题型:阅读理解 题类:模拟题 难易度:普通
湖南省师范大学附属中学2020届高三上学期英语考前演练试卷(五)
How was your day today? If it was just sort of OK, with nothing much happening, then Scott Shaffer wants to hear from you. Mr Shaffer is the editor of the Journal of Mundane Behaviour. "We can learn a lot about the way that society works by examining normal patterns of behavior," he says. "All the ordinary decisions we make and ordinary things we do are society in action."
The idea that social scientists should "study the unmarked", in Mr Shaffer's words, has also spread to historians. Traditionally, most history has been written as the story of greatness. It is all about great ideas, great people and great economic and social forces changing the way that millions of people live for ever. Albert Einstein's theory of relativity changed the way that we look at the universe. But has he been of more benefit to humanity than the unknown person who invented the first really comfortable shoe? Try thinking great thoughts when your feet hurt.
In recent years, books of micro-history have been a great success with the public. Most micro historians like to relate their subject to wider developments in society. According to historian Catherine Gallagher, the potato was once a matter of great argument. Supporters pointed out that it could grow cheaply and easily and help feed the poor. Opponents said that this would lead to the poor becoming more powerful, since they did not have to spend every hour working to feed themselves. It seems that European socialism started with an argument about vegetables. British historian Colin Jones wants us to look at pictures painted hundreds of years ago. He wants us to notice the fact that nobody smiles in these pictures. Compare that with today, when everyone smiles for the camera and refusing to smile is seen as an unfriendly act. It is all because of dentistry, he says. Once people were able to look after their teeth, they began to smile and the world became a happier place.
Whether stories like this are true or not, they put ordinary people at the center of history. Most of us are not going to change the world in a big way. But we might be able to do something that makes life a bit easier for other people. And maybe one day a historian will come along and write the story. It is something to get excited about, though perhaps not very excited.
试题篮