首页
登录
职称英语
Somehow California is always at the cutting edge, be it in the flower-power
Somehow California is always at the cutting edge, be it in the flower-power
游客
2023-11-19
17
管理
问题
Somehow California is always at the cutting edge, be it in the flower-power days of the 1960s or the dotcom boom of the 1990s. As Kevin Starr points out in his history of the state, California has long been "one of the prisms through which the American people, for better and for worse, could glimpse their future".
Mr. Starr is too good a historian to offer any pat explanation; instead, he concentrates on the extraordinary array of people and events that have led from the mythical land of Queen Calafia, through the rule of Spain and Mexico, and on to the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, an iron-pumping film star with an Austrian accent①. Moreover, he does so with such elegance and humor that his book is a joy to read.
What emerges is not all Californian sunshine and light. Think back to the savage violence that accompanied the 1849 Gold Rush; or to the exclusion orders against the Chinese; or to the riots that regularly marked industrial and social relations in San Francisco. California was very much the Wild West, having to wait until 1850 before it could force its way to statehood.
So what tamed it? Mr. Starr’s answer is a combination of great men, great ideas and great projects. He emphasizes the development of California’s infrastructure, the development of agriculture; the spread of the railroads and freeways; and, perhaps the most important factor for today’s hi-tech California, the creation of a superb set of public universities.
All this, he writes, "began with water, the sine qua non of any civilization." He goes on cheerfully to note the "monumental damage to the environment" caused by irrigation projects that were "plagued by claims of deception, double-dealing and conflict of interest".
One virtue of this book is its structure. Mr. Start is never trapped by his chronological framework. In stead, when the subject demands it, he manages deftly to flit back and forth among the decades. Less satisfying is his account of California’s cultural progress in the 19th and 20th centuries: does he really need to invoke so many long-forgotten writers to accompany such names as Jack London, Frank Norris, Mark Twain or Raymond Chandler?
But that is a minor criticism for a book that will become a California classic. The regret is that Mr. Start, doubtless pressed for space, leaves so little room—just a brief final chapter—for the implications of the past for California’s future. He poses the question that most Americans prefer to gloss over: is California governable? "For all its impressive growth, there remains a volatility in the politics and governance of California, which became perfectly clear to the rest of the nation in the fall of 2003 when the voters of California recalled one governor and elected another②."
Indeed so, and Mr. Starr wisely avoids making any premature judgment on their choice. Ills such as soaring house prices, grid locked freeways and "embattled" public schools, combined with the budgetary problems that stem from the tax revolt of 1978 would test to the limit any governor, even the Terminator③. As Mr. Starr notes, no one should cite California as an unambiguous triumph: "There has always been something slightly bipolar about California. It was either utopia or dystopia, a dream or a nightmare, a hope or a broken promise—and too infrequently anything in between." [br] The phrase "sine qua non" in Para. 5, Line 1 possibly means ______.
选项
A、the essential elements
B、the premise
C、the contribution
D、the advantage
答案
A
解析
词义理解题。Mr.Stair把这一切(第四段第二句:基础设施的建设,农业的发展,铁路公路的建设,学校的建立等等),归结为源于水,水是任何文明产生的必不可少的条件。选项C 和D 不合题意,予以排除。而选项B 是干扰项:水是这一切文明的前提,属过度推理,所以选项 A ”水是这些文明的必要条件“为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3200976.html
相关试题推荐
______badlyhehadslept;hewasalwaysupearly.A、NomatterB、WheneverC、Howev
Actingwithoutthinkingtwicealwaysresults______failure.A、inB、withC、fromD
Healwaystrieshisbesttocompleteitontime.A、Howeverthetaskis.B、However
SomehowCaliforniaisalwaysatthecuttingedge,beitintheflower-power
SomehowCaliforniaisalwaysatthecuttingedge,beitintheflower-power
SomehowCaliforniaisalwaysatthecuttingedge,beitintheflower-power
Theplumblineisalwaysperpendicular______thehorizontalplane.A、withB、from
Hewouldalwaysignorethefactof______suchacontradictioninhisinnerthou
Theyhavealwaysregardedamanof______andfairnessasareliablefriend.A、ro
Menseemtohavealwaystakenaninterestinmeteorites,butnotuntilthe
随机试题
JasonBraddockknewhehadtopayforhiscollegeeducation,sohewenttow
[originaltext]Theworld’ssmartestadolescentsinmathematicsandsciencea
下列有关风湿性疾病的描述,哪项是错误的A.属于变态反应性疾病 B.与溶血性链球
根据韦纳的成败归因理论,把成败的责任归因于努力程度,这属于()。 A.稳定的外
以下关于正态分布的说法正确的是()。A、正态分布是最重要的一类离散型随机变量分
主要分为水包油型和油包水型两种类型的液体药剂是A、胶体溶液 B、醑剂 C、甘
汉代传《诗经》者共四家,现在流传的是( )。A.《齐诗》 B.《鲁诗》 C
社会与文化环境属于影响银行营销决策的( )因素。A.经济与技术环境 B.
下列各项中,属于非营利法人的有()。A.事业团体 B.居委会 C.基金会
男性,40岁,左侧慢性脓胸伴左下肺支气管扩张,左下肺不张,左下肺支气管胸膜瘘。最
最新回复
(
0
)