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01真題
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.
Why fairy tales are really scary tales
Some people think that fairy tales are Just stories to amuse children, but their
universal and enduring appeal may be due to more serious reasons
People of every culture tell each other fairy tales but the same story often takes a variety of forms in different parts of the world. In the story of Little Red Riding Hood that European children are familiar with, a young girl on the way to see her grandmother meets a wolf and tells him where she is going. The wolf runs on ahead and disposes of the grandmother, then gets into bed dressed in the grandmother's clothes to wait for Little Red Riding Hood. You may think you know the story - but which version? In some versions, the wolf swallows up the grandmother, while in others it locks her in a cupboard. In some stories Red Riding Hood gets the better of the wolf on her own, while in others a hunter or a woodcutter hears her cries and comes to her rescue.
The universal appeal of these tales is frequently attributed to the idea that they contain cautionary messages: in the case of Little Red Riding Hood, to listen to your mother, and avoid talking to strangers. 'It might be what we find interesting about this story is that ifs got this survival relevant information in it,' says anthropologist Jamie Tehrani at Durham University in the UK. But his research suggests otherwise. 'We have this huge gap in our knowledge about the history and prehistory of storytelling, despite the fact that we know this genre is an incredibly ancient one,' he says. That hasn't stopped anthropologists, folklorists and other academics devising theories to explain the importance of fairy tales in human society. Now Tehrani has found a way to test these ideas, borrowing a technique from evolutionary biologists.
To work out the evolutionary history, development and relationships among groups of organisms, biologists compare the characteristics of living species in a process called 'phylogenetic analysis'. Tehrani has used the same approach to compare related versions of fairy tales to discover how they have evolved and which elements have survived longest.
Tehrani's analysis focused on Little Red Riding Hood in its many forms, which include another Western fairy tale known as The Wolf and the Kids. Checking for variants of these two tales and similar stories from Africa, East Asia and other regions, he ended up with 58 stories recorded from oral traditions. Once his phylogenetic analysis had established that they were indeed related, he used the same methods to explore how they have developed and altered over time.
First he tested some assumptions about which aspects of the story alter least as it evolves, indicating their importance. Folklorists believe that what happens in a story is more central to the story than the characters in it - that visiting a relative, only to be met by a scary animal in disguise, is more fundamental than whether the visitor is a little girl or three siblings, or the animal is a tiger instead of a wolf.
However, Tehrani found no significant difference in the rate of evolution of incidents compared with that of characters. 'Certain episodes are very stable because they are crucial to the story, but there are lots of other details that can evolve quite freely, ' he says. Neither did his analysis support the theory that the central section of a story is the most conserved part. He found no significant difference in the flexibility of events there compared with the beginning or the end.
But the really big surprise came when he looked at the cautionary elements of the story. 'Studies on hunter-gatherer folk tales suggest that these narratives include really important information about the environment and the possible dangers that may be faced there - stuff that's relevant to survival,' he says. Yet in his analysis such elements were just as flexible as seemingly trivial details. What, then, is important enough to be reproduced from generation to generation?
The answer, it would appear, is fear - blood-thirsty and gruesome aspects of the story, such as the eating of the grandmother by the wolf turned out to be the best preserved of all. Why are these details retained by generations of storytellers, when other features are not? Tehrani has an idea: 'In an oral context, a story won't survive because of one great teller. It also needs to be interesting when ifs told by someone who's not necessarily a great storyteller.' Maybe being swallowed whole by a wolf, then cut out of its stomach alive is so gripping that it helps the story remain popular, no matter how badly it's told.
Jack Zipes at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, is unconvinced by Tehrani's views on fairy tales. 'Even if they're gruesome, they won't stick unless they matter,' he says. He believes the perennial theme of women as victims in stories like Little Red Riding Hood explains why they continue to feel relevant. But Tehrani points out that although this is often the case in Western versions, it is not always true elsewhere. In Chinese and Japanese versions, often known as The Tiger Grandmother, the villain is a woman, and in both Iran and Nigeria, the victim is a boy.
Mathias Clasen at Aarhus University in Denmark isn't surprised by Tehrani's findings. 'Habits and morals change, but the things that scare us, and the fact that we seek out entertainment that's designed to scare us - those are constant,' he says. Clasen believes that scary stories teach us what it feels like to be afraid without having to experience real danger, and so build up resistance to negative emotions.
Questions 27-31
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
27 In fairy tales, details of the plot
28 Tehran! rejects the idea that the useful lessons for life in fairy tales
29 Various theories about the social significance of fairy tales
30 Insights into the development of fairy tales
31 All the fairy tales analysed by Tehran!
A may be provided through methods used in biological research.
B are the reason for their survival.
C show considerable global variation.
D contain animals which transform to become humans.
E were originally spoken rather than written.
F have been developed without factual basis.
Questions 32-36
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-l, below.
Write the correct letter, A-l, in boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet.
Phylogenetic analysis of Little Red Riding Hood
Tehrani used techniques from evolutionary biology to find out if 32………….. existed among 58 stories from around the world. He also wanted to know which aspects of the stories had fewest 33………….. as he believed these aspects would be the most important ones. Contrary to other beliefs, he found that some 34………….. that were included in a story tended to change over time, and that the middle of a story seemed no more important than the other parts. He was also surprised that parts of a story which seemed to provide some sort of 35………….. were unimportant. The aspect that he found most important in a story's survival was 36………….. .
Questions 37-40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.
37 What method did Jamie Tehrani use to test his ideas about fairy tales?
A He compared oral and written forms of the same stories.
B He looked at many different forms of the same basic story.
C He looked at unrelated stories from many different countries.
D He contrasted the development of fairy tales with that of living creatures.
38 When discussing Tehrani's views, Jack Zipes suggests that
A Tehrani ignores key changes in the role of women.
B stories which are too horrific are not always taken seriously.
C Tehrani overemphasises the importance of violence in stories.
D features of stories only survive if they have a deeper significance.
39 Why does Tehrani refer to Chinese and Japanese fairy tales?
A to indicate that Jack Zipes' theory is incorrect
B to suggest that crime is a global problem
C to imply that all fairy tales have a similar meaning
D to add more evidence for Jack Zipes' ideas
40 What does Mathias Clasen believe about fairy tales?
A They are a safe way of learning to deal with fear.
B They are a type of entertainment that some people avoid.
C They reflect the changing values of our society.
D They reduce our ability to deal with real-world problems.
02譯文
為什麼童話是真正可怕的故事
有些人認為童話只是用來逗孩子們開心的故事，但是它們普遍和持久的吸引力可能有更嚴肅的原因
擁有不同文化背景的人都會互相講童話故事，但同一個故事在世界不同的地方往往有不同的表現形式。在《小紅帽》這個歐洲孩子都很熟悉的故事裡，一個小女孩在去見她祖母的路上遇到了一隻狼，並告訴他她要去哪裡。狼跑在前面，解決掉了外婆，然後穿著外婆的衣服上了床，等著小紅帽。 你可能以為你知道這個故事——但是是哪個版本呢？在一些版本中，狼吞下了祖母，而在另一些版本中，狼把祖母鎖在了櫥櫃裡。在一些故事中，小紅帽獨自戰勝了狼，而在另一些故事中，一個獵人或樵夫聽到了她的哭聲，於是趕來救她。
這些故事的普遍吸引力常常被認為包含警戒信息：以《小紅帽》為例，要聽媽媽的話，不要和陌生人說話。英國杜倫大學的人類學家JamieTehrani說：「我們之所以對這個故事感興趣，可能是因為它包含了與生存相關的信息。」但他的研究表明並非如此。他說：「儘管我們知道這是一種非常古老的體裁，但我們對講故事的歷史和史前時期的認識依然存在巨大差距。」那並沒有阻止人類學家、民俗學家和其他學者提出一些理論來解釋童話在人類社會中的重要性。現在Tehrani從進化生物學家那裡借用了一項技術，找到了測試這些理論的方法。
為了研究生物群體的進化歷史、發展歷程和相互關係，生物學家們通過「系統進化分析法」來比較現存物種的特徵。Tehrani用同樣的方法來比較童話故事的相關版本，以發現它們是如何演變的, 以及哪些元素存活的時間最長。
Tehrani的分析集中在《小紅帽》的多種形式上，其中包括另一個西方童話《狼和孩子們》。為了尋找這兩個故事的變體以及來自非洲、東亞和其他地區的類似故事，他從口述傳統中記錄了 58個故事。一旦他的系統進化分析證實它們確實是相關的，他就用同樣的方法來探索它們是如何隨著時間的推移而發展和改變的。
首先，他測試了一些假設，即隨著故事的發展，哪些方面的變化最少，這表明了它們的重要性。民俗學者認為故事中發生的情節較之故事中的人物更為核心。也就是說，去拜訪親戚然而遇到了一個可怕並帶有偽裝的動物這一情節要比拜訪者是一個小女孩或是三兄妹又或者這個動物是老虎而不是狼更為根本。
然而，Tehrani發現事件的演變速度與角色的演變速度沒有顯著差異。他說：「某些情節非常穩定，因為它們對故事情節至關重要，但還有很多其他細節可以自由演變。"他的分析也不支持故事的中心部分是保留最多的部分的理論。他發現，在事件的靈活性方面，故事的中心較之故事的開始 或結尾並沒有顯著差異。
答案似乎是恐懼——故事中嗜血和陰森可怕的方面，比如祖母被狼吃掉——卻最終被最好地 保留了下來。為什麼這些細節被一代又一代的故事講述者所保留，而故事的其他特徵卻沒有呢？Tehrani有一個想法：「在口述環境中，一個故事不會因為一個偉大的講述者而流傳。當它的講述人 不一定是一個偉大的故事講述者時，這個故事就還需要有趣。」也許被一隻狼整個吞下，然後從它的胃裡活著切出來，這樣如此扣人心弦的情節才有助於故事保持流行，不管它被講得多麼糟糕。
位於明尼阿波利斯的明尼蘇達大學的Jack Zipes不贊同Tehrani對童話的看法。他說：「即使童話很可怕，它們也不會留下來，除非很重要。」他認為，在《小紅帽》這樣的故事中，女性作為受害者這一永恆的主題，解釋了為什麼它們仍然很重要。但是Tehrani指出，雖然在西方版本中經常 出現這種情況，但在其他版本中並不總是如此。在通常被稱為《虎姑婆》故事的中文和日語版本中，反派是一名女性，而在伊朗和奈及利亞（的版本中），受害者是一個男孩。
丹麥奧爾胡斯大學的Mathias Clasen對Tehrani的發現並不感到驚訝。他說：「習慣和道德會改變，但讓我們感到害怕的事情以及我們尋找那些被設計出來讓我們感到害怕的娛樂活動的事實都是不變的。」 Clasen認為，恐怖故事教會了我們害怕的感覺而不用去經歷真正的危險，從而增強了我們對負面情緒的抵抗力。
03答案解析
Question 27
答案：C
關鍵詞：details of the plot
定位原文&解題思路：本題較難，文中並沒有明確的plot或details的直接對應，但是第一段第一句說同樣的故事在不同地方的呈現形式不同。從第一段第四句開始，一直到第一段結束，說的是不同版本的小紅帽故事的內容也不同，可以體現details of the plot在各個地方是不同的。
Question 28
答案：B
關鍵詞：Tehrani, idea, useful lessons
定位原文&解題思路：文中第二段第一句提到了idea，說童話中包含了警戒的信息。第二句裡Tehrani說：「我們之所以對這個故事感興趣，可能是因為它包含了與生存相關的信息。」但是第三句的But his research...卻表明了他的研究發現了相反的一面，反駁了之前自己的想法，文中的But對應題幹中的rejects。
Question 29
答案：F
關鍵詞：theories, social significance
定位原文&解題思路：第二段倒數第二句出現了theories和society。本句說：那並沒有阻止人類學家、民俗學家和其他學者提出一些理論來解釋童話在人類社會中的重要性。本句的難點在於要搞清楚句首的That指的是什麼，所以要向前看一句。前一句說：「儘管我們知道這是一種非常古老的體裁，但我們對講故事的歷史和史前時期的認識依然存在巨大差距。」綜合這兩句可以看出That指的是巨大差距。也就是說認識的巨大差距不能阻止學者們繼續提出理論來解釋童話故事的重要性，說明這些理論都是缺乏認知和事實基礎的。
Question 30
答案：A
關鍵詞：Insights, development of fairy tales
定位原文&解題思路：本題定位非常難，如果不認識insights就很難對應。雖然第三段第一句中出現了development，但是仔細看就會發現原文中的development後面跟的是有機物而不是童話。此處可考慮先做31題，再按照順序性原則，在29題的對應句和31題的對應句之間進行仔細閱讀。 文中第二段最後一句說：為了測試這些理論，Tehrani借鑑了進化生物學家的技術。其實這句話中的test these ideas對應的就是題幹中的insights。接下來第三段繼續講了生物學家的技術。第二句說Tehrani用了同樣的方法去研究童話故事的演變，所以和A選項有對應關係。
Question 31
答案：E
關鍵詞：analysed by Tehrani
定位原文&解題思路：本題定位依然較難，因為fairy tales不具有定位價值，只能按照順序性原則在Tehrani相關的地方繼續看。文中第四段第一句出現了 Tehrani's analysis，對應題幹。該段前兩句說：Tehrani的分析集中在《小紅帽》的多種形式上，其中包括另一個西方童話《狼和孩子們》。為了尋找這兩個故事的變體以及來自非洲、東亞和其他地區的類似故事，他從口述傳統中記錄了58個故事。可以明確看出對應E選項。
Question 32
答案：D
關鍵詞：stories
解題思路：文中第四段第二句出現了58 stories，但這一句沒有說去發現什麼。第三句說：一旦他的系統進化分析證實它們確實是相關的，他就用同樣的方法來探索它們是如何隨著時間的推移而發展和改變的。文中的explore對應題中的find out，但是文中後面說的是探索故事是如何改變和發展的，選項並沒有任何對應。再看前半句中出現了related，綜合判定對應選項D.links。
Question 33
答案：F
關鍵詞：fewest, most important
定位原文：第五段第一句：First he tested some assumptions about which aspects of the story alter least as it evolves, indicating their importance.
解題思路：通過空格後面的these aspects推導出空格對應的選項是複數名詞。第五段第一句中的importance對應題幹中的important;空格前的fewest對應文中的least。比對之後分析出空格對應的是alter（改變）。所以答案為F. variations。
Question 34
答案：B
關鍵詞：change over time, middle of a story
解題思路：本題較難，通過空格後面的that從句中的were判定空格是複數名詞。通過題幹中的middle of a story不比別的部分更重要可以對應到第六段最後一句，再按照順序性原則可以判斷答案的文中對應點在第六段前兩句。第一句中說與人物相比incidents（事件）的演變速度並沒有很大差異，並不能體現change over time。第二句說一些episodes（片段）很穩定，但是其他的details可以自由演變，說明是details發生改變。但是選項中並沒有能夠體現details的複數名詞對應的選項。再分析兩句的關係可以看出，第二句中的episodes和details都是指的上一句中的incidents，所以可判定是incidents發生變化，只不過事件的演變速度與角色變化的速度沒有顯著差異而已。另外本段最後一句也出現了選項對應詞。所以答案為B. events。
Question 35
答案：C
關鍵詞：surprised, unimportant
解題思路：本題又是需要徹底理解而非簡單定位的題目。通過surprised定位到第七段第一句：真正讓他感到驚訝的是當他看到這個故事的警示元素（cautionary elements）時。但這句話沒有體現這些不重要。第二句繼續說發現這些故事包含有關危險的重要信息。第三句的Yet表明了對第二句的反駁，也就是說第一句中提到的cautionary elements是不重要的。所以答案為C. warning。
Question 36
答案：G
關鍵詞：aspect, most important
解題思路：上一道題目對應的文本表明前面描述的都不重要。第七段最後一句提出疑問：那麼什麼才足夠重要呢?第八段第一句給岀明確回答：fear。所以答案為G. horror。
Question 37
答案：B
關鍵詞：method, test ideas
解題思路：A. 他比較了同樣故事的口頭和書面形式。 B. 他研究了同樣故事的很多不同形式。 C. 他研究了不同的國家不相關的故事。 D. 他對比了童話的發展和生物的發展。 文中第四段表明Tehrani從不同地區找到了《小紅帽》故事的58個版本。最後一句說一旦確定了它們是相關的，就會使用同樣的方法去探索這些故事是如何發展的。所以答案為B 選項。
Question 38
答案：D
關鍵詞：Jack Zipes
解題思路：A. Tehrani忽略了女性角色的關鍵改變。 B. 太恐怖的故事並不總會被認真對待。 C. Tehrani過分強調了故事中暴力的重要性。 D. 故事的特徵只有在具有更深層次的意義時才能存留。 第九段第二句話說即使童話很可怕，它們也不會留下來，除非很重要。所以答案為D選項。其他選項文中都沒有提到。
Question 39
答案：A
關鍵詞：Chinese and Japanese
解題思路：A. 為了表明Jack Zipes的理論是不正確的 B. 為了表明犯罪是一個全球問題 C. 為了暗示所有的童話故事都有類似意義 D. 為Jack Zipes的理論提供更多證據 文中第九段最後一句出現定位信息。根據句子之間的關係可以看出中國和日本的童話版本是例子，因此需要向前看一句。前一句是Tehrani的觀點，通過But表明是反駁前面Jack Zipes的觀點。綜合句間關係，可判斷答案為A選項。
Question 40
答案：A
關鍵詞：Mathias Clasen
解題思路：A.它們是學習如何應對恐懼的一種安全方式。 B.它們是一種有些人會避開的娛樂形式。 C.它們反映了我們社會中不斷改變的價值觀。 D.它們降低了我們應對現實世界中的問題的能力。 第十段最後一句：Clasen認為，恐怖故事教會了我們害怕的感覺，而不用去經歷真正的危險，從而增強了我們對負面情緒的抵抗力。所以答案為A選項。