To Pacific people the coconut palm is tile Tree of Life, and life itself oft

游客2023-09-12  20

问题     To Pacific people the coconut palm is tile Tree of Life, and life itself often depends on its presence. This versatile and ubiquitous (到处出现的) tree still keeps to itself the mystery of its geographical origins. Scientists may have theories, but most Pacific islanders believe that the coconut palm is of supernatural origin. Stray palms on uninhabited isles or in remote island valleys may appear wild and neglected to stranger, but chances are that some local family is watching and using them.
    On the other hand, the material culture of the islands is based on forest products in general, not just the coconut. Melanesian craftsmen fashion their goods from bark, fiber, wood, and other plant parts. Stone, shell, and bone are found in great variety, feathers and shell are seen as ornaments. But it is the plants which form the structural materials or architecture and artifacts. Among Melanesia’s varied cultures, that of New Guinea’s Speak River area is one of the richest in artifacts. An important source is the annual festival marking the harvest of the yam crop, a hill-country staple. Yams of special size and character represent spirits of the dead, and the quality of a man’s yam crop is a measure of his prestige and his virility (男子气概).  A man and his family may not eat their own produce but must give it to a family of a non-related clan. Each phase of the growing cycle of the yam is marked with ceremonies and festivities culminating in the great harvest festival when the village square is filled with piles of yams. Many of the finest specimens are adorned with painted masks, feather headdresses, and jewelry. Each man or the tribe, similarly adorned, extols (赞美,颂扬) the virtues of his yams in extravagant oratory (辞藻华丽的言语), climaxing his presentation by pronouncing the name the family who is to receive his crop. [br] The passage suggests that the coconut palm is thought of by Pacific peoples as______.

选项 A、a divine (上帝或神赐予的) girl
B、unique to their part of the world
C、the enter of their harvest festivals
D、an essentially decorative tree

答案 A

解析 关键词的理解题。文章的第一段的第三句话反映了本题的要领,这里的关键词是supernatural(超自然的),即非自然的,实际上就是上天所给的,引申为天赐的,A为正确答案。
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