2015年考研英语阅读文章练习之历史学类（2）

　　Europe is often one of the first places people think of when racism is discussed. From the institutionalized racism， especially in colonial times， when racial beliefs—even eugenics—were not considered something wrong， to recent times where the effects of neo-Nazism is still felt. Europe is a complex area with many cultures in a relatively small area of land that has seen many conflicts throughout history. (Note that most of these conflicts have had trade and resource access at their core， but national identities have often added fuel to some of these conflicts.)

　　Racism has also been used to justify exploitation， even using “pseudo-science”。

　　Debates over the origins of racism often suffer from a lack of clarity over the term. Many conflate recent forms of racism with earlier forms of ethnic and national conflict. In most cases ethnic-national conflict seems to owe to conflict over land and strategic resources. In some cases ethnicity and nationalism were harnessed to wars between great religious empires (for example， the Muslim Turks and the Catholic Austro-Hungarians)。 As Benedict Anderson has suggested in Imagined Communities， ethnic identity and ethno-nationalism became a source of conflict within such empires with the rise of print-capitalism.

　　In its modern form， racism evolved in tandem with European exploration and conquest of much of the rest of the world， and especially after Christopher Columbus reached the Americas. As new peoples were encountered， fought， and ultimately subdued， theories about “race” began to develop， and these helped many to justify the differences in position and treatment of people whom they categorized as belonging to different races.

　　Another possible source of racism is the misunderstanding of Charles Darwin‘s theories of evolution. Some took Darwin’s theories to imply that since some “races” were more civilized， there must be a biological basis for the difference. At the same time they appealed to biological theories of moral and intellectual traits to justify racial oppression. There is a great deal of controversy about race and intelligence， in part because the concepts of both race and IQ are themselves controversies.

　　A short review from the Inter Press Service highlights the rise of neo-Nazism in 2000 in Europe and suggests that “far from being a fringe activity， racism， violence and neo-nationalism have become normal in some communities. The problems need to be tackled much earlier， in schools and with social programs.”

　　Ethnic minorities and different cultures in one country can often be used as a scapegoat for the majority during times of economic crisis. That is one reason why Nazism became so popular.

　　In France， May 2002， the success of far right politician Le Pen in the run for leadership (though he lost out in the end) sent a huge shockwave throughout Europe， about how easy it was for far right parties to come close to getting power if there is complacency in the democratic processes and if participation is reduced.

　　In various places throughout Western Europe， in 2002， as Amnesty International highlights， there has been a rise in racist attacks and sentiments against both Arabs and Jews， in light of the increasing hostilities in the Middle East.

　　In 1997， Human Rights Watch noted that，“The U.K. has one of the highest levels of racially-motivated violence and harassment in Western Europe， and the problem is getting worse.” In April 1999， London saw two bombs explode in predominantly ethnic minority areas where a Nazi group has claimed responsibility. The summer of 2001 saw many race-related riots in various parts of northern England.

　　Greece has one of the worst records in the European Union for racism against ethnic minorities， according to the BBC. Anti-immigrant sentiment has long been high， especially against ethnic Albanians， who form the largest minority. Until the 1990s， the BBC notes， Greece had been an extremely homogenous society. With the fall of communism many immigrants from Eastern Europe came to Greece. Albanians especially have been targeted by a lot of racist sentiment. Some hostage taking by a few Albanians in recent years has not helped the situation.

　　1. What does the author mainly talk about?

　　[A] Racism in the world.

　　[B] Racism in the western world.

　　[C] Racism in Europe.

　　[D] Racism in the countries other than the western world.

　　2. When did the theories about race begin to develop?

　　[A] After “the New World” was discovered.

　　[B] After the USA was established.

　　[C] Before the First World War.

　　[D] During the colonial times.

　　3. According to the author what is the second possible source of racism?

　　[A] The colonial people began to be ultimately subdued.

　　[B] The misunderstanding of Darwinism.

　　[C] The development of human beings.

　　[D] None of the above.

　　4. One of the reasons that Nazism became very popular is that .

　　[A] ethnic minorities have small impact in the whole world

　　[B] various cultures cannot so-exist harmoniously

　　[C] ethnic minorities and different cultures are used as a scapegoat for the majority during times of economic crisis

　　[D] none of the above

　　5. Which country in the EU has the worst record for racism against ethnic minorities?

　　[A] The United Kingdom

　　[B] Greece

　　[C] Albania

　　[D] Australia

　　[疑难长句翻译与注解]

　　1. Europe is often one of the first places people think of when racism is discussed.

　　[译文]当讨论到种族主义问题时，欧洲通常是第一个被想到的地方。

　　[注解]本文讲述关于种族与冲突，开篇第一句目的是确定文章的基调。本句虽短，但翻译时两处调整了语序值得学习，第一翻强调句式时有时需调整语序，原句为了强调欧洲冲突之多，将“Europe”提到了句首，

　　但翻译时为符合汉语习惯需要作出调整。第二翻被动语态时往往需要调整语序，racism is discussed“是被动语态，尽管有时被动语态需要译出被动的意思来但在这里就不能翻作种族主义被讨论，要符合汉语习惯在这里就需要作语序上的调整。

　　2.Europe is a complex area with many …many conflicts throughout history.

　　[译文]欧洲是一个复杂的地区，它有着许多不同的文化，但其土地面积却相对较小，并且自古以来在这片土地上有过无数的矛盾与冲突。

　　[注解]“many conflicts throughout history”指的是在历史上充满着冲突。

　　3. Debates over the origins …earlier forms of ethnic and national conflict.

　　[译文]关于种族主义起源问题的争论经常会面临缺乏相关透明度的问题。新近的很多冲突已经成为一种包含了早期种族歧视和民族主义的混合形态产物。

　　[注解] suffer 是遭受的意思，而且通常遭受的都是坏的事情。这里在翻译的时候，没有直译。

　　4.Note that most of these conflicts have…… identities have often added fuel to some of these conflicts.

　　[译文]注意到大部分此类冲突可以追述到它们的核心原因。但种族认同问题经常会给这些矛盾火上浇油。

　　[注解] “add fuel”是火上浇油的意思。

　　5.Another possible source of racism is the misunderstanding of Charles Darwin‘s theories of evolution.

　　[译文]种族歧视的另一个可能的原因是对达尔文的进化论的误解。

　　[注解]该句中的 Charles Darwin 是英国博物学家，进化论的创立者。racism 是名词，意思是种族主义者。

　　参考答案：

　　1.[C] 通读全文，可以总结出作者主要是在讨论欧洲的种族歧视问题。第一段的第一句就给全文大意做了个总结。

　　2.[A] “新世界”就是指哥伦布发现美洲大陆的时候所用的名字，文章中明确指出了实在这一事件之后，“种

　　族“这一观念开始产生了。因此正确选项为 A.

　　3. [B] 作者在谈到种族主义的起源时说到，另一种可能的来源是对达尔文的进化论的误解。解答此题注意文中细节。

　　4. [C] 这是一道细节题，根据原文不难看出，一个国家的少数民族和非主流文化往往被大多数人用来作为经济危

　　机时期的牺牲品。因此 C 为正确选项。

　　5. [B] 文章最后一段指出，希腊是欧盟国家中对少数民族持有种族偏见最严重的国家之一。由此不难看出，正确

　　选项应该为 B.