西方文化导论课后复习题

1.Give a brief account of the major achievements of Greek culture, such as those in religion, philosophy, literature and science.

Greek religion really took shape during the Homeric Age，and featured polytheism with gods taking human form and feeling. Greek religion made a great contribution to Greek literature, philosophy and art. It is an important origin of Greek mythology ，Greek philosophy started with Thales (640 BC-547 BC) who believed that the material world originated in water，The core Greek philosophers are Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Socrates had scant regard for material wealth, Plato established the Academy - the first Greek institution of higher learning.Literary representation centred round the two epic poems of the Iliad and the Odyssey。

2 What do you think of the influence Greek culture has exerted on Western Civilization as a whole? Give examples.

Greek culture is often termed the cradle of the Western Civilization and has had an enormous impact on Western culture The specific contributions are found in the areas of philosophy, politics, literature, art, science and architecture.Greek politics was one of the greatest influences on Western Civilization. The second significant influence was that of philosophy，give sound guidance to later year people to improve and change the world outside themselves。

1. ____ is the major foundation in the western culture and makes a powerful impact on the development of human civilization?

A. Ancient European culture

B. Ancient Greek culture

C.Ancient Chinese culture

D.Ancient Egypt culture

2. Greek culture can be dated back to____.

A. Neolithic Age

B. Bronze Age

C. Stone and Bronze Age

D. the Old Stone Age

3. ____was called “the first citizen of Athens” by Thucydides and in his reign the slave-based democracy politics in Athens reached its peak.

A. Justinian I

B. Cleon

C. Pericles

D. Ptolemy

4. Herodotus, father of Greek History, focuses on describing the war between ____ in his book, The Histories.

A. Thebes and Sparta

B. Persians and Syracuse

C. Athens and Sparta

D. Greeks and Persians

5. ____established the Academy - the first Greek institution of higher learning.

A. Plato

B. Socrates

C. Aristotle

D. Heraclitus

Chapter 2

1.Tell briefly the major characteristics and contributions of Roman culture, as are demonstrated in religion, poetry, history and architecture.

In the early period, Roman culture often depended heavily on the introduction and imitation of other cultures, particularly, Greek culture. Thus Romans created their own powerful culture, laying the foundation for subsequent Western culture in many fields. According to Greek culture and others’ culture; they created their own gods and myth, In poetry, ancient Rome made brilliant achievements, Livy was responsible for the great History of Rome in 142 volumes. His work has always been cited by later statesmen, writers or scholars,The architecture of Ancient Rome adopted the Greek style for its own purposes, but the Romans also developed a new kind.

2.In what sense do you think Roman culture owed its accomplishments to the benefits obtained from Greek culture? Give examples.

Roman culture learned and inherited a lot from Greek culture.,religion, philosophy and literature.

In religion, Rome had its own system of beliefs which had been simple and could hardly compare with the plurality of Greek religion. The same is true of Roman philosophy where we could find examples ,In literature, Roman men of letters also borrowed a All in all, the two cultures are closely linkedgreat deal from Greek culture.

3.Roman culture, combined with Greek culture, marks the dawn of Western culture with a heritage rich enough to build up a powerful civilization in the successive centuries. Try to draw up some helpful lessons from the Roman cultural development by focusing on one or two aspects in relation to the development of other cultures.

It is generally agreed that a nation needs to build up its culture on the basis of what has been achieved by its ancestors. At the same time this nation has to pick up something new from other advanced culture sources.Thus the nation has to face a problem of how to handle the relationship between inheritance and learning, We could see the Romans had such a choice in the early days But they were clever enough to make the right choice.they took measures to ensure everything to their benefit, They were so sincere and serious in adopting Greek culture ,In this sense Romans won another victory in addition to their military victory. The lesson of Roman history is that we should try to be humanitarian, generous, tolerant and magnanimous at the moment of crisis or conflict and try to minimize the losses.

A. Multiple Choice

1. Ancient Roman culture is the culture from the formation of ____ to the end of the Roman Empire, which had lasted about 1200 years throughout.

A. Roman Republic,

B. Roman Republic, Byzantium c. Roman Empire, Pax Romana D. Byzantium, Roman Empire

2. ____ were the twins, the founders of Rome in the history.

A. Octavian and Caesar

B. Caesar and Remus

C.Romulus and Remus

D. .Romulus and Octavian

3. ____was the first emperor in Roman Empire from 27 BC to 14 AD.

A. Caesar

B. Octavian

C. Remus

D. Pompey

4. Italian poet Dante regards ____ as his teacher in The Divine Comedy.

A. Virgil

B. Horace

C. Ovid

D. Chaucer

5. The law of the Twelve Tables was inscribed in ____

A．450 BC, B. 200 BC C. 40 BC D. 400 BC

Chapter 3

`1. How was the Jewish civilization developed after a tortuous history of split and unification?

The major explanation for the development of the Jewish civilization is its strong cohesiveness

and vitality,they put into effect their Judaist beliefs and what they read of Judaist scriptures.

From then on Jews have begun to become aware of the necessicity to liberate themselves from the

restrictive laws and acquire new knowledge and modern ideas from the Europeans, Most of Jews

thus received a good education, fully armed with cultural and scientific knowledge and did well in

their own position they could quickly turn it into a well developed nation in spite of its small size

and small population .

2．Say something about Judaism and The Old Testament.

The Old Testament is the Judaist Bible. It was written in Hebrew, including the three parts：Pentateuch, Prophets and Hagiographa and Apocrypha. After The Old Testament was translated

into Greek by Jewish scholars，many westerners began to understand Judaism by reading this book.

It is not only of religious value but also of literatry value.

3.What would you say about the Jewish contribution to Christianity and Western culture?

Give examples to show how Jewish culture relates to and differs from the other cultures,

such as Greek and Arabic cultures.

The Jewish culture has done much for Christianity and Western culture, such as the Jewish

contribution to the transmission of Western culture .One of the examples isJewish assistance to the estalishment of Christianity. It was the Jews who worked as the early organizers and participants

in the underground activities of the Christians.Another example concerns Philo, the major

Jewish-Hellenistic philosopher of the early period, combined both the Greek philosophical

element and Jewish theology.

A. Multiple Choices

1．The Babylonian Captivity refers to the captivation and imprisonment of the Jews by Nebuchadnezzar II, in ____.

A. 586 BC

B. 450 BC

C.330 BC

D.586

2. In history, Israelite monarchy prospered with the three kings, Saul, ____.

A. David and Soloman

B. Moses and David

C. Jacob and David

D. Jacob and Soloman

3. Jerusalem was established as the capital in ___.

A. 585 BC

B.1000 BC

C.1000

D. 588 BC

4. ___ won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1978

A. Pulitzer Joseph

B. Saul Bellow C Singer D. Hemingway

5. The ancestor of the Jews is __

A. Greek,

B.Germanic ,

C. Hebrew,

D. Roman

Chapter 4

1.What are the main components of Christianity and why could it be accepted as the official religion first by the Roman Empire and then by the following kingdoms or empires in Europe?

(1)The main components of Christianity are ：1) The Bible as the only Christian scripture;

Major Christian doctrines about Trinity and Redemption;3) Other doctrines or events of Christianity:

(2 )Christianity is accepted and popular in Europe because of these factors:

1).For the common people in the empire ,they needed something to fill up their spiritual vacuum.

Christianity could play such a role.

2). It could work together with any secular regimes to offer necessary assistance.

3). The name and influence of Christiaity would be a symbol of sacredness and justification,

4) Christianity is also a kind of culture, it could be tolerated because their life and property

could thus be secured in the changed circumstances.

2. What are the basic differences between Christianity and Judaism?

In spite of the fact that the two religions derived from Jewish culture, there are some basic

differences between them.

First is the different image of God.Second is different view of God. Jehovah is viewed He is like

fire or wind .God is kinder and more helpful, Third is the different position each religion is located

in and hence would make different contribution. Fourth is Jehovah was important to Jews only in

theory and affect them in spirit occasionally while Christianity moved into secular life for the

Westerner as Pope and churches became very powerful .

3．Try to give reasons why Christianity could keep its dominant position in the spiritual

world of the West for over two thousand years.

The first reason for the dominant position of the Christian Church is its representation of Western

cultural tradition under the cover of what could be a hypocritical mask as often confirmed in

historical development.

The second reason is the division of political and ideological dominances in the form of a tacit understanding between feudal autocracy and the church

The third reason is the church’s contribution to the successful handling of political and social

events as an arbitrator,

The fourth reason is its flexible strategy and assessible ability to adapt itself to the changes in

social and cultural conditions .The above reasons might serve to explain why Christianity could

come such a long way without being toppled like its secular contemporaries. This does not mean,

however, that Christianity is perfect or faultless..

A. Multiple Choices

1. Christianity is the system of religious belief and practice about ___ and started at the turn of ___ .

A.Mary, 1st century AD

B. Jesus Christ, 1st century AD

C. Jehovah 1st century BC D Jesus Christ, 1st century BC.

2. On 27 February___, Roman Emperor ___ accepted Christianity as the official religion.

A. 380, Alexander the Great

B.380, Theodosius

C.400, Octavian

D. 100, Jesus Christ

3._____, Christian Church was divided into the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church seated.

A.In 1054

B. In 1054 BC

C.In 1055

D. In 380

4. _____is 2nd book of the Old Testament, telling the history of the Hebrews led by Moose’s flight out of Egypt.

A.Exodus

B.the Gospel

C. Genesis

D. Job

5. ____is the cradles of many civilizations, such us Trojan, Phrygian, Achaemenid, Greek, Armenian, Roman and Byzantine.

A. Asia Minor

B.Egypt

C.Jerusalem

D.Aegean Sea

Chapter 6

1.Tell simply the background and development of the Renaissance.

It was no accident that it first occurred in Florence and Italy where the early signs of capitalism

had appeared at the same time as social chaos, political disputes and military clashes , more and

more people began to suspect the justification for those who held the power,Painting and sculpture

were the first area to reflect the change of subjects and tastes.

2.What are the major features and achievements of the Renaissance? Give example s

The achievements were seen principally in the six areas, namely painting, sculpture, poetry, fiction,

drama and religious reformation as well as the change in the cultural .Instances could be located in

these areas, The great artists started to focus on the images,linking classicalism with human

nature .

3. Say something about the significance of the Renaissance with respect to its influences on the later development of social and economic and intellectual conditions in the West.

The most significant aspect of the Renaissance is its reassertion of the necessity for ideological emancipation and intellectual freedom, Thanks to heavy pressure, social development showed

little change. Intellectual progress almost came to a stop,Therefore, the people in this period

eventually took action to oppose the accepted subservience to authority by evoking classical idea

as a major weapon to show their dissatisfaction, With those early achievements in art and literature,

the longing for change and progress began to spread to political and economic domains. More and

more people became conscious of the importance of the Renaissance and joined in the movement

The religious people also wanted to have free choices with their personal beliefs and actions. All

these were under way and prepared for some more changes .

A. Multiple Choices

1.The bourgeoisie was a result of _________ production in terms of wage-payment and profit.

A.mass;

B. agricultural;

C. industrial;

D. commercial;

2.The Renaissance was the ________stage of the Middle Ages before the modern epoch.

A.transitional;

B. last;

C. initial;

D. preparatory;

3.The earliest university in Europe was the one established in _______.

A. Berlin;

B. Rome;

C. Bologna;

D.Oxford;

4. The Renaissance made its first appearance in the city of _______.

A. Venice,

B. Paris;

C. Florence;

D. London;

5.The core idea of the Renaissance was___________.

A. rationalism;

B. realism;

C. humanism;

D. classicism;

Chapter 1

A:B A.C.D.A B:F.F T .F.T

Chapter 2

A:A C B.A.A B:F.T F.F.T

Chapter 3

A:A.A.B.C C B:T.T.F.F.F

Chapter 4

A:B.B.A.A A B:F.T T F.T

Chapter 6

A:ABCCC B:FTTTF