OG2020每日閱讀訓練練習D12

Pistachio_lin

Hi 大家好，閱讀打卡訓練第十二天。

Materials/sources: OG2020


Passages:

    Historians who study European women of the Renaissance try to measure “independence,” “options,” and other indicators of the degree to which the expression of women’s individuality was either permitted or suppressed. Influenced by Western individualism, these historians define peculiar form of personhood: an innately bounded unit, autonomous and standing apart from both nature and society. An anthropologist, however, would contend that a person can be conceived in ways other than as an “individual.” In many societies a person’s identity is not intrinsically unique and self-contained but instead is defined within a complex web of social relationships.

    In her study of the fifteenth-century Florentine widow Alessandra Strozzi, a historian who specializes in European women of the Renaissance attributes individual intention and authorship of actions to her subject. This historian assumes that Alessandra had goals and interests different from those of her sons, yet much of the historian’s own research reveals that Alessandra acted primarily as a champion of her sons’ interests, taking their goals as her own. Thus Alessandra conforms more closely to the anthropologist’s notion that personal motivation is embedded in a social context. Indeed, one could argue that Alessandra did not distinguish her personhood from that of her sons. In Renaissance Europe the boundaries of the conceptual self were not always firm and closed and did not necessarily coincide with the boundaries of the bodily self.

簡化/思路

    Historians who study European women of the Renaissance try to measure “independence,” “options,” and other indicators of the degree to which the expression of women's individuality was either permitted or suppressed. (作者介紹一群人; 他們做什麼; 目的是知道女性個體自我表達的程度)
    Influenced by Western individualism, these historians define peculiar form of personhood: an innately bounded unit, autonomous and standing apart from both nature and society. An anthropologist, however, would contend that a person can be conceived in ways other than as an “individual.” (有個比較 historians' view versus an anthropologist. 定義: 個人 (不包含社會) versus 除了個人以外的)
    In many societies a person's identity is not intrinsically unique and self-contained but instead is defined within a complex web of social relationships. (解釋上一句的 thtat從句)

    In her study of the fifteenth-century Florentine widow Alessandra Strozzi, a historian who specializes in European women of the Renaissance attributes individual intention and authorship of actions to her subject. (AS用來解釋her subject -> individual attention & authorship of actions)

    This historian assumes that Alessandra had goals and interests different from those of her sons, yet much of the historian's own research reveals that Alessandra acted primarily as a champion of her sons' interests, taking their goals as her own. (有個比較; 這個study AS的歷史學家的觀點 versus 其他歷史學家的觀點: different from those of her son versus a champion of her son's interest)

    Thus Alessandra conforms more closely to the anthropologist's notion that personal motivation is embedded in a social context. (說明上一句的比較下帶來什麼結論)

    Indeed, one could argue that Alessandra did not distinguish her personhood from that of her sons. In Renaissance Europe the boundaries of the conceptual self were not always firm and closed and did not necessarily coincide with the boundaries of the bodily self. (作者結論, 我們可以說AS並沒有將她自身與他孩子的獨立性/人格性分開 - <在Renaissance, 自我意識並不總是這麼強與封閉, 且並不一定在 "有身體自主權的時候"就會有自我意識 (說明即便有身體自主權, 還是會無意識的跟著social context而去做出事情)>; 後面這句話的目的是去support作者的結論)


   
段落總結:
第一段: 借測量independence of women, 引出historians' view versus anthropologist's view: 個人獨立自主, 不受社會影響 versus 會受所處的社會環境影響
第二段: 借AS的例子說明哪一個觀點更對.


1. According to the passage, much of the research on Alessandra Strozzi done by the historian mentioned in the second paragraph supports which of the following conclusions?

(A) Alessandra used her position as her sons' sole guardian to further interests different from those of her sons.
(B) Alessandra unwillingly sacrificed her own interests in favor of those of her sons.
(C) Alessandra's actions indicate that her motivations and intentions were those of an independent individual.
(D) Alessandra's social context encouraged her to take independent action.
(E) Alessandra regarded her sons' goals and interests as her own. (同最後一段"yet"處定位)

2. In the first paragraph, the author of the passage mentions a contention that would be made by an anthropologist most likely in order to

(A) present a theory that will be undermined in the discussion of a historian's study later in the passage
(B) offer a perspective on the concept of personhood that can usefully be applied to the study of women in Renaissance Europe (先提出了這個觀點後, 接下來的段落裡面用其他historian的研究來進一步說明)
(C) undermine the view that the individuality of European women of the Renaissance was largely suppressed
(D) argue that anthropologists have applied the Western concept of individualism in their research
(E) lay the groundwork for the conclusion that Alessandra's is a unique case among European women of the Renaissance whose lives have been studied by historians

3. The passage suggests that the historians referred to in line 1 make which of the following assumptions about Renaissance Europe?

(A) That anthropologists overestimate the importance of the individual in Renaissance European society
(B) That in Renaissance Europe, women were typically allowed to express their individuality
(C) That European women of the Renaissance had the possibility of acting independently of the social context in which they lived (如下分析)
(D) That studying an individual such as Alessandra is the best way to draw general conclusions about the lives of women in Renaissance Europe
(E) That people in Renaissance Europe had greater personal autonomy than people do currently

把這題想成CR題的邏輯: conclusion: historians can measure independice and other indicators of the degree to which the expression of women's individuality was either permitted or suppressed.
-> "measuring" indicators of  the degree to which the expression of women's individuality was either permitted or suppressed 這這件事情是可行的. 那說明
-> expression of women's individuality was either permitted or suppressed 是會發生的; 選項B, C兩個很像。但仔細研究 B說: 女性被允表達他們的individuality, 不等於女性們會表達; C說有表達的可能性. 所以C比較合理。

4. It can be inferred that the author of the passage believes which of the following about the study of Alessandra Strozzi done by the historian mentioned in the second paragraph?

(A) Alessandra was atypical of her time and was therefore an inappropriate choice for the subject of the historian's research.
(B) In order to bolster her thesis, the historian adopted the anthropological perspective on personhood.
(C) The historian argues that the boundaries of the conceptual self were not always firm and closed in Renaissance Europe.
(D) In her study, the historian reverts to a traditional approach that is out of step with the work of other historians of Renaissance Europe.
(E) The interpretation of Alessandra's actions that the historian puts forward is not supported by much of the historian's research. (however有個contrast在第二段; 定位: This historian assumes that Alessandra had goals and interests different from those of her sons, yet much of the historian's own research reveals that Alessandra acted primarily as a champion of her sons' interests, taking their goals as her own.)


5. The passage suggests that the historian mentioned in the second paragraph would be most likely to agree with which of the following assertions regarding Alessandra Strozzi?

(A) Alessandra was able to act more independently than most women of her time because she was a widow. (沒提到)
(B) Alessandra was aware that her personal motivation was embedded in a social context. (沒提到)
(C) Alessandra had goals and interests similar to those of many other widows in her society. (沒提到)
(D) Alessandra is an example of a Renaissance woman who expressed her individuality through independent action. (按照第一句, Historians who study European women of the Renaissance try to measure “independence,” “options,” and other indicators of the degree to which the expression of women's individuality was either permitted or suppressed. 可以推論出來)
(E) Alessandra was exceptional because she was able to effect changes in the social constraints placed upon women in her society.



已以上分析，希望大大們不吝分享自己的看法。謝謝。