GRE阅读题目解析:英国的美国殖民地政策

　　P2

　　1

　　long-held view of the history of the English colonies that became the United States has been that England‘s policy toward these colonies before 1763 was dictated by commercial interests and that a change to a more imperial policy, dominated by expansionist militarist objectives, generated the tensions that ultimately led to the American Revolution.

　　一直以来都有这样一种观点认为，英国对那些最终成为美国的殖民地的政策，1763年以前都由商业利益集团操控，后来转向一种，由扩张主义军事狂热的目标为主导的，更体现帝国意志的政策，导致双方摩擦，并最终酿成了美国独立战争。

　　(加粗部分为主干)

　　2

　　In a recent study, Stephen Saunders Webb has presented a formidable challenge to this view.

　　最近的一项研究中，S S Webb 对这种观点提出了惊人的挑战。

　　(注意作者的观点

　　formidable 可怕的、难对付的、了不起的、惊人的，用来修饰 challenge，说明作者觉得 Webb 的挑战非常有力，尽管后面作者对 Webb 的观点也有不同意见，但此处可体会作者认为 Webb 的研究挑战旧有观点是有效的，换言之，旧观点是立不住的。)

　　3

　　According to Webb, England already had a military imperial policy for more than a century before the American Revolution.

　　Webb 认为，早在美国独立战争一世纪多前，英国就采取了一种军事帝国统治政策。

　　4

　　He sees Charles II, the English monarch between 1660 and 1685, as the proper successor of the Tudor monarchs of the sixteenth century and of Oliver Cromwell, all of whom were bent on extending centralized executive power over England‘s possessions through the use of what Webb calls “garrison government.”

　　他把查理二世视为 都铎王朝 和 克伦威尔 名副其实的继任者，前者是1660 - 1685 英格兰国王，后二者则都致力于在英格兰管辖区域内，通过 Webb 称之为 “ 驻军统治(garrison government)” 的手段，实行扩大的集权统治。

　　(be bent on something / on doing something 决心采取(某行动)，专心致志于(做)某事)

　　5

　　Garrison government allowed the colonists a legislative assembly but real authority, in Webb‘s view, belonged to the colonial governor, who was appointed by the king and supported by the “garrison,” that is, by the local contingent of English troops under the colonial governor‘s command.

　　Webb 认为，驻军统治允许殖民地居民组织立法议会，但实权掌握在殖民地总督手中，此职位由国王任命，受到当地驻军的支持，也就是说，英国军队在当地的部署听从殖民地总督的命令。

　　6

　　According to Webb, the purpose of garrison government was to provide military support for a royal policy designed to limit the power of the upper classes in the American colonies.

　　根据 Webb 的研究，驻军统治是为皇家政策提供军事保障，以限制美洲殖民地上层人士的权力。

　　7

　　Webb argues that the colonial legislative assemblies represented the interests not of the common people but of the colonial upper classes, a coalition of merchants and nobility who favored self-rule and sought to elevate legislative authority at the expense of the executive.

　　Webb 称，殖民地议会代表殖民地上层人士而非大众的利益，商人与贵族结盟，崇尚个人自治并寻求以一定的行政权力为代价交换更高的法律地位。

　　8

　　It was, according to Webb, the colonial governors who favored the small farmer, opposed the plantation system, and tried through taxation to break up large holdings of land.

　　Webb 还认为，殖民地总督们更喜欢小农场主，反对种植园体制，试图通过税收打破大面积持有土地的格局。

　　9

　　Backed by the military presence of the garrison, these governors tried to prevent the gentry and merchants, allied in the colonial assemblies, from transforming colonial America into a capitalistic oligarchy.

　　有了当地驻军的军事支持，总督们尝试阻碍立法议会中结盟的乡绅和商人，以防美洲殖民地变成一个资本主义寡头政治国家。

　　10

　　Webb‘s study illuminates the political alignments that existed in the colonies in the century prior to the American Revolution, but his view of the crown‘s use of the military as an instrument of colonial policy is not entirely convincing.

　　Webb 的研究揭示了美国独立战争前一个世纪，存在于美洲殖民地的政治结盟关系，但他所认为的 国王把军队作为推进殖民地政策的工具 的观点，并不完全令人信服。

　　11

　　England during the seventeenth century was not noted for its military achievements.

　　十七世纪的英格兰，在军事方面并没有什么作为。

　　12

　　Cromwell did mount England‘s most ambitious overseas military expedition in more than a century, but it proved to be an utter failure.

　　克伦威尔 的确发动了英格兰一百多年来最具野心的海外远征，但最终被证明是一场完败。

　　13

　　Under Charles II, the English army was too small to be a major instrument of government.

　　查理二世治下的英国军队则规模太小，不足以被称为统治的主要工具。

　　14

　　Not until the war France in 1697 did William III persuade Parliament to create a professional standing army, and Parliament‘s price for doing so was to keep the army under tight legislative control.

　　直到1697年，威廉三世结束了与法国的战争，才说服国会建立一支专业的常备军，而令国会通过这项提案的代价，是军队必须严格服从法律的制约。

　　15

　　While it may be true that the crown attempted to curtail the power of the colonial upper classes, it is hard to imagine how the English army during the seventeenth century could have provided significant military support for such a policy. (473 words)

　　尽管王室可能确实尝试削弱殖民地上层人士的力量，但很难像想象十七世纪的英格兰军队，能为这项政策提供什么有力的军事支持。

　　4. The passage can best be described as a

　　(A) survey of the inadequacies of a conventional viewpoint

　　(B) reconciliation of opposing points of view

　　(C) summary and evaluation of a recent study

　　(D) defense of a new thesis from anticipated objections

　　(E) review of the subtle distinctions between apparently similar views

　　选 C

　　概述以及评估近期的一项研究。

　　5. The passage suggests that the long-standing view referred to in the first paragraph argued that

　　(A) the colonial governors were sympathetic to the demands of the common people

　　(B) Charles II was a pivotal figure in the shift of English monarchs toward a more imperial policy in their governorship of the American colonies.

　　(C) the American Revolution was generated largely out of a conflict between the colonial upper classes and an alliance of merchants and small farmers

　　(D) the military did not play a major role as an instrument of colonial policy until 1763

　　(E) the colonial legislative assemblies in the colonies had little influence over the colonial governors

　　选 D

　　回到句 1：

　　long-held view of the history of the English colonies that became the United States has been that England‘s policy toward these colonies before 1763 was dictated by commercial interests and that a change to a more imperial policy, dominated by expansionist militarist objectives, generated the tensions that ultimately led to the American Revolution.

　　注意问法，文中一共出现了 3 种观点：

　　1) long-held view，

　　2) Webb's view，

　　3) the author's view 。

　　随着文章推进，2)挑战 1)，3)又质疑了 2)，本题问的是 1)，根据绿字部分可推测 D 正确。

　　6. According to the passage, Webb views Charles II as the “proper successor” (in the first paragraph) of the Tudor monarchs and Cromwell because Charles II

　　(A) used colonial tax revenues to fund overseas military expeditions

　　(B) used the military to extend executive power over the English colonies

　　(C) wished to transform the American colonies into capitalistic oligarchies

　　(D) resisted the English Parliament‘s efforts to exert control over the military

　　(E) allowed the American colonists to use legislative assemblies as a forum for resolving grievances against the crown

　　选 B

　　回到句 4：

　　He sees Charles II, the English monarch between 1660 and 1685, as the proper successor of the Tudor monarchs of the sixteenth century and of Oliver Cromwell, all of whom were bent on extending centralized executive power over England‘s possessions through the use of what Webb calls “garrison government.”

　　For the following question, consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply

　　7. According to Webb‘s view of colonial history, which of the following was (were) true of the merchants and nobility mentioned in the second paragraph?

　　A They were opposed to policies formulated by Charles II that would have transformed the colonies into capitalistic oligarchies.

　　B They were opposed to attempts by the English crown to limit the power of the legislative assemblies.

　　C They were united with small farmers in their opposition to the stationing of English troops in the colonies.

　　选 B

　　见句 7，9：

　　Webb argues that the colonial legislative assemblies represented the interests not of the common people but of the colonial upper classes, a coalition of merchants and nobility who favored self-rule and sought to elevate legislative authority at the expense of the executive.

　　...

　　Backed by the military presence of the garrison, these governors tried to prevent the gentry and merchants, allied in the colonial assemblies, from transforming colonial America into a capitalistic oligarchy.

　　总督们阻碍立法议会中的乡绅和商人，可推乡绅和商人与总督对立，总督是王室任命的，所以他们进而反对王室限制立法议会的权力，符合他们崇尚自治的特点 。

　　其他两项在文中无证据支持。

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