Passage FourQuestions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:

Surprisingly, modern historians have rarely been interested in the history of the American South in the period before the South began to become self-consciously “Southern”. Consequently, the cultural history of Britain’s North American Empire in the 17th and 18th centuries has been written almost as if the Southern colonies had never existed. The American culture that emerged during the Colonial periods has been depicted¹ as having been simply an extension of New England Puritan culture. However, Professor Davis has recently argued that the South stood apart from the rest of American society during this early period, following its own unique pattern of cultural development. The case for Southern distinctiveness² rests upon two related premises(前提): the first: the cultural similarities among the five Southern colonies were far more impressive than the differences; the second: what made those colonies alike also made them different from other colonies. The first, for which Davies offers an enormous amount of evidence, ; the second is far more problematic.
What makes the second premise³ problematic is the use of the Puritan colonies as a basis for comparison. Quite properly, Davis condemns⁴ the excessive influence ascribed by historians to the Puritans in the formation of American culture. Yet Davis carelessly adds weight to such ascriptions by using the puritans as the standard against which to assess the achievements and contributions of Southern colonials. Throughout, Davis focuses on the important differences between the Southern and Puritan colonies in patterns of early settlement, in attitudes toward nature and Native Americans, and in the degree of receptivity (接受能力) to metropolitan⁵ cultural influences.

However, recent scholarship has strongly suggested that aspects of early New England culture that seem to have been most distinctly puritan, such as the strong religious orientation⁶, were largely confined to the  Massachusetts and Connecticut.

36.According to the first paragraph, modern historians____.
A) are not interested in the history of American South
B) are more interested in the history of American South
C) are not interested in the history of American South colonies
D) are seldom interested in the history of American South colonies

37.The author mainly attempts to argue about____.
A)the influence of puritan culture on the early American south
B)〖JP3〗the distinctiveness of the early American South culture
C)early American culture was similar in nature
D)the American South made greater contributions to early American culture than Puritan New England did.

38.According to Professor Davis, the culture of American South colonies ____.
A) has its own uniqueness
B) differs greatly from each other
C) is similar to Puritan Culture
D) is problematic

39.According to the author, the depiction⁷ of American culture during the Colonial periods reflects the fact that____.
A) American culture was influenced by the religious orientation of the colonists⁸
B) historians overestimated⁹ the influence of Puritans on American culture
C) Massachusetts served as cultural models for the other American colonies
D) colonial America resisted Puritan cultural patterns

40.The author is in agreement with which of the following elements of Davis’ book.
ⅠDavis’ argument that there were significant differences between Puritan and Southern culture during the Colonial period.
ⅡDavis’ thesis that the cultural of Southern colonies differs a lot from each other.
A) I and II.B) II only.C) I only.D) None.

内容概要:本文讨论了戴威斯教授对殖民时期美国南部文化的看法。殖民时期英国的清教徒文化对美国社会影响深远，使美国没有自己的文化特色。戴威斯教授却认为美国南部文化有它的独立性。作者就这一看法进行了讨论。

36.【答案】D。
【译文】根据第一段，现代历史学家很少对美国南部殖民地的历史感兴趣。
【试题分析】细节推理题。
【详细解答】见第一段第一句话，“modern historians have rarely been interested in the history of the American South in the period before the South began to become self-consciously‘Southern’” 由此可以推断出 D)为正确答案。

37.【答案】B。
【译文】作者主要讨论了美国南部文化独特性的问题。
【试题分析】主旨题。
【详细解答】第一段介绍了戴威斯教授的观点，认为美国南部文化有它的独立性。接下来作者反驳了戴威斯教授的观点中不正确的方面。所以作者主要旨在讨论美国南部文化独特性的问题，B)为正确答案。

38.【答案】A。
【译文】在戴威斯教授看来，美国南部殖民地的文化有自己的独特性。
【试题分析】细节推理题。
【详细解答】见第一段第四句，“However, Professor Davis has recently argued that the South...following its own unique pattern of cultural development”由此知A)为正确答案。

39.【答案】B。
【译文】在作者看来，对殖民时期的美国文化的描述反映了历史学家过分估计了清教徒文化对美国文化的影响。
【试题分析】细节推理题。
【详细解答】见第二段第二句，“Quite properly, Davis condemns the excessive influence ascribed by historians to the Puritans in the formation of American culture.”历史学家们过分地归结了清教徒对美国文化形成的重要性，戴威斯教授对此做出了恰当的批评。由此可推断出，作者同意戴威斯教授的观点，认为历史学家过分强调了清教徒对美国文化的影响。

40.【答案】C。
【译文】作者同意殖民时期美国南部文化与清教徒文化有重要的区别。
【试题分析】判断推理题。
【详细解答】由上题可知，作者同意戴威斯教授的观点，殖民时期美国南部文化与清教徒文化有重要的区别，而II戴威斯教授认为南部文化之间区别很大，与文中提到的观点相反，见第一段倒数第二句，“the first: the cultural similarities among the five Southern colonies were far more impressive than the differences”表明南部文化的相似大于不同，所以为错误答案。