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Passage 3
You might think that the world no longer believes in demons (魔鬼雕像)or magic symbols.But are you sure?consider military regiments(军团)，they have mascots(吉祥物)，often a goat or a horse,while ships'captains still believe having a cat on board will bring luck.
Certain symbols have a very ancient ancestry;the swastika,for example,is an ancient sign brought to Europe by the Crusaders from the Saracens in the Middle Ages.It signified the movement of the seasons,and used to appear on horse brasses along with stars,circles,crescents(新月)and other protective symbols.In the Second World War a clockwise swastika was adopted by Adolf Hitler as the Nazi symbol.Hitler was extremely superstitious(迷信的)and believed in the swastika's lucky power,rather misguidedly as it turned out.
Corn dollies(洋娃娃)，made from the last bundle of corncut,are still popular in countries as far apart as Mexico,the Balinese Islands and Great Britatin.Originally they were a means of encouraging pagan(异教徒)gods to provide a good harvest the following year;now they are just hung up as a decoration in the kitchen,but perhaps some of the old powerful meaning attached to them is dimly remembered.
The peasants in southern China when working on their harvests used to wear special dresses.The patterned border on these always had two broad hands,representing rivers enclosing lands,and numerous squares represented fileds,each with a different pattern symbolising a particular crop.In this way the peasants indicated to their gods what was expected in each field.These dresses nowdays are worn for festivals and ceremonies connected with agriculture-so the original symbolism is not for gotten.Another wuperstition of the Chinese was that demons fly in straight lines,hence all the important public buildings in China have curved corners to confuse the demons and prevent them from getting a hold as they fly past.For the same reason,the paths up to chinese front doors are winding,and the doors are painted a ‘demon-defying’red as an added protection.
To find some kind of protection aggainst the power of demons has always been of importance,and all over the world certain strange customs evolved.In Asia and Europe,because baby boys were always valued above girls,the curous habit of dressing boy as girls to trick the demons occurred.Even in Victoran Britain boys wore dresses until they were about seven years old.Nowadays,girls and boys both wear ieans so perhaps the demons are still being confused.
7)the author's mention of animals,such as goats,horses or cats,is meant to show________.
A.how superstitious people were in the past
B.the ignorance of the army and merchant navy
C.an example of present-day wuperstition
D.the necessity of having a mascot for luck
8)Hitler's faith in the power of the swastika was misguided bacause it ________.
A.only offered protection to horses
B.possesssed symbolic meaning only
C.was ineffective facing the wrong way
D.had only a seasonal use
9)the continued use of corn dollies seems to indicate mankind's________.
A.dependence on agricultural symbols
B.wish to be surrounded by decoration
C.continued belief in ancient gods
D.desire to keep a link with the past
10)Crops were represented in the Chinese peasant's dresses by ________.
A.an abstact design
B.a varied pattern
C.a chequered effect
D.some wide stripes
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