Unit7_Rewriting_American_History
Unit 7
Rewriting American History
Frances FitzGerald
Teaching Tips
“Rewriting American History” is an exposition. Fitzgerald is making an argument, so it is important for the students to find out 1) what the author’s arguments are; 2) on what evidence the author bases her arguments; 3) how the author makes these arguments. After understanding the author’s arguments, the students can then evaluate these arguments: 1) are they convincing? and 2) how can I connect these arguments to what I already know about the subject matter? The essay is taken from FitzGerald’s journal articles/book America Revised: History Schoolbooks in the Twentieth Century, so draw your students’ attention to techniques of comparison and contrast and the ways in which FitzGerald assesses current (i.e. 1970s) history textbooks. As FitzGerald is writing about the rewriting of American history, the text contains quite a number of references to U.S. history. Give the students just enough information to enable them to understand the text, but ask them to focus more on how FitzGerald makes her argument.
Here are a few suggestions for handling the essay. Ask your students to keep these in mind while scanning the essay: 1) state what the essay is about in one or two sentences; 2) enumerate its major parts in their order and relation and outline these parts; and 3) define the problem or problems the author is trying to solve. In class, you can ask your students to 1) identify and interpret the author’s key words, for example, “rewriting”, “change”, “problems”, “patchwork”, “diversity”, etc.; 2) grasp the author’s leading propositions by dealing with her most important sentences; 3) know the author’s arguments, by constructing them out of sequences of sentences; and 4) determine which of the problems she presents the author has solved, and which she has not. At the end of the week, you can ask your students to assess FitzGerald’s writing and present good reasons for any critical judgment s they make.
Structure of the Text
Part I Introduction
(1) It is hard to imagine history textbooks as being subject to change.
Part II American History Schoolbooks Rewritten
Section I: changing history textbooks
(2-4 ) Examples of changes that have taken place
(5) It is not surprising that textbooks reflect changing scholarly research, but the changes remain shocking.
Section II: three types of changes that have taken place
(6-9) political change: patchwork replacing unity, problems replacing progress
(10-11) pedagogical change
(12-13) physical change
Part III Conclusion
(14-15) There is no perfect objectivity, but the problem with constantly changing school history textbooks is that each generation of children reads only its own generation’s textbooks and therefore learns only one particular and transient version of America, which remains their version of American history forever.
Outline and Topic Sentences:
Part I
Para. 1
Topic sentence: Those of us who grew up in the fifties believed in the permanence of our American-history textbooks.
Transitional sentence: But now the textbook histories have changed, some of them to such an extent that an adult would find them unrecognizable.
Part II
Para. 2
Topic sentence: One current junior-high-school American history begins with a story about a Negro cowboy called George McJunkin.
Example: George McJunkin, Negro cowboy, discovery of remains of an Indian civilization in 1925 →civilizations before European explorers
Para. 3
Topic sentence: Another history text—this one for the fifth grade—begins with the story of how Henry B. Gonzalez, who is a member of Congress from Texas, learned about his own nationality. Example: Henry B. Gonzalez, question of nationality: birthright or cultural heritage, melting pot vs. salad bowl
Para. 4
Topic sentence: Poor Columbus! He is a minor character now, a walk-on in the middle of American history.
Example: Columbus, prominence in U.S. history fading with time and revision, along with other self-promoting figures in U.S. history.
Para. 5
Topic sentence: Of course, when one thinks about it, it is hardly surprising that modern scholarship and modern perspectives have found their way into children’s books. Yet the changes remain shocking. Para. 6
Topic sentence: The history texts now hint at a certain level of unpleasantness in American history. Examples: the last “wild” Indian captured and displayed, child coal miners of Pennsylvania, cruelty in the American-Filipino War, cruelty of patriots against royalists in the American Revolution, and Japanese internment.
Para. 7
Topic sentence: Ideologically speaking, the histories of the fifties were implacable, seamless.
Para. 8
Topic sentence: But now the texts have changed, and with them the country that American children are growing up into.
A radical way of reconceptualizing past and future:
Society: uniform → a patchwork of wealth, ages, gender, and races
Smooth-running system → a rattletrap affair
Past future relationship: progress → change
The present: a haven of scientific advances → a tangle of problems
o Examples: problems of consumer society; problems of the poor and aged who depend on social security.
o Science and technology still deemed to be the magic bullet for social problems Para. 9
Transitional sentence: Even more surprising than the emergence of problems is the discovery that the great unity of the texts has broken.
Topic sentence: Whereas in the fifties all texts represented the same political view, current texts follow no pattern of orthodoxy.
Examples:
Portrayal of civil rights: as a series of actions taken by a wise, paternal government vs. the involvement of social upheaval
Portrayal of the Cold War: having ended vs. continuing
Para. 10
Topic sentence: The political diversity in the books is matched by a diversity of pedagogical approach. Types:
Traditional narrative histories
Focusing on particular topics with “discovery” or “inquiry” texts and chapters like case studies (with background information, explanatory notes and questions) (questions are at the heart of the matter; they force students to think much as historians think, to define the point of view of the speaker, analyze the ideas presented, question the relationship between events, and so on.)
o Example: Washington, Jefferson, and John Adams on the question of foreign alliances
Para. 11
Topic sentence: What is common to the current texts—and makes all of them different from those of the fifties—is their engagement with the social sciences.
Transitional sentence: In matters of pedagogy, as in matters of politics, there are not two sharply differentiated categories of books; rather, there is a spectrum.
Political and pedagogical spectrum:
o politically, from moderate left to moderate right;
o pedagogically, from the traditional history sermon, through a middle ground of narrative texts with inquiry-style questions and of inquiry texts with long stretches of
narrative, to the most rigorous of case-study books
Engagement with the social sciences
o“Concepts” as foundation stones for various elementary-school social-studies series ?Example: the 1970 Ha rcourt Brace Jovanovich series, “a horizontal base or ordering of conceptual schemes” to match its “vertical arm of behavioral
themes,” from easy questions to hard
o History textbooks almost always include discussions of “role,” “status,” and “culture;” some include debates between eminent social scientists, essays on
economics or sociology, or pictures and short biographies of social scientists of both
sexes and of diverse races
Para. 12
Topic sentence: Quite as striking as these political and pedagogical alterations is the change in the physical appearance of the texts.
Para. 13
Topic sentence: The use of all this art and high-quality design contains some irony.
Example of how art transcends the subject matter: child laborers, urban slum apartments, the Triangle shirtwaist-factory fire, junk yards, nuclear testing
Paragraph summary: Whereas in the nineteenth-fifties the texts were childish in the sense that they were na?ve and clumsy, they are now childish in the sense that they are polymorphous-perverse. American history is not dull any longer; it is a sensuous experience.
Part III
Para. 14
Topic sentence: The surprise that adults feel in seeing the changes in history texts must come from the lingering hope that there is somewhere out there, an objective truth.
Question: why is it disturbing to see the changes in history textbooks?
Paragraph summary: The texts, with their impersonal voices, encourage this hope that there is an objective truth, and therefore it is particularly disturbing to see how they change, and how fast. Para. 15
Topic sentence: In history, the system is reasonable—except that each generation of children reads only one generation of schoolbooks. The transient his tory is those children’s history forever—their particular version of America.
Detailed Analysis of the Text
1.Those of us who grew up in the fifties believed in the permanence of our American-
history textbooks. (Para. 1)
This is the topic sentence of Para. 1. FitzGerald starts her article by talking about how people generally believed that history textbooks would never change. She presents a few reasons why American history textbooks of that era gave the impression that they would never change: they were heavy, solemn, authoritative, imperturbable, and distant. The last sentence of the paragraph is a transitional sentence leading to a discussion of how history textbooks in the 1970s differ from those a generation earlier.
2.To us as children, those texts were the truth of things: they were American history.
(Para. 1)
Translation: 对于儿时的我们来说，历史书就代表了事实真相，因为它们是美国历史。
3.It was not just that we read them before we understood that not everything that is
printed is the truth, or the whole truth. (Para. 1)
“It” refers to the sentence that comes immediately before this one. FitzGerald discusse s why children tended to believe in the permanence and authority of history textbooks. She contends that school children already understood, by the time they read American history textbooks, that what is printed in black and white is not always true. In other words, school children did not blindly trust just any books. Something special about history textbooks set them apart from other printed material. In the rest of the paragraph, FitzGerald elaborates on the uniqueness of American history texts.
4.It was that they, much more than other books, had the demeanor and trappings of
authority. (Para. 1)
Translation: 是因为和其他书比起来，历史书看起来充满了权威。
5.They were weighty volumes. (Para. 1)
Probably FitzGerald uses “weighty” as a pun, referring to the seriousness and importance of history textbooks as well as to their thickness and heaviness.
6.They spoke in measured cadences: imperturbable, humorless, and as distant as Chinese
emperors. (Para. 1)
1)measured: (of speech or writing) carefully considered, deliberate, restrained; having a
slow, regular rhythm仔细斟酌的、慎重的；缓慢而又有节奏的
Examples: measured language; measured terms
2)Translation: 美国历史教材字斟句酌、严谨慎重、呆板无趣，而且像中国皇帝一样
拒人于千里之外。
7.Our teachers treated them with respect, and we paid them abject homage by
memorizing a chapter a week. (Para. 1)
1)homage: from the word for “man,”originally referring to the acknowledgement of
allegiance a vassal gave to a feudal lord. In modern usage, homage connotes a similar show of respect and commitment, but often in a less formal and binding relationship.
Synonyms: honor, deference, reverence, loyalty, respect, admiration, allegiance, honor
Antonyms: disrespect
Examples:
He paid homage to his ancestors by maintaining as many of his family’s Native American traditions as he could. (respect, loyalty)
The actor was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in homage to his many achievements. (honor, reverence)
2)Paraphrase: Our teachers took American history texts seriously, and we respected them
by memorizing a chapter a week.
3)The attitude of the teachers and the students further illustrates that the American history
texts in the 1950s were taken seriously and believed not to be subject to change.
8.But now the textbook histories have changed, some of them to such an extent that an
adult would find them unrecognizable. (Para. 1)
This is a transitional sentence that introduces the changes that had taken place since the 1950s.
“To such an extent that” emphasizes the amount of changes that had occurred.
9.One current junior-high-school American history begins with a story about a Negro
cowboy called George McJunkin. (Para. 2)
1)junior-high-school: this hyphenated phrase modifies American history. When a phrase is
used to modify a noun, it is often hyphenated, for example, state-of-the-art scientific and engineering knowledge and expertise; an up-to-the-minute report.
2)George McJunkin’s story shows that new discoveries may change the writing of history.
McJunkin’s discovery led to archaeological excavations that identified Native American activities near present-day New Mexico ten thousand years ago. On the other hand, McJunkin came upon the Indian relics in 1925, but it was nearly fifty years later that this discovery found its way into a textbook. This suggests the gap between the latest historical discoveries and the writing of textbooks. Yet more importantly, the discussion of Indian civilizations before the European colonization of North America became a critical part of historical discourse after the 1960s civil rights movements. The rise of multiculturalism disrupted the white-male-Anglo-Saxon-centered perspective and
destabilized the centrality of 1492 (Christopher Columbus’s “discovery” of America) to American history. FitzGerald also illustrates with the McJunkin example that social science—in this case the discussion of the word “culture”—became a staple in American history textbooks in the 1970s.
10. It appears that when McJunkin was riding down a lonely trail in New Mexico one cold
spring morning in 1925 he discovered a mound containing bones and stone implements, which scientists later proved belonged to an Indian civilization ten thousand years old.
(Para. 2)
1)lonely: (of a place) unfrequented and remote偏僻的、荒凉的、人迹罕至的。Example:
a lonely stretch of country lane; dark, lonely streets
2)trail: a beaten path through rough country乡间小路、林间小径
Other usages of trail (noun):
a large area of woodland with hiking and walking trails (a route along a series of paths or
roads, often one that has been planned and marked out for a particular purpose)
a trail of blood on the grass; The typhoon has left a trail of death and destruction across
much of central Japan (a mark or a series of signs or objects left behind by a passage of someone or something)
a Democratic candidate on the campaign trail (all the places that a politician visits in the
period before an election)
3)implement: (noun) a tool, utensil, or other piece of equipment, especially as used for a
particular purpose
Examples: agricultural implements; garden implements; writing implements
When “implement” is used as a verb, it means “put (a plan, decision, agreement, etc.) into effect.” Example: The government promised to implement a new system to control financial loan institutions.
4)The relative clause “which scientists later proved belonged to an Indian civilization ten
thousand years old” modifies “bones and stone implements.”科学家们后来证明这些骨骸和石器属于一万年前的印第安文明。
11.The book goes on to say that scientists now believe there were people in the Americas at
least twenty thousand years ago. (Para. 2)
the Americas: 南北美洲
12.When he was ten years old, his teacher told him he was an American because he was
born in the United States. (Para. 3)
The teacher referred to the U.S. practice of unconditional birthright citizenship conferred by jus soli (Latin, right of the soil), i.e. the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship.
13.His grandmother, however, said, “The cat was born in the oven. Does that make him
bread?” (Para. 3)
Gonzalez’s grandmother ridiculed the idea of citizenship based on unconditional jus soli, saying that where one was born does not determine who s he is. The grandmother’s words show the contested history of the borderland and citizenship.
14.After reporting that Mr. Gonzalez eventually went to college and law school, the book
explains that “the melting pot idea hasn’t worked out as some thought it would,” and that now “some people say that the people of the United States are more like a salad bowl than a melting pot.” (Para. 3)
“Salad bowl” and “melting pot” are metaphors that describe societies with multiple racial and ethnic groups. In the salad bowl model, various ethnic cultures are juxtaposed—like salad ingredients—but do not merge into a single homogeneous culture. Each culture keeps its own
distinct qualities. This idea proposes a society of many individual cultures in addition to the mixed, core culture. The more traditional melting pot model refers to a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements “melting together” into a harmonious whole with a common culture. It suggests that ethnic groups may be unable to preserve their cultures due to assimilation. The exact term “melting pot” came into general usage in the United States after it was used as a metaphor describing a fusion of nationalities, cultures and ethnicities in the 1908 play of the same title. Proponents of multiculturalism question the desirability of assimilation and the melting pot model. They suggested alternative metaphors to describe current American society, such as a mosaic, salad bowl, or kaleidoscope. Others argue that cultural assimilation is important to the maintenance of national unity, and should be promoted.
15.Poor Columbus! He is a minor character now, a walk-on in the middle of American
History. (Para. 4)
1)walk-on: a minor role in which the actor has no or very few speaking lines小角色、跑
龙套的演员
2)Note the different methods that FitzGerald uses to demonstrate the rewriting of American
history: a minor character now, a walk-on, suffer from time and revision; disappear, fade away, give way to, no longer, give place to, reconstruct, change from… to…, in stead of, etc. The variation of words, phrases, and sentence patterns create a clear and diversified style.
3)Paragraph 4 starts with an exclamation “Poor Columbus!” Here FitzGerald brings into
focus the changes of cast and storyline in the 1970s American history textbooks: major characters relegated to minor roles, new characters introduced, and stories of glory replaced by those of resistance.
16.Even those books that have not replaced his picture with a Mayan temple or an Iroquois
mask do not credit him with discovering America—even for the Europeans. (Para. 4) Note the verb phras es of “credit”:
The screenplay is credited to one American and two Japanese writers.
In the old days, many herbs were credited with healing powers.
17.The Vikings, they say, preceded him to the New World, and after that the Europeans,
having lost or forgotten their maps, simply neglected to cross the ocean again for five hundred years. (Para. 4)
neglect to do something: fail to do something
Slight, disregard, neglect, overlook mean to pay no or too little attention to someone or something. To slight is to give only superficial attention to something important: to slight one’s colleague. To disregard is to pay no attention to a person or thing: to disregard the rules;
in some circumstances, to disregard may be admirable: to disregard a handicap. To neglect is to fail to pay sufficient attention to a person or thing: to neglect one’s correspondence. To overlook is to fail to see someone or something (possibly because of carelessness): to overlook a bill that is due.
18.Columbus is far from being the only personage to have suffered from time and revision.
(Para. 4)
Paraphrase: Columbus is not the only historical figure who has been forgotten or marginalized by the rewriting of school history textbooks.
personage: a person (often used to express their importance, or elevated status)
Person, individual, and personage are terms applied to human beings. Person is the most general and common word: the average person. Individual views a person as standing alone or as a single member of a group: the characteristics of the individual. Personage is used
(sometimes ironically) of an outstanding or illustrious person: We have a distinguished personage visiting us today.
Captain John Smith, Daniel Boone, and Wild Bill Hickok—the great self-promoters of American history—have all but disappeared, taking with them a good deal of the romance of the American frontier. (Para. 4)
1)all but: almost, very nearly.
Example: These batteries are all but dead.
2)romance: a mysterious, exciting, sentimental, or nostalgic quality, especially one
associated with a place浪漫情调、传奇色彩
Example: We want to recreate the romance and excitement that used to be part of rail journeys.
3)Paraphrase: John Smith was a colonist who established the first British colony in the
United States and Daniel Boone and Wild Bill Hickok were both associated with the settlement of the western frontier. They represent what American history used to glorify: adventurousness, exploration, and conquest, but the 1970s history textbooks no longer talked about them. They became unpopular and disappeared from the text’s pages.
19.General Custer has given way to Chief Crazy Horse; General Eisenhower no longer
liberates Europe single-handed; and, indeed, most generals, even to Washington and Lee, have faded away, as old soldiers do, giving place to social reformers such as William Lloyd Garrison and Jacob Riis. (Para. 4)
In these two sentences, FitzGerald lists the disappearance of a whole cast of prominent historical players. She uses a variety of words and phrases: disappear, give way to, no longer, fade away, give place to.
20.A number of black Americans have risen to prominence: not only George Washington
Carver but Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr. (Para. 4)
rise to prominence: become well-known or important
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Jr. is an abbreviation for “junior” in names. Note that a period (a punctuation mark “.”) is used with it. If Jr. appears at the end of a sentence, there should only be one p eriod (“.”).
21.W.E. B. Du Bois now invariably accompanies Booker T. Washington. (Para. 4)
1)invariably: always, without exception
2)accompany: be present or occur at the same time as (something else).
Example: The illness is often accompanied by nausea.
“Accompany” could also mean “to go along or in company with”(to accompany a friend on a walk) or “to play a musical accompaniment for” (He sang and Alice accompanied him on the piano).
3)W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington held vastly different views about the ways
to achieve racial equality. The history textbooks in the past included only Booker T.
Washington because he believed in accommodation with the white race and gradual equality with industrial achievement. However, the textbooks of the 1970s also discussed W. E. B. Du Bois, who advocated radical social change through agitation and protest.
The inclusion of Du Bois shows the changed perspective of textbook writers and publishers, which in turn reflects a change in political attitude on the part of the general public.
22.In addition, there is a mystery man called Crispus Attucks. A fugitive slave about whom
nothing seems to be known for certain except that he was a victim of the Boston massacre and thus became one of the first casualties of the American Revolution. (Para.
4)
1) a mystery man: mystery is used as an attributive noun here. It functions as an adjective
describing the following noun, “man.”Here mystery means “a person or thing whose identity or nature is puzzling or unknown.” Example: “He’s a bit of a mystery,” said Nina;
a mystery guest. Mysterious, when referring to a person, means “difficult or impossible to
understand, explain, or identify” (A mysterious benefactor provided the money) or “deliberately enigmatic” (She was mysterious about herself but said plenty about her husband).
2)fugitive: a person who has escaped from a place or is in hiding, especially to avoid arrest
or persecution
3)casualty: a person killed in a war or accident
4)Again, FitzGerald illustrates that many historical events, the American Revolution
included, were being subject to revision .
5)FitzGerald implies that in the decades before the 1970s, Attucks, a runaway slave, could
not have found his way into tales about the American Revolution. Its central characters were perceived as white, Anglo-Saxon loyalists who wanted to sever their ties with their mother country. In other words, it was impossible to concede that a figure such as Attucks had existed or to imagine him as part of the history of the American Revolution.
23.Thaddeus Stevens has been reconstructed—his character changed, as it were, from
black to white, from cruel and vindictive to persistent and sincere. (Para. 4)
1)as it were: seemingly, in a way. It is a shortening of “as it were so.”
Usage example: he was living in a dream world, as it were.
2)from black to white: totally changed or reconstructed
3)FitzGerald discusses how historiographical accounts of Thaddeus Stevens had shifted
dramatically over the years, from the early twentieth-century view of Stevens as reckless and motivated by hatred of the white South, to the perspective of the neo-abolitionists of the 1950s and afterwards, who applauded him for his egalitarian views and his fight in Congress to end slavery and bring about freedom and equality for African Americans. 24.As for Teddy Roosevelt, he now champions the issue of conservation instead of charging
up San Juan Hill. (Para. 4)
1)champion: to support the cause of, defend. Synonyms include support, advocate,
promote, endorse
2)conservation: preservation, protection, and restoration of the natural environment,
natural ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife
3)charge: rush forward in attack. Example: The plan is to charge headlong at the enemy.
4)FitzGerald uses two examples to show the change of attitude towards President Theodore
Roosevelt. In the 1970s, history textbooks painted Roosevelt as a man who cared deeply about the environment. He was the first president to speak out about conservation, and he greatly expanded the system of national parks and national forests. The earlier history textbooks, however, focused on his masculinity, and portrayed him as a man of courage who led the Rough Riders in a decisive victory in The Battle of San Juan Hill during the 1898 Spanish-American War.
25. No single President really stands out as a hero, but all Presidents—except certain
unmentionables in the second half of the nineteenth century—seem to have done as well as could be expected, given difficult circumstances. (Para. 4)
1)stand out: be much better or much more important than the other things of the same
kind
Examples:
He played the violin beautifully, standing out from the other musicians.
He is so tall that he always stands out in a crowd.
2)unmentionable: (noun, chiefly humorous) a person or thing too shocking or
embarrassing to be mentioned by name
Example: That subject was classed among the unmentionables.
3)as well as: in as satisfactory or good a way as
Compare and contrast the different usages of “as well as”:
After the operation, she was supposed to walk around as well as she could, without using
a cane. (in as satisfactory a way as)
He is an excellent teacher as well as a fine musician. (to the same extent as)
The editors as well as the proofreaders are working overtime. (in addition to)
4)circumstance: (usually circumstances) a fact or condition connected or relevant to an
event or action
Example: The strategy was too dangerous in the explosive circumstances of the times.
5)Paraphrase: The 1970s textbooks no longer focus on the heroism of individual
presidents. Instead, they treat the presidents as a group, and argue that, considering the tremendous difficulties they faced, most of them did fairly well. There are exceptions, of course. A few were considered to have made incorrect decisions but they were not mentioned by name.
6)FitzGerald probably had in mind Andrew Johnson, who was impeached in 1868 by the
Republican-dominated House of Representatives for a plan that aimed at quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union without giving protection for former slaves.
FitzGerald might also be thinking about Ulysses Grant whose administration was tarnished by various scandals.
7)Translation: 除了十九世纪下半叶某些无法提及的总统，没有一个总统被当成英
雄，但是考虑到当时的困境，所有总统的政绩似乎都符合人们的期待。
26. Of course, when one thinks about it, it is hardly surprising that modern scholarship and
modern perspectives have found their way into children’s books. Yet the changes remain shocking. (Para. 5)
1)scholarship: academic study or achievement; learning of a high level
Example: This book displays the considerable scholarship of its author.
Note it is different from scholarship’s other definition, “a sum of money or other aid granted to a student, because of merit, need, etc., to pursue his or her studies.”
2)perspective: a particular attitude towards or way of regarding something, a point of view
Examples:
This book offers a new historical perspective.
Most literature on the subject of immigrants in France has been written from the perspective of the French themselves.
Note the phrase in/into/out of perspective: judge its real importance in relation to everything else
You have to live here for a few years to see local conditions in perspective.
I let things get out of perspective.
3)In the earlier paragraph, FitzGerald lists many changes that an adult reader would find in
the American history textbooks of the 1970s. Paragraph 5 starts with a transitional sentence, followed by the topic sentence. FitzGerald acknowledges that one would expect new knowledge and points of view to find their way into history textbooks, but what is surprising is the degree and extent of changes.
27. Those who in the sixties complained of the bland optimism, the chauvinism, and the
materialism of their old civics text did so in the belief that, for all their protests, the texts would never change. (Para. 5)
1)complain: to express dissatisfaction or annoyance about the state of affairs or an event
Examples:
He complained constantly about the noise in the corridor.
Nurses complained of being overworked and underpaid.
Complain of also means “to state that one is suffering from a pain or other symptom of an illness,” for example, to complain of a headache.
Synonyms: Complain, grumble, whine, and rail are terms for expressing dissatisfaction or discomfort. To complain is to protest against or lament a wrong: to complain about high prices. To grumble is to utter ill-natured complaints half to oneself: to grumble about the service. To whine is to complain in a mean-spirited way, using a nasal tone: to whine like
a coward, like a spoiled child. To rail is to complain by being harsh and angry: to rail
against the paparazzi.
2)bland: lacking in special interest, liveliness, individuality, etc.; insipid; dull
3)chauvinism: exaggerated belief in the supremacy of one’s nation, class, caste, or group.
Note the pronunciation of the word. Also note that chauvinism is often used as shorthand for “male chauvinism,” a term describing the attitude s of men who believe that women are inferior and should not be given equal status with men.
4)materialism: a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more
important than spiritual values拜金主义. Note that in philosophy, materialism refers to the doctrine that nothing exists except matter and its movements and modifications唯物主义.
5)civics: (usually treated as a singular noun) the study of the rights and duties of citizenship
6)for: despite, notwithstanding. “For all their protest” is a pare nthesis, marked off by a pair
of commas. It introduces a sense of concession. If we leave out the parenthesis, the sentence is still grammatically correct.
7)Again FitzGerald points to the uniqueness of American history textbooks. At the height
of the civil rights movement, people expressed dissatisfaction about civics textbooks and regarded them as containing too much patriotism, chauvinism, and materialism. But they never expected the texts to change.
28. The thought must have had something reassuring about it, for that generation never
noticed when its complaint began to take effect and the songs about radioactive rainfall and houses made of ticky-tacky began to appear in the textbooks. (Para. 5)
1)the songs about radioactive rainfall: FitzGerald probably had in mind Bob Dylan’s “A
Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall,” written in the summer of 1962. It is a complex and powerful song built upon the question and answer refrain pattern of a traditional British ballad.
Some have suggested that the song refers to nuclear fallout, citing particularly the lines in the last verse “Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters, Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison, And the executioner’s face is always well hidden.” But Dylan disputes that this was a specific reference, and said in a 1963 interview that it “means all the lies that people get told on their radios and in their newspapers.” Whether envisioning a nuclear winter or not, the dense imagery of the song has a broad sweep and suggests injustice, suffering, pollution, and warfare.
2)(the songs about) houses made of ticky-tacky: this refers to Malvina Reynolds’s 1962
song “Little Boxes”, most notably sung by Pete Seener. “Little Boxes” is a political satire about the development of suburbia and the associated conformist middle-class attitudes.
It refers to suburban tract housing as “little boxes” of different colors “all made out of ticky-tacky,” and which “all look the same.” “Ticky-tacky” is a reference to the shoddy material used in the construction of that time. The people in the houses were the same too: they “went to the university,” “came out the same,” and became “doctors and lawyers”
and “business executives.” And “they’re all made out of ticky tacky,” and “all look just the same.”
3)六十年代的那一代人曾经认为，无论他们如何抗议，历史课本都不会改变。这个想
法一定很让人放心，因为，当他们的意见发生作用时，关于放射性降雨和粗制滥造的房子的歌曲收进历史课本，他们竟然浑然不觉。
29. But this is what happened. (Para. 5)
A very short sentence ends this paragraph. This change of pace suggests discontinuity and
contrast. It also hints at what FitzGerald will write about in the next paragraphs: the types of changes that had taken place.
30. The history texts now hint at a certain level of unpleasantness in American history.
(Para. 6)
This is the topic sentence of Paragraph 6. One revision that FitzGerald has noticed during her review of American history textbooks of the 1970s is the unpleasantness that these books suggest. American history used to be a story of unity, glory, adventure, freedom, and justice.
The list of such virtues could be very long. But the 1970s texts imply that Americans were, after all, not as innocent as previously portrayed. The examples that FitzGerald cites in this paragraph show that the textbooks start to acknowledge violence, torture, immorality, and injustice as part of American history.
31. Several books, for instance, tell the story of Ishi, the last “wild” Indian in the
continental United States, who, captured in 1911 after the massacre of his tribe, spent the final four and a half years of his life in the University of Califo rnia’s museum of anthropology, in San Francisco. (Para. 6)
1)massacre: an indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of people
Example: The attack was described as a cold-blooded massacre.
Synonyms: Slaughter, butcher, and massacre all imply violent and bloody methods of killing. Slaughter and butcher, primarily referring to the killing of animals for food, are used also of the brutal or indiscriminate killing of human beings: to slaughter cattle; to butcher a hog. Massacre indicates a general slaughtering of helpless or unresisting victims: to massacre the inhabitants of a region.
2)The main structure of the sentence is “Several books tell the story of Ishi.”
3)Ishi (1860-1916), considered the last aboriginal Native American in the United States,
left his native homeland in 1911 when he walked into a settlement near Oroville, California. He lived for the next five years in San Francisco at the University of California anthropology museum, where he was the subject of intense interest on the part of the public and the academy. The middle-aged Ishi was regarded as both a public curiosity from the Stone Age and the source of vital anthropological data on Native American life prior to European settlement. The story of Ishi hints at the “unpleasantness” of American history because, (1) white settlement obliterated Native American ways of living in the half century following the California Gold Rush of 1849;
and (2) the display of Ishi objectifies him as a museum attraction.
4)continental United States: note its difference fr om “the contiguous United States”
(“Contiguous” means sharing a common border, touching). The contiguous United States is the 48 states on the continent of North America that are south of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia. Because Alaska is also on the North American continent, the term continental United States, if interpreted literally, would also include Alaska. The Continental United States does not include Hawaii or any off-shore U.S. territories and possessions.
5)例如，有几本书讲到了美国大陆最后一个“野生”印第安人Ishi的故事。在他的族人
被屠杀殆尽之后，1911年Ishi被俘，在位于旧金山的加州大学人类学博物馆度过了生命最后的四年半。
32. At least three books show the same stunning picture of the breaker boys, the child coal
miners of Pennsylvania—ancient children with deformed bodies and blackened faces who stare stupidly out from the entrance to a mine. (Para. 6)
1)ancient: showing or feeling signs of age or wear
Example: The neighboring buildings had been updated and shuffled from owner to owner, but this one still had an ancient sign with peeling paint and faded print.
Synonyms: ancient, antiquated, antique, and old-fashioned refer to something dating from the past. Ancient implies existence or first occurrence in a distant past: an ancient custom. Antiquated connotes something too old or no longer useful: an antiquated building. Antique suggests a curious or pleasing quality in something old: antique furniture. Old-fashioned may disparage something as being out of date or may approve something old as being superior: an old-fashioned courtesy.
2)deformed: having the form changed, especially with loss of beauty; misshapen;
disfigured
Example: After the accident his arm was permanently deformed.
Synonyms: mar, deface, disfigure, and deform agree in applying to some form of injury.
Mar is general, but usually refers to an external or surface injury, if it is a physical one: The tabletop was marred by dents and scratches. Deface refers to a surface injury that may be temporary or easily repaired: a drawing defaced by penciled notations. Disfigure applies to external injury of a more permanent and serious kind: a birthmark disfigured one side of his face. Deform suggests that something has been distorted or internally injured so severely as to change its normal form or qualities, or else that some fault has interfered with its proper development: deformed by an accident that had crippled him; to deform feet by binding them.
3)stupid: in a state of near-unconsciousness or insensitivity, stunned, dazed, or stupefied呆
滞的、恍惚的、麻木的
4)至少三本书里都有同一张让人怵目惊心的照片。镜头下宾夕法尼亚州煤矿里分拣煤
炭的童工身体扭曲、满脸煤灰，从煤矿口呆滞地望出来。
33.One book quotes a soldier on the use of torture in the American campaign to pacify the
Philippines at the beginning of the century. (Para. 6)
1)quote somebody on something: mention or refer to (someone or something) to provide
evidence or authority for a statement, argument, or opinion
Examples:
Don’t quote me on this, but I think the company is in serious trouble.
They won’t be here at all in three years time—you can quote me on that.
2)pacify: to reduce to a state of submission, especially by military force
3)FitzGerald refers to the Philippine-American War, 1899-1902, an armed conflict between
the United States and Filipino revolutionaries. During the war, American soldiers attacked the countryside, often burning and destroying entire villages. Their strategies also included the use of torture (“the water cure”, for example) and the concentration of civilians into “protected zones.”
34.A number of books say that during the American Revolution the patriots tarred and
feathered those who did not support them, and drove many of the loyalists from the country. (Para. 6)
1)tar and feather: to coat (a person) with tar (a dark, thick, flammable liquid distilled from
wood or coal) and feathers as a punishment or humiliation
2)The Patriots and the Loyalists were two factions in the American Revolution (1765-1783).
The Loyalists tended to have longstanding social and economic connections to British merchants and government, while the Patriots tended to be yeoman farmers, craftsmen, and small merchants. The Loyalists thought resistance to the Crown—which they insisted was the only legitimate government—was morally wrong; the patriots thought morality was on their side, as they viewed independence as a means to gain freedom from British oppression and taxation, and above all, to reassert what they considered to be their rights as English subjects. The Patriots resorted to violence, such as burning houses and tarring and feathering, to alienate the Loyalists. In Salem, Massachusetts,in 1767, mobs attacked
low-level employees of the customs service with tar and feathers. A few similar attacks followed through 1774. In the same year, the Patriots suppressed the Loyalists and expelled all royal officials.
35.Almost all the present-day history books note that the United States interned Japanese-
Americans in detention camps during the Second World War. (Para. 6)
1)intern: to detain or confine (foreign or enemy citizens, etc.), especially during wartime.
Its noun form, internment, should not be confused with i nterment (“the burial of a corpse in a grave or tomb”) or internship (“working, sometimes without pay, at a trade or occupation in order to gain work experience”). (“intern” is used of people only; ships can be “seized” or “arrested”.)
2)FitzGerald refers to the Japanese American Internment during World War II. Shortly
after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, over 120,000 U.S. residents of Japanese heritage, two thirds of whom were American citizens, were incarcerated under armed guard. With no crimes committed, no trials, and no convictions, Japanese Americans, particularly those on the West Coast, were rounded-up in “War Relocation Centers” and Department of Justice’s detention camps. The last internment camp was closed by the end of 1945.
36.Ideologically speaking, the histories of the fifties were implacable, seamless. (Para. 7)
1)This is the topic sentence of Para. 7. FitzGerald talks about the characteristics of the
history textbooks published in the 1950s. What makes these textbooks different from the ones a generation later is their ideological unity. They tell one story, a single truth.
2)Translation:
从意识形态上来说，五十年代写就的历史书坚如磐石、天衣无缝。
37.Inside their covers, America was perfect: the greatest nation in the world, and the
embodiment of democracy, freedom, and technological progress. (Para. 7)
1)embodiment: someone or something that symbolizes or represents a quality or an idea
exactly. If something is an embodiment, it embodies (symbolizes, represents) something else. The noun embodiment and the verb embody are usually used to describe a positive symbol or representation of something else, although they can also be used to describe someone or something that represents evil.
Synonym:
Embodiment is synonymous with personification. Personification is used to describe a person representing or being a perfect example of something. (i.e.: She personifies kindness.) Embodiment is used more to describe inanimate things, but can also be used to describe people who exemplify an idea.
Examples:
The Statue of Liberty is the embodiment of freedom and opportunity in the United States.
(representation, symbol)
The company’s new cruise ship is the embodiment of luxury. (symbol, personification)
2)Paraphrase: In 1950s school history textbooks, textbook writers and editors portrayed
the United States as a perfect nation and a symbol of democracy, freedom, and technological progress.
38.To my generation—the children of the fifties—these texts appeared permanent just
because they were so self-contained. (Para. 7)
permanent: lasting or continuing without interruption
self-contained: (of a thing) complete, or having all that is needed, in itself
Paraphrase:
The textbooks of the fifties seemed safe from change because their ideas seemed truthful and could not be challenged.
39.Their orthodoxy, it seemed, left no handholds for attack, no lodging for decay. (Para. 7)
This is an explanation of the earlier sentence, an elaboration of what FitzGerald meant by “permanent” and “self-contained.”
handhold: something for a hand to grip
lodging: being fixed, implanted, or caught in a place or position
decay: the process of declining in quality, power, or vigor
Paraphrase:
It seemed that the ideas that the textbooks advocated could not possibly be challenged and that they would remain true forever.
Translation:
历史书的正统观念看起来无懈可击, 永不衰败。
40.Who, after all, would dispute the wonders of technology or the superiority of the English
colonialists over the Spanish? Who would find fault with the pastorale of the West or the Old South? Who would question the anti-Communist crusade? (Para. 7)
1）after all: in spite of any indications or expectations to the contrary. The phrase is used for emphasis, meaning, no one could dispute, find fault with, or question, the orthodoxies to be found in American history textbooks.
Note how FitzGerald uses three synonyms—“dispute,” “find fault with,” and “question”—to express the same idea.
41.There was, it seemed, no point in comparing these visions with reality, since they were
the public truth and were thus quite irrelevant to what existed and to what anyone privately believed. (Para. 7)
FitzGerald discusses why the ideas put forward in the 1950s history textbooks seemed self-contained. She argues that people hardly thought about questioning the truthfulness of the textbooks because the textbo oks seemed to occupy a separate realm. It didn’t matter that what was written in the textbooks was different from what actually happened or from what people believed.
42.They were—or so it seemed—the permanent expression of mass culture in America.
(Para. 7)
so it seemed: it appeared that it was true
“They” refers to the orthodoxies contained in the history textbooks.
Translation:
至少看起来是这样，这些观点是美国大众文化的永恒体现。
43.But now the texts have changed, and with them the country that American children are
growing up into. (Para. 8)
This is the transition and topic sentence of Para. 8. In the earlier paragraphs, FitzGerald discussed the features of school history textbooks in the 1950s; now she is taking up the issue of textbooks of the 1970s. FitzGerald also indicates the importance of history textbooks in creating a certain image of America.
44.The society that was once uniform is now a patchwork of rich and poor, old and young,
men and women, blacks, whites, Hispanics, and Indians. (Para. 8)
patchwork: a thing composed of many different elements so as to appear variegated.
Example: a patchwork of cribbed ideas
Patchwork originally means “needle work in which small pieces of cloth in different designs, colors, or textures are sewn together.”
45.The system that ran so smoothly by means of the Constitution under the guidance of
benevolent conductor Presidents is now a rattletrap affair. (Para. 8)
1)by means of: with the help of; by the agency of; through
Examples:
We crossed the stream by means of a log.
He succeeded by means of sheer persistence.
2)rattletrap: an old or rickety vehicle
3)benevolent: well-meaning and kindly; desiring to help others
4)This sentence contains a metaphor, comparing the political, economic and social system
of the country to a train, and presidents to the conductor.
5)Translation: 过去依据宪法有章可循，依靠总统仁慈善为，国家运转顺利，但是现
在整个体系都变得破旧不堪，岌岌可危。
46.The past is no highway to the present; it is a collection of issues and events that do not fit
together and that lead in no single direction. (Para. 8)
Paraphrase: The past is not a direct course to the present; things do not run smoothly and progressively any more. Instead, the past is a collection of scattered issues and events. They do not form an organic whole or progress in any single direction.
47.The word “progress” has been replaced by the word “change”: children, the modern
texts insist, should learn history so that they can adapt to the rapid change taking place around them. (Para. 8)
Progress indicates a movement toward a goal or to a further or higher stage. It also indicates development in a direction considered more beneficial than and superior to the previous level.
It indicates advancement and improvement. Change, on the other hand, implies difference, transformation, modification, and alteration.
48.History is proceeding in spite of us. (Para. 8)
proceed: (of an action) be carried on or continued.
Synonyms: Advance, move on, proceed all imply movement forward. Advance applies to forward movement, especially toward an objective: to advance to a platform. Proceed emphasizes movement, as from one place to another, and often implies continuing after a halt: to proceed on one’s journey. Move on is similar in meaning to proceed; it does not, however, imply a definite goal: The crowd was told to move on.
in spite of: without being affected by the particular factor mentioned
Paraphrase: No matter what we think or do, history is moving forward. History is not adapting to us. We need to adapt to the way history develops.
49.The present, which was once portrayed in the concluding chapters as a peaceful haven
of scientific advances and Presidential inaugurations, is now a tangle of problems: race problems, urban problems, foreign-policy problems, problems of pollution, poverty, energy depletion, youthful rebellion, assassination, and drugs. (Para. 8)
1) a tangle of: a confused mass of something twisted together; a confused or complicated
state; a muddle.
Examples: a tangle of golden hair; a tangle of contradictory statements
2)The main structure of the sentence is “The present is now a tangle of problems.” It
includes a comparison between how history books end in the present (a tangle of problems) and ended the past (a peaceful haven of scientific advances and Presidential inaugurations).
3)Translation: 以前的历史书在末尾章节总是会提到科学进步和总统大选，把当代社
会描绘成宁静美好的天堂，但是如今的历史书总是以各种各样的问题结束：种族问题、城市问题、外交问题、以及污染、贫困、能源枯竭、青春叛逆、暗杀、毒品等等。
50.Some books illustrate these problems dramatically. (Para. 8)
FitzGerald discusses two different ways in which history textbooks write about “problems”: “some books illustrate these problems dramatically”; “other books present current problems less starkly.”
51.One, for instance, contains a picture of a doll half buried in a mass of untreated sewage;
the caption reads, “Are we in danger of being overwhelme d by the products of our society, and wastage created by their production?” (Para. 8)
untreated: not preserved, improved, or altered by the use of a chemical, physical, or biological agent. Example: Untreated sewage is pumped directly into the sea
caption: a title or brief explanation appended to an article, illustration, cartoon, or poster wastage: something that is wasted; waste materials.
Example: The river was befouled by factory waste ( or wastage).
Synonyms: waste and wastage are to some extent interchangeable, but many people think that wastage should not be used to refer to loss resulting from human carelessness, inefficiency, etc.: a waste (not a wastage) of time/money/effort, etc.
52.Two books show the same picture of an old black woman sitting in a straight chair in a
dingy room, her hands folded in graceful resignation; the surrounding text discusses the problems faced by the urban poor and by the aged who depend on Social Security.
(Para. 8)
dingy: of a dark, dull, or dirty color or aspect; lacking brightness or freshness
graceful: if a person’s behavior is graceful, it is polite, kind, and pleasant, especially in difficult situations
Examples:
Aubrey could think of no graceful way to escap e Corbet’s comp any.
He was charming, cheerful, and graceful under pressure.
resignation: an accepting, unresisting attitude, state, etc.; submission; acquiescence
Examples:
to meet one’s fate with resignation
There was no grief in his expression, only deep resignation.
her hands folded in graceful resignation: 她双手交叉，得体却无奈
53.Other books present current problems less starkly. (Para. 8)
starkly: harshly, unpleasantly, grimly
Example: The drafting committee presented the issue starkly and brutally.
54.They have today the means to conquer poverty, disease, and ignorance. (Para. 8)
means: available resources
conquer: gain a victory over, surmount, overcome
Example: to conquer one’s fear
Defeat, conquer, overcome, subdue imply gaining a victory or control over an opponent.
Defeat suggests beating or frustrating: to defeat an enemy in battle. Conquer implies finally gaining control over, usually after a series of efforts or against systematic resistance: to conquer a country, one’s inclinations. Overcome emphasizes surmounting difficulties in prevailing over an antagonist: to overcome opposition, bad habits. Subdue means to conquer so completely that resistance is broken: to subdue a rebellious spirit.
55.Such passages have a familiar ring. (Para. 8)
have a familiar ring: sound or seem as though one has already heard of something.
Example: That story has a familiar ring; I’m sure I’ve read it before.
Paraphrase: Such paragraphs remind us of an earlier version of how technological advances were looked upon as the magic bullet for all sorts of problems.
56.Amid all the problems, the deus ex machina of science still dodders around in the
gloaming of pious hope. (Para. 8)
pious hope: a wish or hope that is unlikely to be fulfilled
FitzGerald uses personification to describe how people have placed unrealistic hope in the power of science—science lingers on as “a god from a machine” that…though unrealistic hopes for its efficacy persist.
Paraphrase: Americans still look upon science as an easy solution to all the problems, although we all know this is a hope that is unlikely to be fulfilled.
Translation: 在问题面前，美国人仍然希望科学之神能够从天而降，神奇地解决一切问题，但这样的愿望虚无缥缈、不切实际。
57.Even more surprising than the emergence of problems is the discovery that the great
unity of the texts has broken. (Para. 9)
This is the transitional sentence, introducing another change that FitzGerald has observed in 1970s history textbooks.
Paraphrase: Not only do problems replace progress, but there is also no longer a unifying message that the texts seek to convey.
58.Whereas in the fifties all texts represented the same political view, current texts follow
no pattern of orthodoxy. (Para. 9)
Paraphrase: Current texts differ from texts in the 1950s in that they do not follow a generally accepted doctrine.
59.Some books, for instance, portray civil-rights legislation as a series of actions taken by a
wise, paternal government; others convey some suggestion of the social upheaval involved and make mention of such people as Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X. In some books, the Cold War has ended; in others, it continues. (Para. 9)
1)paternal: fatherly; relating to or characteristic of a father, esp. in showing affection,
encouragement, etc. Paternal suggests a kindly, proprietary attitude: paternal interest
2) a wise, paternal government: a government that makes the right decisions for the people,
just like a father who takes good care of his children.
3)upheaval: strong or violent change or disturbance, as in a society
Example: the upheaval of war
4)FitzGerald uses two examples, civil rights legislation and the Cold War, to show that
history textbooks of the 1970s present a spectrum of political interpretations of historical events. She observes that the books differ in their views on what brought about the civil rights legislation. Some credit it to a wise and responsible government; others to radical civil rights activists. The assessment of the Cold War is also different: some argue that it has ended while others contend that it is still there.
60.The political diversity in the books is matched by a diversity of pedagogical approach.
(Para. 10)
This is a transitional sentence, introducing a second aspect of the change to be found in 1970s textbooks. In this paragraph, FitzGerald explains that there is a diversity of methodological approaches now, from more traditional narrative histories to the newer “discovery” or “inquiry” texts. These texts differ from traditional narrative histories in a number of ways: 1) they deal with a few specific issues in American history; 2) they include both primary and secondary sources that present different perspectives and possibly conflicting views; 3) they provide the student with background information, explanatory notes, and a series of questions so that they can critically interpret and reflect on history.
61.In addition to the traditional narrative histories, with their endless streams of facts,
there are so-called “discovery,” or “inquiry” texts, which deal with a limited number of specific issues in American history. (Para. 10)
narrative history: narrative history tells a story: when, where, and why a certain event occurred, its larger significance or context, and who the important participants were.
Traditional narrative history focuses on the chronological order of history. It is event-driven and tends to center upon individuals, actions, and intentions.
stream: a continuous series or succession
Example: a stream of cars
62.These texts do not pretend to cover the past; they focus on particular topics, such as
“stratification in Colonial society” or “slavery and the American Revolution,” and illustrate them with documents from primary and secondary sources. (Para. 10)
illustrate: to make clear; explain
primary sources: a primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an insider view of a particular event. Some types of primary sources include: original documents, creative works, relics or artifacts.
secondary sources: a secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the events. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. Some types of secondary sources include publications such as newspaper and magazine articles, monographs, commentaries, encyclopedias, etc.
63. The chapters in these books amount to something like case studies, in that they include
testimony from people with different perspectives or conflicting views on a single subject. (Para. 10)
amount to: to be equal in meaning, value, or effect
64. The questions are the heart of the matter, for when they are carefully selected they
force students to think much as historians think: to define the point of view of the speaker, analyze the ideas presented, question the relationship between events, and so on. (Para. 10)
heart: the central, vital, or main part; real meaning; essence; core
point of view: standpoint; the way in which something is viewed or considered
to define the point of view of the speaker, analyze the ideas presented, question the relationship between events: (pay attention to the collocations) 明确说话人的角度、分析提出的观点、质疑事件之间的关系
65. One text, for example, quotes Washington, Jefferson, and John Adams on the question
of foreign alliances and then asks, “What did John Adams assume that the international situation would be after the American Revolution? What d id Washington’s attitude toward the French Alliance seem to be? How do you account for his attitude?” Finally, it asks, “Should a nation adopt a policy toward alliances and cling to it consistently, or should it vary its policies toward other countries as circumstances change?” (Para. 10) FitzGerald illustrates how questions in the inquiry texts work. The text first asks the student to grasp each person’s arguments, and understand how they came up with these ideas. It then asks the student to reflect on these arguments and respond to them.
account for: to give satisfactory reasons or an explanation for
cling to: to remain attached, as to an idea, hope, memory, etc.
Example: Despite unfavorable predictions, the candidate clung to the belief that he would be elected.
66. In these books, history is clearly not a list of agreed-upon facts which must be ordered
by the historians. (Para. 10)
1)This is a summary of how “discovery” and “inquiry” texts are different from narrative
histories. With the new texts, students learn to think as historians instead of memorizing “historical facts” and a chronology that historians have put together.
2)order: to put or keep in order; organize; arrange
3)Paraphrase: In these books, history is clearly not a sequenced listing, by historians, of
things that happened.
67. In matters of pedagogy, as in matters of politics, there are not two sharply
differentiated categories of books; rather, there is a spectrum. (Para. 11)
1)After discussing in detail “discovery”, or “inquiry”, texts in the previous paragraph,
FitzGerald explains that, just as there is a variety of political approaches in 1970s history textbooks, there is similarly a variety of pedagogical approaches.
2)matter: a situation, state, or affair事情、状况、问题
Examples:
It is clear that she wanted to discuss some private matter.
Until the matter is resolved, the athletes will be ineligible to compete.
3)spectrum: a broad range of varied but related ideas or objects, the individual features of
which tend to overlap so as to form a continuous series or sequence系列、范围
Examples:
the spectrum of political beliefs
The term “special needs” covers a wide spectrum of problems
4)Paraphrase: Rather than diametrically different teaching methods, there is a broad range
of pedagogical approaches, just as there is a variety of political viewpoints.
68.Politically, the books run from moderate left to moderate right; pedagogically, they run
from the traditional history sermon, through a middle ground of narrative texts with inquiry-style questions and of inquiry texts with long stretches of narrative, to the most rigorous of case-study books. (Para. 11)
1)In this sentence FitzGerald explains what she means by “spectrum.”
2)“Left” and “right” refer to the left-right political spectrum, which is a system of
classifying political positions, ideologies and parties. Left-wing politics are political positions or activities that accept or support social equality, often in opposition to social hierarchy and social inequality. It typically involves a concern for those in society who are perceived as disadvantaged relative to others and an assumption that there are unjustified inequalities that need to be reduced or abolished. Right-wing politics are political positions or activities that accept or support social hierarchy or social inequality.
Those affiliated with the Right consider social hierarchy and social inequality as either inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically justifying this position on the basis of natural law or tradition. The moderate left/right describes adherence to views leaning to the left/right but closer to the center on the left-right political spectrum.
3)sermon: any serious talk on behavior, responsibility, etc., esp. a long, tedious one
4)middle ground: an intermediate position between opposing ideas, conflicting viewpoints,
etc., by which reconciliation or compromise may be achieved
Example: Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground
5)stretch: an unbroken length, tract, or space; continuous extent or distance
Example: a long stretch of beach
69. What is common to the current texts—and makes all of them different from those of
the fifties—is their engagement with the social sciences. (Para. 11)
Paraphrase: Despite the broad spectrum of ideological viewpoints and methodological approaches, the 1970s textbooks share a common feature—the involvement of social