托福tpo 41阅读第一篇『Navajo Art』分析

（一）

 

 

       The Navajo, a Native American people living in the southwestern United States, live in small scattered settlements. In many respects, such as education, occupation, and leisure activities, their life is like that of other groups that contribute to the diverse social fabric of North American culture in the twenty-first century. At the same time, they have retained some traditional cultural practices that are associated with particular art forms. For example, the most important traditional Navajo rituals include the production of large floor paintings. These are actually made by pouring thin, finely controlled streams of colored sands or pulverized vegetable and mineral substances, pollen, and flowers in precise patterns on the ground. The largest of these paintings may be up to 5.5 meters in diameter and cover the entire floor of a room. Working from the inside of the design outward, the Navajo artist and his assistants will sift the black, white, bluish-gray, orange, and red materials through their fingers to create the finely detailed imagery. The paintings and chants used in the ceremonies are directed by well-trained artists and singers who enlist the aid of spirits who are impersonated by masked performers. The twenty-four known Navajo chants can be represented by up to 500 sand paintings. These complex paintings serve as memory aids to guide the singers during the performance of the ritual songs, which can last up to nine days.

 

 

 

✅  contribute to （注意这些熟悉词的用法，如果你只能想到『贡献』，那你的基本功相当不扎实。）

 

[V] ~ (to sth) to be six of the causes of sth

• 是…的原因之一：

 

 »  Medical negligence was said to have contributed to her death.

据说医务人员的玩忽职守是她死亡的原因之一。

 

 »  Human error may have been a contributing factor.

人为的失误可能是一个起作用的因素。

 

 

 

✅  fabric （跟contribute一样，fabric不能只知道『织物』，这个意思。）

 

[sing.] the ~ (of sth) (formal) the basic structure of a society, an organization, etc. that enables it to function successfully

• （社会、机构等的）结构：

 

 »  a trend which threatens the very fabric of society

威胁社会基本结构的趋势

 

 

 

✅  practice （同前两个）

 

1）[C] a thing that is done regularly; a habit or a custom

• 惯常做的事；习惯；习俗：

 

 »  the German practice of giving workers a say in how their company is run

德国人在公司经营上给予工人发言权的做法

 

 »  It is his practice to read several books a week.

他习惯于每周读几本书。

 

 »  for improving skill

提高技巧

 

2）[U, C] a way of doing sth that is the usual or expected way in a particular organization or situation

• 通常的做法；惯例；常规：

 

 »  common / current / standard practice

一般/现行/常规做法

 

 »  guidelines for good practice

优良做法的准则

 

 »  a review of pay and working practices

对薪金和工作制度的检讨

 

 »  religious practices

宗教习俗

 

 --›  see also best practice , code of practice , restrictive practices , sharp practice at sharp adj. (11) ›› habit / custom 习惯；风俗

 

 

 

✅  Working from the inside of the design outward（从绘画的中心向外画）

 

 

 

✅  sift

 

to put flour or some other fine substance through a sieve / sifter

• 筛（麪粉或颗粒较细的物质）：

 

 »  Sift the flour into a bowl.

把麪粉筛到碗里。

 

 

 

✅  spirit

 

the soul thought of as separate from the body and believed to live on after death; a ghost

• 灵魂；鬼魂；幽灵：

 

 »  He is dead, but his spirit lives on.

他死了,但他的灵魂将永存。

 

 »  It was believed that people could be possessed by evil spirits.

以前，人们相信人有可能被恶魔缠身。

 

 --›  see also Holy Spirit

 

 »  imaginary creature 想像中的生灵

 

 

 

✅  impersonate

to pretend to be sb in order to trick people or to entertain them

• 冒充；假扮；扮演

 

 

 

✅  enlist（除了招募，专指寻求帮助）

[ɪn'lɪst] verb

ASK FOR HELP 请求帮助

transitive slightly formal

■ to ask for and get help or support from someone 争取，谋取（帮助或支援 ）

 

•We've got to enlist some people to help prepare the food.

我们得请些人来帮忙做饭。

 

•The organization has enlisted the support of many famous people in raising money to help homeless children.

这个组织募款帮助无家可归的儿童的活动已经得到了很多名人的支持。

 

 

 

✅  chant

 

a religious song or prayer or a way of singing, using only a few notes that are repeated many times

• 圣歌；反复吟咏的祷文；单调的吟唱：

 

 »  a Buddhist chant 佛经诵念

 

第一段易错题目：

 

 

 

托福词汇题技巧之一就是直接对应enlist的意思，尽量不要带回原文，这道题enlist这个词背过的同学肯定知道是“招募”的含义，但是一回原文肯定多想，以为是获取，取得，从而误选require这个选项。

 

 

 

（二）

 

 

       The purpose and meaning of the sand paintings can be explained by examining one of the most basic ideals of Navajo society, embodied in their word hozho (beauty or harmony, goodness, and happiness). It coexists with hochxo ("ugliness," or "evil," and "disorder") in a world where opposing forces of dynamism and stability create constant change. When the world, which was created in beauty, becomes ugly and disorderly, the Navajo gather to perform rituals with songs and make sand paintings to restore beauty and harmony to the world. Some illness is itself regarded as a type of disharmony. Thus, the restoration of harmony through a ceremony can be part of a curing process.

 

 

✅  embody（em∙bodies, em∙body∙ing, em∙bodied, em∙bodied） [VN]

 

to express or represent an idea or a quality

• 具体表现，体现，代表（思想或品质）

 

【SYN】 represent：

 »  a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth

代表黑人青年希望的政治家

 

 »  the principles embodied in the Declaration of Human Rights

体现在《人权宣言》中的原则

 

✅  opposing forces of dynamism and stability  动和静的相反力量

 

 

✅  restoration

 

the act or process of returning something to its earlier good condition or position 修复；恢复；重定

•The first task following the disaster was the restoration ofclean water supplies.

灾难过后的首要任务就是要恢复清洁水的供应。

 

•Restoration workon the Sistine Chapel ceiling is now complete.

西斯廷教堂天花板的修复工程现已完工。

 

•A large majority of the population is demanding the restoration of the former government.

绝大多数人都要求恢复前政府。

 

 

（二）

 

       Men make sand paintings that are accurate copies of paintings from the past. The songs sung over the paintings are also faithful renditions of songs from the past. By recreating these arts, which reflect the original beauty of creation, the Navajo bring beauty to the present world. As relative newcomers to the Southwest, a place where their climate, neighbors, and rulers could be equally inhospitable, the Navajo created these art forms to affect the world around them, not just through the recounting of the actions symbolized, but through the beauty and harmony of the artworks themselves. The paintings generally illustrate ideas and events from the life of a mythical hero, who, after being healed by the gods, gave gifts of songs and paintings. Working from memory, the artists re-create the traditional form of the image as accurately as possible.

 

 

✅  faithful（这里也可以理解为忠诚的，对原著是忠诚的）

 

~ (to sth) true and accurate; not changing anything

• 如实的；丝毫不变的：

 

 »  a faithful copy / account / description

精确的副本；如实的敍述/描述

 

 »  His translation manages to be faithful to the spirit of the original.

他的译文做到了忠于原文的精神。

 

 

✅  renditions（这里也可以理解为忠诚的，对原著是忠诚的）

 

the performance of sth, especially a song or piece of music ; the particular way in which it is performed

• 表演；演唱；演奏

 

 

✅  recount

 

~ sth (to sb) (formal) to tell sb about sth, especially sth that you have experienced

• 讲述,敍述(亲身经历)：

 

▪ [VN]

 »  She was asked to recount the details of the conversation to the court.

她被要求向法庭陈述谈话细节。

▪ [V wh-]

 »  They recounted what had happened during those years.

他们敍述了那些年里发生的事。

▪ [also V speech]

 

 

 

（三）

 

       The Navajo are also world-famous for the designs on their woven blankets. Navajo women own the family flocks, control the shearing of the sheep, the carding, the spinning, and dying of the thread, and the weaving of the fabrics. While the men who make faithful copies of sand paintings from the past represent the principle of stability in Navajo thought, women embody dynamism and create new designs for every weaving they make. Weaving is a paradigm of the creativity of a mythic ancestor named Spider Woman who wove the universe as a cosmic web that united earth and sky. It was she who，according to legend, taught Navajo women how to weave. As they prepare their materials and weave. Navajo women imitate the transformations that originally created the world. Working on their looms, Navajo weavers create images through which they experience harmony with nature. It is their means of creating beauty and thereby contributing to the beauty, harmony, and healing of the world. Thus, weaving is a way of seeing the world and being part of it.

 

 

✅  paradigm（formal or technical 术语）

 

• a typical example or pattern of sth

• 典范；范例；样式：

 

 »  a paradigm for students to copy

供学生效法的榜样

 

 »  The war was a paradigm of the destructive side of human nature.

那场战争尽显人性中具有破坏性的一面。

 

易错题：

 

选A首先问的问题直截了当就是问ancestor是啥意思，没必要想太多，再说那个spider woman是不是hero这个无据可考，不能臆断。