Christopher Columbus托福听力原文翻译及问题答案

Christopher Columbus托福听力原文翻译及问题答案

一、Christopher Columbus 托福听力原文：

FEMALE PROFESSOR: It's interesting how much we can learn about culture in the United States by looking at how Christopher Columbus has been portrayed throughout United States history. So let's start at the beginning.

Columbus' ships first landed in, uh, landed in the Caribbean—there's some debate about which island—he landed in 1492 but it wasn't until 300 years later, in 1792, that his landing was first commemorated. And this was the brainchild of John Pintard.

Pintard was a wealthy New Yorker, the founder of the New York Historical Society. And he decided to use his influence and wealth to, um, to find a great hero, a patron for the young country. And he chose Columbus.

And in New York in 1792, the anniversary of Columbus' landing was commemorated for the first time.Other cities, uh, Philadelphia and then Baltimore followed and …

MALE STUDENT: But why Columbus? And why then?

FEMALE PROFESSOR: Well, to Pintard, it was a way to build patriotism in the young, politically fractured country. Remember, the United States had only declared its independence from Britain 16 years earlier and had yet to form a national identity.

Pintard also had a hand in helping to create Independence Day—July fourth—as a national holiday. So you see that he was very involved in creating sort of a “national story” for Americans. And Columbus … he felt Columbus could become a story that Americans could tell each other about their national origins that was outside of the British colonial context. The United States was in search of a national identity, and its people wanted heroes.

MALE STUDENT: But why not some of the leaders of the revolution? You know, like George Washington?

FEMALE PROFESSOR: The leaders of the Revolution were the natural candidates to be heroes. But, many were still alive and didn't want the job. To them, being raised to hero status was undemocratic. So Columbus became the hero, and the link between Columbus and the United States took hold.

FEMALE STUDENT: And so what was that link?

FEMALE PROFESSOR: Well, Columbus was portrayed as entrepreneurial, someone who took chances, who took risks … And he was cast as somebody who was opposed to the rule of kings and queens. Perhaps most of all, Columbus was portrayed as someone who was destined to accomplish things. Just as America in those early years was coming to see itself as having a great destiny.

FEMALE STUDENT: But Columbus was supported by the king and queen of Spain, he wasn't against them.

FEMALE PROFESSOR: True. To be historically accurate, the way Pintard thought about Columbus doesn't match up with the facts of his life at all. And I really have to stress this: the fact that Columbus became the hero of the young country had little to do with Columbus—anything he did—and a lot to do with what was happening in the United States 300 years later.

Columbus was extraordinarily adaptable to the purposes of America's nation builders—people like John Pintard—in the early part of the nineteenth century. And since not a lot of facts were known about Columbus … his writings weren't available in North America until, until 1816 … that might have actually helped the process of adapting him to American purposes.

MALE STUDENT: Since no one knew much about the “real” Columbus, it was easy to invent a mythical one?

FEMALE PROFESSOR: Exactly. And this “mythical Columbus,” it … it became a reflection of the society which chose him.

So, in the early history of the United States, Columbus represented an escape from the political institutions of Europe; he was the solitary individual who challenged the unknown. And now there was this new democracy, this new country in a world without kings. Columbus became sort of the mythical founder of the country.

So, as historians, we wouldn’t want to study these myths about Columbus and mistake them for facts about Columbus. But if we’re trying to understand American culture, then we can learn much by studying how America adapts Columbus for its own purposes.

Evaluations of Columbus, then, will reflect what Americans think of themselves. Oh . . . there's a quote … something like … “societies reconstruct their past rather than faithfully record it.” And how that reconstruction takes place, and what it tells us … that's something we're going to be paying a lot of attention to …

二、Christopher Columbus 托福听力中文翻译：

女教授：通过观察克里斯托弗·哥伦布（ChristopherColumbus）在美国历史上的形象，我们可以了解美国文化的多少，这很有趣。让我们从头开始。

哥伦布的船只首次登陆加勒比海，关于1492年他登陆了哪个岛屿，有一些争论，但直到300年后的1792年，人们才首次纪念他的登陆。这是约翰·平塔的创意。

品塔是一位富有的纽约人，纽约历史学会的创始人。他决定利用自己的影响力和财富，嗯，找到一位伟大的英雄，一位年轻国家的赞助人。他选择了哥伦布。

1792年，哥伦布首次在纽约登陆周年纪念。其他城市，呃，费城和巴尔的摩紧随其后…

男学生：为什么是哥伦布？那为什么呢？

女教授：对平塔来说，这是一种在这个政治上四分五裂的年轻国家建立爱国主义的方式。记住，美国16年前才宣布脱离英国独立，还没有形成一个民族认同。

平塔也参与了将独立日7月4日定为国定假日的活动。所以你可以看到，他非常热衷于为美国人创造一种“国家故事”。而哥伦布……他觉得哥伦布可以成为一个故事，让美国人可以相互讲述他们的民族起源，而这与英国殖民背景无关。美国正在寻求民族认同，美国人民需要英雄。

男学生：但是为什么革命的一些领导人不呢？你知道，就像乔治·华盛顿？

女教授：革命领袖是英雄的自然候选人。但是，许多人还活着，不想得到这份工作。对他们来说，被提升为英雄地位是不民主的。因此，哥伦布成了英雄，哥伦布与美国之间的联系开始牢固起来。

女学生：那么那是什么联系呢？

女教授：哥伦布被描绘成一个企业家，一个敢于冒险的人……他被塑造成一个反对国王和王后统治的人。也许最重要的是，哥伦布被描绘成一个注定要取得成就的人。正如早年的美国逐渐意识到自己有着伟大的命运一样。

女学生：但哥伦布得到了西班牙国王和王后的支持，他并不反对他们。

女教授：没错。准确地说，平塔对哥伦布的看法与他的生活事实根本不符。我必须强调这一点：哥伦布成为这个年轻国家的英雄这一事实与他所做的一切无关，与300年后美国发生的事情有很大关系。

哥伦布非常适合美国建国者的目的，就像十九世纪早期的约翰·平塔一样。由于哥伦布的情况并不多见……直到1816年，他的着作才在北美问世……这实际上可能有助于他适应美国的目的。

男学生：因为没有人对“真正的”哥伦布知道很多，所以很容易创造出一个神话？

女教授：没错。而这个“神话中的哥伦布”，它……它成为了选择他的社会的反映。

因此，在美国早期的历史上，哥伦布代表了对欧洲政治制度的逃避；他是唯一一个挑战未知的人。现在有了一个新的民主国家，一个没有国王的世界里的新国家。哥伦布成了这个国家神话般的缔造者。

所以，作为历史学家，我们不想研究这些关于哥伦布的神话，而把它们误认为是关于哥伦布的事实。但是，如果我们试图了解美国文化，那么我们可以通过研究美国如何为自己的目的而适应哥伦布来学到很多东西。

那么，对哥伦布的评价将反映美国人对自己的看法。哦有句话……有点像……“社会重建他们的过去，而不是忠实地记录它。”以及重建是如何进行的，它告诉我们什么……这是我们将非常关注的事情…

三、Christopher Columbus 托福听力问题：

Q1:1.What is the lecture mainly about?

A. The growth and influence of historical institutions in the early United States

B. Facts and myths about Christopher Columbus

C. New information about events that occurred during Columbus' explorations

D. How Columbus' story was used to help create a national identity for the United States

Q2:2.According to the professor, why did John Pintard promote the commemoration of the three hundredth anniversary of Columbus' landing?

A. To encourage patriotism

B. To demonstrate his own wealth and influence

C. To lessen the influence held by the leaders of the American revolution

D. To correct what he claimed were mistaken beliefs about Columbus

Q3:3.What were two contributing factors to the selection of Columbus as a United States national hero? [Click on 2 answers.]

A. His writings were popular at the time

B. He had no connection to the rulers of Britain.

C. The leaders of the revolution did not want to be considered heroes.

D. Few people were more famous in the early years of the United States.

Q4:4.What does the professor imply about the facts of Columbus' life?

A. They were not relevant for Pintard's purposes.

B. They are an important part of early United States history.

C. They are not presented accurately in Columbus' own writings.

D. They were researched thoroughly before his selection as a national hero

Q5:5.What is the professor's attitude toward studying what she calls the "mythical Columbus"?

A. It is a good way to discover facts about Columbus' explorations.

B. It is a way to learn about the society that created the myth.

C. It is likely to cause confusion among those who want to learn United States history.

D. It is not as interesting as doing research into the writings of Columbus.

Q6:6.Why does the student say this:Since no one knew much about the real Columbus, it was easy to invent a mythical one?

A. To question the accuracy of the professor’s statement

B. To ask for examples of mistaken beliefs about Columbus

C. To propose an alternative explanation

D. To find out if he understood the professor's point

四、Christopher Columbus 托福听力答案：

A1:正确答案：D

A2:正确答案：A

A3:正确答案：BC

A4:正确答案：A

A5:正确答案：B

A6:正确答案：D

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