[D] the Jewish communities actually had made great contribution to Byzantium, which is against the conventional view of the study

3. Which one of the following statements is NOT true of the academic conference on Byzantium?

[A] The scholars were only interested in studying icons or frescoes in Byzantium.

[B] The success of this conference proves the study on Byzantium is in vogue.

[C] Scholars were drawn to Byzantium civilization by its art at the very beginning.

[D] Scholars showed less interest in the literature of Byzantium.

4. According to the passage, Byzantine culture _____.

[A] is merely a replica of the ancient Greece

[B] is quite independent from Greek culture in almost all aspects

[C] is of no relation with the ancient Greece in a subtle way

[D] is influenced by the Greek culture and theology

5. Towards the classical studies on Byzantium, the author's attitude can be said to be _____.

[A] biased

[B] negative

[C] skeptical

[D] objective





文章剖析


这篇文章介绍了关于拜占庭文化的一些成见和拜占庭文化的价值。第一段和第二段讲述由于一些历史评价的原因，拜占庭文化没有得到应有的评判；第三段和第四段讲述Herrin对拜占庭文化的研究和肯定；第五段讲述当下研究拜占庭的学者开始进行研究的起因；第六段讲述拜占庭文化被低估了，以及目前存在的新旧两种观点。





词汇注释


despicable adj. 卑劣的，卑鄙的

bulwark n. 壁垒

catalyst n. 催化剂

Hellenic adj. 希腊的

dogmatism n. 教条主义

discernible adj. 可辨别的

pious adj. 虔诚的

quinquennial adj. 每五年的

fresco vt. 作壁画于

pedagogue n. 卖弄学问的人





难句突破


① Judith Herrin, a professor at King's College London, sets out to show that there are far better reasons to study and admire the civilisation that flourished for more than a millennium before the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, and whose legacy is still discernible all over southeast Europe and the Levant.

主体句式：Judith Herrin,... sets out to show that...

结构分析：这是一个复合句，宾语从句比较复杂。在宾语从句中，that引导的定语从句和whose引导的定语从句都用来修饰the civilisation。

句子译文：伦敦国王学院教授Judith Herrin表示，拜占庭文明值得研究和敬仰，在1453年君士坦丁堡被征服之前，拜占庭文明已经兴盛了一千多年，其遗迹在整个东南欧和累范特（地中海东部地区）还是依稀可见的。

② But it is a reasonable bet that, whatever they ultimately studied, these scholars were first drawn to the Byzantine world by gazing in wonder at an icon or a frescoed church rather than by perusing the pages of Anna Komnene.

主体句式：But it is a reasonable bet that,... these scholars were first drawn...

结构分析：本句中it为形式主语，真正的主语为that引导的主语从句。在该从句中，whatever...是状语，从句的主体为these scholars were first drawn to... by... rather than by...。

句子译文：但是不管这些学者的最终的研究内容是什么，一个比较理性的观点就是，他们一开始都是因为看到了雕像或画有壁画的教堂才被拜占庭吸引的，而不是因为细读了Anna Komnene的文字。





题目分析


1. Modern observers and defenders do not highly praise Byzantium's culture because _____.

[A] the civilizations of the empire were short of universalism or cultural breadth

[B] William Lecky, who is the leading figure of the Byzant-ium's study, depreciated the culture of Byzantium greatly

[C] criticisms against the Byzantium in the history biased people

[D] Byzantium's culture was completely devastated in the 18th and 19th centuries

1. 现代的研究者和拥护者对拜占庭文化没有高度赞誉，是因为 _____。

[A] 这个帝国的文明缺乏普适性或文化宽度

[B] 研究拜占庭的领军人物William Lecky大大贬低拜占庭的文化

[C] 历史上针对拜占庭的批评让人们产生了偏见

[D] 拜占庭文化在18世纪和19世纪的时候遭到了彻底的毁灭

答案：C　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：推理题。文章第一段提到，虽然近来对拜占庭的评价有所提高，但是18和19世纪时对它的批评一直有影响，因此人们对它有偏见。从文章其他部分也可以看出，拜占庭文明实际上是很辉煌的，因此这只是一种偏见而已。选项C最为符合题意。选项A的universalism or cultural breadth对应于文章第一段第一句话，但原句的意思是“并不是所有研究拜占庭的现代人都愿意将这个博斯普鲁斯海峡的城市和普世或文化宽度联系起来”，显然是与选项A的表述有出入的。B的错误在于，William Lecky只是一个研究拜占庭的学者，文章没有提到他是一个领军人物。选项D明显错误，拜占庭文化从来没有被彻底毁灭过。

2. The example by Herrin in the third paragraph may prove that _____.

[A] the civilization of Byzantium is worth of studying and admiring

[B] Byzantium's civilization had flourished a much longer time than people usually perceive it and such influence has been neglected

[C] to some extent, it is not necessary to relate Byzantium the city with the whole empire's public discourse and theology

[D] the Jewish communities actually had made great contribution to Byzantium, which is against the conventional view of the study

2. 第三段中，Herrin举的例子证明了 _____。

[A] 拜占庭文明值得研究和敬仰

[B] 拜占庭文明的兴起比人们普遍认可的时期要长得多，这种影响都被人们忽略了

[C] 在某种程度上，拜占庭这个城市和整个帝国的公共言论以及神学没有必然的联系

[D] 犹太社区实际上为拜占庭做出了很大贡献，这与传统研究的观点是相反的

答案：C　难度系数：☆☆☆☆

分析：推理题。在文章第三段Herrin举的例子中，尽管该帝国的意识形态是反犹太的，但是如果没有那三十多个犹太社区的作用，其经济就得不到发展。结合上文，即拜占庭摆脱了官方意识形态的束缚，那么可以看出，这个例子是为了说明这一点的，选项C中的public discourse and theology可以视为对文章中official ideology这个短语的解读或解释。因此选项C为正确答案。而其余几项都不是这个例子直接要说明的问题。

3. Which one of the following statements is NOT true of the academic conference on Byzantium?

[A] The scholars were only interested in studying icons or frescoes in Byzantium.

[B] The success of this conference proves the study on Byzantium is in vogue.

[C] Scholars were drawn to Byzantium civilization by its art at the very beginning.

[D] Scholars showed less interest in the literature of Byzantium.

3. 关于拜占庭的学术会议，下列哪个陈述是错误的？

[A] 学者们只对研究拜占庭的雕像或壁画感兴趣。

[B] 这次会议的成功证明了拜占庭研究是热点。

[C] 学者们最开始是因其艺术而被拜占庭文明吸引的。

[D] 学者们对拜占庭的文学兴趣不大。

答案：A　难度系数：☆☆☆☆

分析：细节题。选项A，第五段末尾指出，不论他们最终的研究内容是什么，他们一开始是因为被其雕像和有壁画的教堂吸引来的。由此可以看出，他们目前不一定只研究雕像和壁画，只是起因是这些而已。因此A的说法不正确。C和D的表述从第五段可以看出。B，第五段也提到了拜占庭研究正在流行。因此，答案为A。

4. According to the passage, Byzantine culture _____.

[A] is merely a replica of the ancient Greece

[B] is quite independent from Greek culture in almost all aspects

[C] is of no relation with the ancient Greece in a subtle way

[D] is influenced by the Greek culture and theology

4. 根据这篇文章，拜占庭文化 _____。

[A] 只是古希腊的复制品而已

[B] 几乎在所有的方面都独立于希腊文化

[C] 从细微的角度上来说，与古希腊没有关系

[D] 受到希腊文化和神学的影响

答案：D　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：细节题。选项A，第六段指出，那些认为拜占庭是古希腊替代品的古典学家错了，因此该陈述错误，其中replica这个词的意思就是“复制品”。选项B，文章第四段指出，拜占庭文化和希腊学术与宗教有着某种不固定的但一直发展的关系。那么可以看出，拜占庭文化和古希腊文化还是有一定关系的。同时选项C也是错误的。因此，只有选项D是正确的。

5. Towards the classical studies on Byzantium, the author's attitude can be said to be _____.

[A] biased

[B] negative

[C] skeptical

[D] objective

5. 对于拜占庭的古典研究，作者的态度可以说是 _____。

[A] 有偏见的

[B] 否定的

[C] 怀疑的

[D] 客观的

答案：B　难度系数：☆☆

分析：态度题。从文中作者形容古典研究的词汇就可以看出作者的态度，他将西方古典学家称作是“假装内行的”，认为他们的观点有问题。因此，作者对于古典研究的态度是否定的。选项B是正确答案。





参考译文


并不是所有研究拜占庭的现代人都愿意将这个位于博斯普鲁斯海峡的城市和普世或文化宽度联系起来。尽管近来对拜占庭的评价有所提高，但它还是不能完全摆脱18和19世纪时对它的那些批评，包括爱尔兰历史学家William Lecky对其猛烈的抨击，他于1869年将拜占庭帝国描述为“所有文明中最低级、最卑劣的形式”。

拜占庭的现代拥护者也倾向于用一些低调的词语来形容这座城市，重在强调该帝国与其他历史发展的关系。一些人将它看作是古代世界与现代世界的连接线，而还有一些人，特别是那些持文明冲突论的人强调，拜占庭的作用主要是作为对抗伊斯兰教的屏障，如果没有拜占庭，整个欧洲都可能变为穆斯林国家。还有一些人认为，拜占庭是欧洲文艺复兴的催化剂，尤其是在希腊智慧摆脱了拜占庭的教条主义之后。

伦敦国王学院教授Judith Herrin表示，拜占庭文明值得研究和敬仰，在1453年君士坦丁堡被征服之前，拜占庭文明已经兴盛了一千多年，其遗迹在整个东南欧和累范特（地中海东部地区）还是依稀可见的。她将拜占庭看作是充满活力的、生机勃勃且兼容并包的世界，并且摆脱了官方意识形态的束缚。比如，尽管该帝国的公众演说和神学带有反犹太的色彩，但是如果没有12世纪Tudela的犹太法学博士Benjamin描述的那三十多个犹太社区，帝国那复杂多样的经济就得不到发展。

Herrin女士也表示，希腊的古典学术和基督教与拜占庭流行文化之间的竞争关系是不断变化和进化的。她特别关注拜占庭出现的强有力的女性声音：不仅仅是那些描写圣人生活和书写圣歌的虔诚妇女（包括一篇令人心惊的情色的、甚至可以说是淫秽的宗教诗歌），而且还有12世纪那位失意的未来女皇Anna Komnene书写的复杂的政治历史。

Herrin女士肯定击败了那些怀疑论者。但是一个不变的事实是，更多的人是因为拜占庭炫目的艺术和建筑而迷上了拜占庭文明，而不是因为其文学的影响。比如2006年8月，一千多名研究拜占庭的学术专家汇聚伦敦，举行了为期一周的会议。这个五年一次的会议的成功举办是拜占庭研究在世界各个角落兴盛的标志。但是不管这些学者的最终的研究内容是什么，一个比较理性的观点就是，他们一开始都是因为看到了雕像或画有壁画的教堂才被拜占庭吸引的，而不是因为细读了Anna Komnene的文字。

拜占庭辉煌的艺术足以证明，在博斯普鲁斯海峡曾经发生过一些非凡的大事。而这种辉煌即使在拜占庭帝国地理政治的财富被摧毁之后仍然存在。那些假装内行的西方古典学家称，拜占庭是古希腊可怜的替代品，其实他们错了。确实，拜占庭世界因为遵循古希腊的模式而被低估。但这一点也可以用来反驳那些过去在西方人文研究方面拥有权威的学究。现在，拜占庭历史在许多学校都很热门，而那些过时的正统研究也在竭力坚守着自己的立场。





TEXT THREE


The main ingredient of a semiconductor is silicon, but it might as well be pyrite, or fool's gold. That is because consistently making money out of chips is notoriously difficult. Cyclical demand means that profits are volatile, and new kinds of chips quickly become commoditised. The business is also highly capital-intensive: a new fabrication plant, or fab, costs $3 billion-5 billion, and new facilities must be built every few years as technology advances.

Accordingly, many Western technology firms, such as Philips, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and Siemens, long ago spun off their chipmaking units in order to focus on the final products, rather than the bits inside them. Japan's huge electronics conglomerates have largely resisted this “fab lite” strategy. This now seems to be changing, though the companies' willingness to let go fully is still in doubt.

On October 18th Sony said it would put its processor-chip division into a joint venture with Toshiba, which will also buy Sony's chipmaking facilities. Sony will no longer have to make huge investments in chip technology, and will still be sure of a supply of processors for its PlayStation 3 games consoles and other products. Its chip division lost ￥10 billion（$90m） last year, and the company has been getting rid of non-core businesses. Last month it floated its financial-services arm, raising nearly $3 billion. For its part Toshiba, one of the world's biggest chipmakers, will gain economies of scale.

Sanyo, another Japanese electronics firm, had hoped to do something similar. But its plan to sell its semiconductor unit for nearly $1 billion to Advantage Partners, a private-equity fund, fell through on October 16th. Sanyo is owned by a number of investors, including Goldman Sachs, which are doing their best to revive the struggling company by slimming it down to focus on its solar-panel and battery businesses. But the banks financing the purchase of Sanyo's chip unit balked at the price and at Advantage's plan to retain the existing management. Sanyo's announcement that it would keep the unit sent its share price plummeting.

Meanwhile, NEC, which in 2002 turned its chip business into a separate, publicly listed subsidiary, NEC Electronics, has spurned an offer from Perry Capital, a New York fund. Perry is willing to pay $1.3 billion to raise its stake from roughly 5% to 30%, on the condition that NEC relinquishes control of the chipmaker's board. (That works out at a premium of 60% over the average share price in the past three months.) Now Perry is quietly trying to convince other shareholders of the merits of its offer.

Taken together, this action (and inaction) adds up to a test of the willingness of managers at Japan's electronics firms to take rational but uncomfortable decisions. Spin-offs make sense because there are too many firms doing the same thing on too small a scale, and the need to finance new fabs is a drag on the firms' main businesses. In Japan, however, corporate pride often trumps economic logic. Electronics giants are used to being diversified and vertically integrated: They regard selling a subsidiary as akin to amputating an arm. Still, some now see the need for surgery.

1. Profits in chips industry are unsteady because _____.

[A] there is no great demand of chips

[B] the technology advances fast

[C] the demand is periodic

[D] the production of silicon is unstable

2. Which one of the following statements is TRUE of “fab lite” strategy?

[A] Japan's electronics conglomerates are now commencing to consider implementing this strategy.

[B] The attitude of Japan's electronics conglomerates towards the strategy is still quite dubious.

[C] The strategy is beneficial in promoting companies' manufacturing more focused on final products.

[D] The strategy is applicable the captive-intensive industry.

3. Sony hands over its processor-chip division to Toshiba in order to _____.

[A] float its financial-services arm through saving huge investment from chip-making

[B] cater to help Toshiba's strategy of gaining economies of scale

[C] focus on its main business by cutting off non-core branches

[D] supply processors for its PlayStation 3 games consoles

4. Sanyo's plan of selling its semiconductor unit miscarried mainly due to _____.

[A] the high price it charged

[B] the dispute among the investors, some of whom pays great effort to revive the company

[C] the difficulty of retaining the management of the chip-manufacturing

[D] the sudden fall of its share price

5. NEC refused the offer from Perry Capital because _____.

[A] the bit by Perry is not ideal

[B] it is afraid of losing its chip unit

[C] the condition raised by Perry is unreasonable

[D] it regards its chip unit as an inseparable part





文章剖析


这篇文章讲述了电子公司分割其某些部门以进行统一整合的策略。第一段讲述芯片产业的特点；第二段讲述西方国家和日本对于分离芯片部门的态度；第三、四和第五段讲述索尼、三洋和NEC公司的个案；第六段讲述日本公司对于这种分割整合的态度。





词汇注释


pyrite n. 黄铁矿

volatile adj. 不稳定的，可变的

spin off 分割，从更大的实体中派生出（如公司或产品）

balk vi. 停滞

plummet vi. 垂直落下，价格暴跌

spur vt. 轻视地拒绝

relinquish vt. 放弃

amputate vt. 切除（手臂、腿等）





难句突破


① Sanyo is owned by a number of investors, including Goldman Sachs, which are doing their best to revive the struggling company by slimming it down to focus on its solar-panel and battery businesses.

主体句式：Sanyo is owned by a number of investors...

结构分析：这是一个复合句，现在分词结构including...是修饰前面的investors的；which引导的非限定性定语从句也是修饰investors的，在该定语从句中，by...结构是句子的方式状语。

句子译文：三洋目前由一些投资者控股，包括高盛公司，他们正努力削减三洋的规模，以便使其专注于太阳能板和电池行业，从而让勉强经营的三洋可以重新振作起来。

② Meanwhile, NEC, which in 2002 turned its chip business into a separate, publicly listed subsidiary, NEC Electronics, has spurned an offer from Perry Capital, a New York fund.

主体句式：..., NEC..., has spurned an offer...

结构分析：这是一个复合句，which引导的定语从句用来修饰主语；NEC Electronics是前面subsidiary的同位语。

句子译文：同时，NEC公司于2002年将其芯片业务转为一个独立的公开上市的子公司，即NEC电子，并拒绝了纽约的一家基金公司Perry Capital的出价。





题目分析


1. Profits in chips industry are unsteady because _____.

[A] there is no great demand of chips

[B] the technology advances fast

[C] the demand is periodic

[D] the production of silicon is unstable

1. 芯片行业的利润不稳定，是因为 _____。

[A] 芯片的需求量不大

[B] 技术更新快

[C] 需求有一定的周期性

[D] 硅的产量是不稳定的

答案：C　难度系数：☆

分析：细节题。文章第一段提到，周期性的需求也就意味着利润是不稳定的，关键在于理解cyclical这个词的意思。因此，答案为C。

2. Which one of the following statements is TRUE of “fab lite” strategy?

[A] Japan's electronics conglomerates are now commenc-ing to consider implementing this strategy.

[B] The attitude of Japan's electronics conglomerates towards the strategy is still quite dubious.

[C] The strategy is beneficial in promoting companies' manufacturing more focused on final products.

[D] The strategy is applicable to the captive-intensive industry.