Everyone has some opinion about history, no matter how ill-informed.Walking through a parking lot in a university in Miami, I noticed a bumper sticker (车尾贴纸) that said, “Ruin a Liberal’s (自由派) Day—Recite Historical Fact!” But Marwick thinks this sort of opinion is just fine; it is unavoidable that we all feel a sense of ownership of history.
History never stands still, as Marwick says at the beginning of The Nature of History, “The shape and content of history, too, vary according to the methods and materials available to different generations.” Marwick’s goal is to explain, in plain language, the changes in the way history is done up to the present; one method is to connect history with advances in the physical sciences. Marwick examines a number of case studies toward the end of the book. He ends the book with a refreshing collection of aphorisms (格言) about history. History truly belongs to each and every man and we all belong to history; with the proper education, history can be made more accessible to everyone.
Marwick relates how inventions and the physical sciences have driven historical changes. Dropping a ball in a vacuum will reveal the same properties (性质) each time the experiment is conducted, providing the conditions are the same. But historians obviously do not have the luxury of reproducing such conditions; historians view the past through the present which depends on invention and science.
By looking at the changing nature of history, Marwick feels the study progressing. Although Marwick suspects some people would accuse a historian of creating job security with the endless views of the past, he insists it is imperative based on the philosophy, science, and new materials of the age. History, according to Marwick, must be for everyone and not remain locked behind the walls of academia.
The author mentions the bumper sticker in order to ________.
A.show his own opinion about history |
B.introduce the readers to Marwick |
C.explain the freedom of understanding history |
D.make the readers know about the argument between historians |
Which of the following best describes the statement “History never stands still”?
A.Marwick explains the changes in the way history is done up to the present. |
B.Marwick connects history with advances in the physical sciences. |
C.He ends the book with a refreshing collection of aphorisms about history. |
D.The shape and content of history vary according to the methods and materials available. |
In paragraph 3, Marwick gives the example of dropping a ball in a vacuum to prove ______.
A.the changeable nature of history |
B.the difficulty of historical study |
C.changeable ways of historical study |
D.the difficulty of scientific study |
The text is intended to ________.
A.state a historian’s ideas |
B.argue against a historian |
C.attract readers to study history |
D.describe the story of a historian |