【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 cts not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions, and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors – or of people very different from our own can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than can be found in most history books. In history books, objective information about the political life of a country is presented: that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective: it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his wellknown painting The Third of May, 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its misuse of power over people. Over a hundred years later, symbolic images were used in Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to express the horror of war. Meanwhile, on another continent, the powerful paintings of Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros – as well as the works of Alfredo Ramos Martinez – depicted these Mexican artists’ deep anger and sadness about social problems.In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that depicted people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand biblical stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast, one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was (and still is) its absence of human and animal images. This reflects the Islamic（伊斯蘭教）belief that statues are unholy.1. More can be learned about a culture from a study of art history than general history because art history .D) all of the above2. Art is subjective in that .A) a personal and emotional view of history is presented through it3. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?D) In the Middle East even today you can hardly find any human and animal figures on palaces or other buildings.4. The passage mainly discusses .A) the difference between general history and art history5. It may be concluded from this passage that .A) Islamic artists have had to create architectural decoration with images of flowers or geometric formsUnit 4 Passage one There is much discussion today about whether economic growth is desirable. At an earlier period, our desire for material wealth may have been justified. Now, however, this desire for more than we need is causing serious problems. Even though we have good intentions, we may be producing too much, too fast.Those who criticize economic growth argue that we must slow down. They believe that society is approaching certain limits on growth. These include the fixed supply of natural resources, the possible negative effects of industry on the natural environment, and the continuing increase in the world’s population. As society reaches these limits, economic growth can no longer continue, and the quality of life will decrease.People who want more economic growth, on the other hand, argue that even at the present growth rate there are still many poor people in the world. These proponents of economic growth believe that only more growth can create the capital needed to improve the quality of life in the world. Furthermore, they argue that only continued growth can provide the financial resources required to protect our natural surroundings from industrialization.This debate over the desirability of continued economic growth is of vital importance to business and industry. If those who argue against economic g