2015吉林大学考博英语真题阅读理解精练

2015吉林大学考博英语真题阅读理解精练
Bernard Bailyn has recently reinterpreted the early history of the
United States by applying new social research findings on the
experiences of European migrants. In his reinterpretation, migration
becomes the organizing principle for rewriting the history of
preindustrial North America. His approach rests on four separate
propositions.
The first of these asserts that residents of early modern England
moved regularly about their countryside; migrating to the New World
was simply a “natural spillover”. Although at first the colonies
held little positive attraction for the English — they would rather
have stayed home — by the eighteenth century people increasingly
migrated to America because they regarded it as the land of
opportunity. Secondly, Bailyn holds that, contrary to the notion that
used to flourish in America history textbooks, there was never a
typical New World community. For example, the economic and
demographic character of early New England towns varied considerably.
Bailyn’s third proposition suggest two general patterns
prevailing among the many thousands of migrants: one group came as
indentured servants, another came to acquire land. Surprisingly,
Bailyn suggests that those who recruited indentured servants were the
driving forces of transatlantic migration. These colonial
entrepreneurs helped determine the social character of people who
came to preindustrial North America. At first, thousands of unskilled

laborers were recruited; by the 1730’s, however, American employers
demanded skilled artisans.
Finally, Bailyn argues that the colonies were a half-civilized
hinterland of the European culture system. He is undoubtedly correct
to insist that the colonies were part of an Anglo-American empire.
But to divide the empire into English core and colonial periphery,
as Bailyn does, devalues the achievements of colonial culture. It is
true, as Bailyn claims, that high culture in the colonies never
matched that in England. But what of seventeenth-century New England,
where the settlers created effective laws, built a distinguished
university, and published books? Bailyn might respond that New
England was exceptional. However, the ideas and institutions
developed by New England Puritans had powerful effects on North
American culture.
Although Bailyn goes on to apply his approach to some thousands
of indentured servants who migrated just prior to the revolution, he
fails to link their experience with the political development of the
United States. Evidence presented in his work suggests how we might
make such a connection. These indentured servants were treated as
slaves for the period during which they had sold their time to American
employers. It is not surprising that as soon as they served their time
they passed up good wages in the cities and headed west to ensure their
personal independence by acquiring land. Thus, it is in the west that
a peculiarly American political culture began, among colonists who

were suspicious of authority and intensely anti-aristocratic.
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1. Which of the following statements about migrants to colonial North
America is supported by information in the text?
[A] A larger percentage of migrants to colonial North America came
as indentured servants than as free agents interested in acquiring
land.
[B] Migrants who came to the colonies as indentured servants were
more successful at making a livelihood than were farmers and artisans.
[C] Migrants to colonial North America were more successful at
acquiring their own land during the eighteenth century than during
the seventeenth century.
[D] By the 1730’s, migrants already skilled in a trade were in
more demand by American employers than were unskilled laborers.
2. The author of the text states that Bailyn failed to
[A] give sufficient emphasis to the cultural and political
interdependence of the colonies and England.
[B] describe carefully how migrants of different ethnic
backgrounds preserved their culture in the United States.
[C] take advantage of social research on the experiences of
colonists who migrated to colonial North America specifically to
acquire land.
[D] relate the experience of the migrants to the political values
that eventually shaped the character of the United States.
3. Which of the following best summarizes the author’s
evaluation of Bailyn’s fourth proposition?
[A] It is totally implausible.
[B] It is partially acceptable.
[C] It is highly admirable.
[D] It is controversial though persuasive.
4. According to the text, Bailyn and the author agree on which
of the following statements about the culture of colonial New England?
[A] High culture in New England never equaled the high culture
of England
[B] The cultural achievements of colonial New England have
generally been unrecognized by historians.
[C] The colonists imitated the high culture of England, and did
not develop a culture that was uniquely their own.
[D] The southern colonies were greatly influenced by the high
culture of New England.
5. The author of the text would be most likely to agree with which
of the following statements about Bailyn’s work?
[A] Bailyn underestimates the effects of Puritan thought on North
American culture.
[B] Bailyn overemphasizes the economic dependence of the colonies
on Great Britain.
[C] Bailyn’s description of the colonies as part of an

Anglo-American empire is misleading and incorrect.
[D] Bailyn failed to test his propositions on a specific group
of migrants to colonial North America.
答案：DDBAA

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