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  3. Art is considered by many people to be little more than a decorative means o

Art is considered by many people to be little more than a decorative means o

游客2024-02-16  54
问题     Art is considered by many people to be little more than a decorative means of giving pleasure. This is not always the case, however; at times, art may be seen to have a purely functional side as well. Such could be said of the sand-paintings of the Navaho Indians of the American Southwest; these have a medicinal as well as an artistic purpose.
    According to Navaho traditions, one who suffers from either a mental or a physical illness has in some way disturbed or come in contact with the supernatural-perhaps a certain animal, a ghost, or the dead. To counteract this evil contact, the ill person or one of his relatives will employ a medicine man called a "singer" to perform a healing ceremony which will attract a powerful supernatural being.
    During the ceremony, which may last from 2 to 9 days, the "singer" will produce a sandpainting on the floor of the Navaho(纳瓦霍人) Hogan (印第安草屋). On the last day of the ceremony, the patient will sit on this sandpainting and the "singer" will rub the ailing (生病 的) parts of the patient’s body with sand from a specific figure in the sandpainting. In this way the patient absorbs the power of that particular supernatural being and becomes strong like it. After the ceremony, the sandpainting is then destroyed and disposed of so its power will not harm anyone.
    The art of sandpainting is handed down from old "singer" to their students. The material used are easily found in the areas the Navaho inhabit; brown, red, yellow, and white sandstone, which is pulverized (研磨成粉) by being crushed between 2 stones much as corns is ground into flour. The "singer" holds a small amount of this sand in his hand and lets it flow between his thumb and fore-finger onto a clean, flat surface on the floor. With a steady hand and great patience, he is thus able to create designs of stylized people, snakes and other creatures that have power in the Navaho belief system. The traditional Navaho does not allow reproduction of sandpaintings, since he believes the supernatural powers that taught him the craft have forbidden this; however, such reproductions can in fact be purchased today in tourist shops in Arizona and New Mexico. These are done by either Navaho Indians or by other people who wish to preserve this craft. [br] The purpose of a healing ceremony lies in______.
选项 A、pleasing the ghosts
B、attracting supernatural powers
C、attracting the ghosts
D、creating a sandpainting
答案 B
解析 可定位在第2段第2句：To counteract this evil contact…which will attract apowerful supernatural being．本段开头指出根据纳瓦霍族的传统，族人生病是因为遇到或打扰到超自然生物，如动物、鬼魂或死者。第2句又说：为了驱除邪灵，病人或其亲属会请一位被称作“歌者”的巫医进行一场治疗仪式，以吸引一位厉害的超自然生物，与选项B意思相符，为同义转述，故选之。
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