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[历史学]

Traditionally,thestudyofhistoryhashadfixedboundariesandfocalpoints—periods,countries,dramaticevents,andgreatleaders.Italsohashadclearandfirmnotionsofscholarlyprocedure:howoneinquiresintoahistoricalproblem,howonepresentsanddocumentsone’sfindings,whatconstitutesadmissibleandadequateproof.

Anyonewhohasfollowedrecenthistoricalliteraturecantestifytotherevolutionthatistakingplaceinhistoricalstudies.Thecurrentlyfashionablesubjectscomedirectlyfromthesociologycatalog:childhood,work,leisure.Thenewsubjectsareaccompaniedbynewmethods.Wherehistoryoncewasprimarilynarrative,itisnowentirelyanalytic.Theoldquestions“Whathappened?”and“Howdidithappen?”havegivenwaytothequestion“Whydidithappen?”Prominentamongthemethodsusedtoanswerthequestion“Why”ispsychoanalysis,anditsusehasgivenrisetopsychohistory.

Psychohistorydoesnotmerelyusepsychologicalexplanationsinhistoricalcontexts.Historianshavealwaysusedsuchexplanationswhentheywereappropriateandwhentherewassufficientevidenceforthem.Butthispragmaticuseofpsychologyisnotwhatpsychohistoriansintend.Theyarecommitted,notjusttopsychologyingeneral,buttoFreudianpsychoanalysis.Thiscommitmentprecludesacommitmenttohistoryashistorianshavealwaysunderstoodit.Psychohistoryderivesits“facts”notfromhistory,thedetailedrecordsofeventsandtheirconsequences,butfrompsychoanalysisoftheindividualswhomadehistory,anddeducesitstheoriesnotfromthisorthatinstanceintheirlives,butfromaviewofhumannaturethattranscendshistory.Itdeniesthebasiccriterionofhistoricalevidence:thatevidencebepubliclyaccessibleto,andthereforeassessableby,allhistorians.Anditviolatesthebasictenetofhistoricalmethod:thathistoriansbealerttothenegativeinstancesthatwouldrefutetheirtheses.Psychohistorians,convincedoftheabsoluterightnessoftheirowntheories,arealsoconvincedthattheirsisthe“deepest”explanationofanyevent,thatotherexplanationsfallshortofthetruth.

Psychohistoryisnotcontenttoviolatethedisciplineofhistory(inthesenseofthepropermodeofstudyingandwritingaboutthepast);italsoviolatesthepastitself.Itdeniestothepastanintegrityandwillofitsown,inwhichpeopleactedoutofavarietyofmotivesandinwhicheventshadamultiplicityofcausesandeffects.Itimposesuponthepastthesamedeterminismthatitimposesuponthepresent,thusrobbingpeopleandeventsoftheirindividualityandoftheircomplexity.Insteadofrespectingtheparticularityofthepast,itassimilatesallevents,pastandpresent,intoasingledeterministicschemathatispresumedtobetrueatalltimesandinallcircumstances.

1.Whichofthefollowingbeststatesthemainpointofthetext?

[A]Theapproachofpsychohistorianstohistoricalstudyiscurrentlyinvogueeventhoughitlackstherigorandverifiabilityoftraditionalhistoricalmethod.

[B]Traditionalhistorianscanbenefitfromstudyingthetechniquesandfindingsofpsychohistorians.

[C]Areasofsociologicalstudysuchaschildhoodandworkareoflittleinteresttotraditionalhistorians.

[D]Thepsychologicalassessmentofanindividual’sbehaviorandattitudesismoreinformativethanthedetailsofhisorherdailylife.

2.Theauthormentionswhichofthefollowingasacharacteristicofthepracticeofpsychohistorians?

[A]Thelivesofhistoricalfiguresarepresentedinepisodicratherthannarrativeform.

[B]Archivesusedbypsychohistorianstogathermaterialarenotaccessibletootherscholars.

[C]Pastandcurrenteventsareallplacedwithinthesamedeterministicdiagram.

[D]Eventsintheadultlifeofahistoricalfigureareseentobemoreconsequentialthanarethoseinthechildhoodofthefigure.

3.Theauthorofthetextsuggeststhatpsychohistoriansviewhistoryprimarilyas

[A]areportofevents,causes,andeffectsthatisgenerallyacceptedbyhistoriansbutwhichis,forthemostpart,unverifiable.

[B]anepisodicaccountthatlackscohesionbecauserecordsoftheroleofchildhood,work,andleisureinthelivesofhistoricalfiguresarerare.

[C]anunchartedseaofseeminglyunexplainableeventsthathavemeaningonlywhenexaminedasdiscreteunits.

[D]arecordthewayinwhichaclosedsetofimmutablepsychologicallawsseemstohaveshapedevents.

4.Theauthorofthetextputstheword“deepest”(line14,paragraph3)inquotationmarksmostprobablyinorderto

[A]signalherreservationsabouttheaccuracyofpsychohistorians’claimsfortheirwork.

[B]drawattentiontoacontradictioninthepsychohistorians’method.

[C]emphasizethemajordifferencebetweenthetraditionalhistorians’methodandthatofpsychohistorians.

[D]disassociateheropinionofthepsychohistorians’claimsfromheropinionoftheirmethod.

5.Inpresentingheranalysis,theauthordoesallofthefollowingEXCEPT.

[A]Makegeneralstatementswithoutreferencetospecificexamples.

[B]Describesomeofthecriteriaemployedbytraditionalhistorians.

[C]Questiontheadequacyofthepsychohistorians’interpretationofevents.

[D]Pointoutinconsistenciesinthepsychohistorians’applicationoftheirmethods.