Thetermculturenowismoreusedtodescribeeverythingfromthef...

問題詳情：

The term culture now is more used to describe everything from the fine arts to the outlook of a business group or a sports team. In its original sense, however, culture includes all identifying aspects of a racial group, nation, or empire: its physical environment, history, and traditions, its social rules and economic structure, and its religious beliefs and arts.

The central beliefs and customs of a group are handed down from one generation to another. It is for this reason that most people regard culture as learned rather than innate. People acquire a culture because they are not born with one. The process by which a person develops a taste for regional foods, accented speech, or an outlook on the world over time, therefore, is known as enculturation (文化適應).

Cultures are often identified by their symbols — images that are familiar and coated with meaning. Totem poles (圖騰柱) carved with animals and creative figures suggest aspects of the Native American peoples of the Pacific Northwest but more literally represent specific tribes (部落). In Asia and India, the color of yellow is connected with temples while in ancient China it was a color only the emperor’s family was allowed to wear. Thus, different cultures may respond to a symbol quite differently. For example, to some a flag may represent pride, historical accomplishments, or ideals; to others, however, it can mean danger or oppression.

To individuals unfamiliar with cultures outside their own, the beliefs, behaviors, and artistic expression of other groups can seem strange and even threatening. A society that ranks all other cultures against its own standards is considered to be ethnocentric (from the Greek ethnos, meaning  “people,” and kentros, meaning “center”). A strongly ethnocentric society assumes also that what is different from its own culture is likely to be inferior and, possibly, wrong or evil.

All people are ethnocentric to some degree, and some aspects of ethnocentrism, such as national pride, contribute to a well-functioning society. An appreciation for one’s own culture, however, does not prevent acceptance and respect for another culture. History documents the long-term vigour and success of multicultural groups in which people from numerous and various cultural backgrounds live and work together. Extreme ethnocentrism, in contrast, can lead to racism — the belief that it is race and racial origin that account for variations in human character or ability and that one’s own race is superior to all others.

74. What does the word “innate” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?

75. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

76. What can be inferred from the passage?

77. Which might be the best title of the passage?

【回答】

AACD

知識點：*經濟文化類閲讀

題型：閲讀理解