; and cannot but think that he would hurt the person, whose w)@Wug
reputation he thus assaults, in his body or in his fortune, could he do it with the same security. ~S;-sxoO0l
There is indeed something very barbarous and inhuman in the ordinary scribblers of lampoons. I SE^l`.U@
have indeed heard of heedless, inconsiderate writers that, without any malice, have sacrificed the 4W*o:Y!
reputation of their friends and acquaintance to a certain levity of temper, and a silly ambition of ln=fq:
distinguishing themselves by a spirit of raillery and satire; as if it were not infinitely more :adz~L$
honourable to be a good-natured man than a wit. Where there is this little petulant humor in an Q8m%mJz~]
author, he is often very mischievous without designing to be so. -k8sR1(
Comprehension Questions: W&|?8%"l]
31. According to the author, those who want to trivialize satire tend to suggest that W4 d32+V
_______________. ly[dV.<P
a. the damage is immaterial b. the effect is mere buffoonery eUB!sR%
c. wit is a streak of genius d. the mischief must be taken in a spirit of raillery
$9Bzq_!
32. What would be the best strategy for the object of satire to adopt, according to the author? K&NH?
a. To take no heed. b. To placate the author. n~|?)EL
c. To take offence. d. To suffer the consequences. &DGz/o
33. The main purpose of this article is ________________. .-tR <{
g
a. the derision of the perpetrators of satire !s1<)%Jt
b. a warning against mischievous scribblers g*YA~J@
c. creating understanding of the genre GEf=A.WAfw
d. reproaching fellow satirists 7R:Ij[dV
34. When the author speaks of ―this little petulant humor‖ it is evident that he means 'ZMh<M[
________________. ?i#x13
a. good-natured wit b. the choleric temper S8/~'<out
c. a silly ambition d. submission bRm;d_9zC
35. In view of the opinion of the author, it is unlikely that the author is a ________________. [y'blCb
9 a"U3h[;$y
a. man of letters b. satirist c. wit d. a good-natured man >\?
z,Nin
Passage 4 zqNzWX
Alexander the Great’s conquests in the Eastern Mediterranean initiated a series of profound {*GBUv5
cultural transformations in the ancient centers of urban civilization of the Fertile Crescent. The final Bt@?l]Y
destruction of native rule and the imposition of an alien elite culture instigated a cultural 4uoZw3
O
discourse—Hellenism—which irrevocably marked all participants, both conquerors and conquered. ky[Cx!81C
This discourse was particularly characterized by a transformation of indigenous cultural traditions, ,(x`zpp _
necessitated by their need to negotiate their place in a new social order. As Bowerstock has argued, ~"`e9Im
the process of Hellenization did not accomplish the wholesale replacement of indigenous cultural N)Q_z9b=
traditions with Greek civilization. Instead, it provided a new cultural vocabulary through which qfJ2iE|o2.
much pre-existing cultural tradition was often able to find new expression. This phenomenon is qF bj~ec
especially intriguing as it relates to language and literacy. The ancient civilizations of the Fik;hB
Syro-Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultural spheres were, of course, literate, possessing indigenous k0V]<#h87
literary traditions already of great antiquity at the time of the Macedonian conquests. The 4_QfM}Fyp
disenfranchisement of traditional elites by the imposition of Greek rule had the related effect of TM#L.xPMf
displacing many of the traditional social structures where in indigenous literacy functioned and was :~8@fEKb{
taught—in particular, the institutions of the palace and the temple. A new language of power, Greek, 1DcBF@3sWG
replaced the traditional language of these institutions. This had the unavoidable effect of displacing i3|xdYe$
the traditional writing systems associated with these indigenous languages. Traditional literacy’s Bcv{Y\x;ko
longstanding association with the centers of social and political authority began to be eroded. VZcW
3/Y
Naturally, the eclipse of traditional, indigenous literacy did not occur overnight. The decline of L1!~T+%uQ
Cuneiform and Hieroglyphic literacies was a lengthy process. Nor was the nature of their respective hv#$Zo<
declines identical. Akkadian, the ancient language of Mesopotamian court and temple culture, w#A\(z%;x
vanished forever, along with cuneiform writing, in the first century CE. Egyptian lived on beyond *Xk5H,:
the disappearance of hieroglyphic in the fourth century CE in the guise of Coptic, to succumb as a 9;{(.
K
living, spoken language of daily social intercourse only after the Islamic conquest of Egypt. Even 3^wHL:u
then, Coptic survives to this day as the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church. This r?[[.zm"7
latter point draws attention to an aspect of the decline of these indigenous literacies worthy of note: uQ_C<ii"W
it is in the sphere of religion that these literacies are often preserved longest, after they have been "!vY{9,
superseded in palace circles—the last dated cuneiform text we have is an astrological text; the last 8~Zw"
dated hieroglyphic text a votive graffito. This should cause little surprise. The sphere of religion is +i!HMyM
generally one of the most conservative of cultural subsystems. The local need to negotiate the %"(HjanH
necessities of daily life and individual and collective identity embodied in traditional religious B`R@%US
structures is slow to change and exists in ongoing dialogue with the more readily changeable royal up['<Kt+a
and/or state ideologies that bind various locales together in an institutional framework. |0}Xb|+
The process of ―Hellenization‖ of the ancient cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean O6?{@l
provides us, then, with an opportunity to observe the on-going effect on traditional, indigenous '/UT0{2;rS
literacy of the imposition of a new status language possessed of its own distinct writing system. The rAHP5dx:
cultural politics of written and spoken language-use in such contexts has been much discussed and 1QA/ !2E
it is clear that the processes leading to the adoption of a new language—in written form, or spoken 1o\2\B=k{
form, or both—in some cultural spheres and the retention of traditional languages in others are 0|-}>>qb\
complex. Factors including the imposition of a new language from above, adoption of a new %E@o8
language of social prestige from below, as well as preservation of older idioms of traditional status /dg?6XT/
10 y>t:flD*
in core cultural institutions, must have affected different sectors of a conquered society in different L`<#vi
fashions and at different rates. u{=h%d/
Comprehension Questions: 3x
W:"
36. The languages that have to some extent managed to survive Hellenization did so in what area? jEQ_#KKYJ
a. In palace circles. b. In governmental institutions. JXkx!X_{
c. In the religious sphere. d. In philological circles. -eK0 +beQ
37. Which aspect of society, according to the passage, is one of the most resistant to change? lU
Zj
a. Monarchical institutions. b. Religious institutions. 7Z:HwZ
c. Linguistic norms. d. State ideologies. gh[q*%#
38. In the first paragraph, you saw the underlined word disenfranchisement. Choose, among the PtUS7[]
following expressions, the closest in similar meaning. ulN1z
a. the removal of power, right and/or privilege }OcrA/
b. a strong sense of disappointment <