为什么要学习历史？

参考答案

41. C  42. B  43. D  44. C  45. A  46. C  47. B  48. A  49. D 50. A51. B  52. D  53. A  54. D  55. C  56. B  57. C  58. A  59. B  60. D

生词标注

People live in the present. They plan for the future. History, however, is the study of the past. Given all the demands and pressures that come from living in the present and anticipating what is yet to come, why bother with what has been? Given all the available branches of knowledge, why insist – as most educational systems do – on history? And why urge many students to study even more history than they are required to?

Any subject of study needs justification : supporters must explain why it is worth attention. Like most widely accepted subjects , history attracts people who simply like the information and modes of thought involved. But for people who are less interested in the subject and moredoubtful about why they should bother with it, a clearer explanation of its purpose is required.

Historians do not perform heart transplants, improve highway design, or arrest criminals. In a society that quite correctly expects education to serve useful purposes, history’s functions can seem more difficult to define than those of engineering or medicine. History is in fact very useful, actually essential , but the products of historical study are often less obvious and immediate than those of other subjects.

History helps us understand people, societies and how they behave . For example, how can we evaluate past wars (and future threats) without using historical materials? Unfortunately, major aspects of a society’s operation cannot be set up as precise experiments.Consequently , history must serve, however imperfectly, as ourlaboratory , helping us understand who we are and why we do what we do. This, fundamentally, is why we cannot stay away from history.