托福阅读真题Official 53 Passage 3（四）

托福阅读真题Official 53 Passage 3（四）

Paleolithic Cave Painting

In any investigation of the origins of art,attention focuses on the cave paintings created in Europe during the Paleolithic era(C.40,000-10,000 years ago)such as those depicting bulls and other animals in the Lascaux cave in France.Accepting that they are the best preserved and most visible signs of what was a global creative explosion,how do we start to explain their appearance.Instinctively,we may want to update the earliest human artists by assuming that they painted for the sheer joy of painting.The philosophers of Classical Greece recognized it as a defining trait of humans to“delight in works of imitation”—to enjoy the very act and triumph of representation.If we were close to a real lion or snake,we might feel frightened.But a well-executed picture of a lion or snake will give us pleasure.Why suppose that our Paleolithic ancestors were any different?

This simple acceptance of art for art’s sake has a certain appeal.To think of Lascaux as a gallery allows it to be a sort of special viewing place where the handiwork of accomplished artists might be displayed.Plausibly,daily existence in parts of Paleolithic Europe may not have been so hard,with an abundance of ready food and therefore the leisure time for art.The problems with this explanation,however,are various.In the first place,the proliferation of archaeological discoveries—and this includes some of the world’s innumerable rock art sites that cannot be dated—has served to emphasize a remarkably limited repertoire of subjects.The images that recur are those of animals.Human figures are unusual,and when they do make an appearance,they are rarely done with the same attention to form accorded to the animals.If Paleolithic artists were simply seeking to represent the beauty of the world around them,would they not have left a far greater range of pictures—of trees,flowers,of the Sun and the stars?

A further question to the theory of art for art’s sake is posed by the high incidence of Paleolithic images that appear not to be imitative of any reality whatsoever.These are geometrical shapes or patterns consisting of dots or lines.Such marks may be found isolated or repeated over a particular surface,but also scattered across more recognizable forms.A good example of this may be seen in the geologically spectacular grotto of Pêche Merle,in the Lot region of France.Here we encounter some favorite animals from the Paleolithic repertoire—a pair of stout-bellied horses.But over and around the horses’outlines are multiple dark spots,daubed in disregard for the otherwise naturalistic representation of animals.What does such patterning imitate.There is also the factor of location.The caves of Lascaux might conceivably qualify as underground galleries,but many other paintings have been found in recesses totally unsuitable for any kind of viewing—tight nooks and crannies that must have been awkward even for the artists to penetrate,let alone for anyone else wanting to see the art.

Finally,we may doubt the notion that the Upper Paleolithic period was a paradise in which food came readily,leaving humans ample time to amuse themselves with art.For Europe it was still the Ice Age.An estimate of the basic level of sustenance then necessary for human survival has been judged at 2200 calories per day.This consideration,combined with the stark emphasis upon animals in the cave art,has persuaded some archaeologists that the primary motive behind Paleolithic images must lie with the primary activity of Paleolithic people:hunting.

Hunting is a skill.Tracking,stalking,chasing,and killing the prey are difficult,sometimes dangerous activities.What if the process could be made easier—by art.In the early decades of the twentieth century,AbbéHenri Breuil argued that the cave paintings were all about“sympathetic magic.”The artists strived diligently to make their animal images evocative and realistic because they were attempting to capture the spirit of their prey.What could have prompted their studious attention to making such naturalistic,recognizable images.According to Breuil,the artists may have believed that if a hunter were able to make a true likeness of some animal,then that animal was virtually trapped.Images,therefore,may have had the magical capacity to confer success or luck in the hunt.

Question 7 of 14

The word“spectacular”in the passage is closest in meaning to

A.unique

B.impressive

C.isolated

D.sheltered

正确答案：B

题目详解

题型分类：词汇题

选项分析：

B选项正确，impressive印象深刻的，对应spectacular壮观的，带回原文：一个观看如此景象的地方就是壮观的Pêche Merle洞穴，在法国的Lot region。语义通顺。

A选项unique独一无二的，不符合语境。

C选项isolated孤立的，不符合语境。

D选项sheltered受保护的，不符合语境。

Question 8 of 14

In paragraph 3,why does the author include a description of a painting of horses from the grotto of Pêche Merle?

A.To emphasize that stout-bellied horses were the most commonly found animals in that region at the time the painting was made

B.To provide evidence that Paleolithic artists created realistic images more often than they created paintings of dots or lines

C.To give an example of a cave painting that contains elements that do not imitate reality

D.To demonstrate that Paleolithic artists captured many details of the animals they painted,such as the spots on the horses’coats

正确答案：C

题目详解

题型分类：修辞目的题

题干分析：根据painting of horses和Pêche Merle定位到第三段第五句第六句Here we encounter some favorite animals from the Paleolithic repertoire—a pair of stout-bellied horses.But over and around the horses’outlines are multiple dark spots,daubed in disregard for the otherwise naturalistic representation of animals.这些马的轮廓是一些暗点，或完全不像马的涂鸦。举例说明本段段首句…incidence of Paleolithic images that appear not to be imitative of any reality whatsoever.这些图像不是对现实的临摹。

选项分析：

C选项正确。

A选项错误，most commonly found原文没有提。

B选项错误，原文没有说写实比抽象画更常见。

D选项错误，spots on the horses’coats原文根本没提。

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