Culture is a word in common use with complex meanings, and is derived, like the term
broadcasting, from the treatment and care of the soil and of what grows on it. It is directly related to
cultivation and the adjectives cultural and cultured are part of the same verbal complex. A person of
culture has identifiable attributes, among them a knowledge of and interest in the arts, literature,
and music. Yet the word culture does not refer solely to such knowledge and interest nor, indeed, to
education. At least from the 19th century onwards, under the influence of anthropologists and
sociologists, the word culture has come to be used generally both in the singular and the plural
(cultures) to refer to a whole way of life of people, including their customs, laws, conventions, and
values
Distinctions have consequently been drawn between primitive and advanced culture and
cultures, between elite and popular culture, between popular and mass culture, and most recently
between national and global cultures. Distinctions have been drawn too between culture and
civilization; the latter is a word derived not, like culture or agriculture, from the soil, but from the
city. The two words are sometimes treated as synonymous. Yet this is misleading. While civilization
and barbarism are pitted against each other in what seems to be a perpetual behavioural pattern, the
use of the word culture has been strongly influenced by conceptions of evolution in the 19th century
and of development in the 20th century. Cultures evolve or develop. They are not static. They have twists and turns. Styles change. So do fashions. There are cultural processes. What, for example, the word cultured means has changed substantially since the study of classical (that is, Greek and Roman) literature, philosophy, and history ceased in the 20th century to be central to school and university education. No single alternative focus emerged, although with computers has come electronic culture, affecting kinds of study, and most recently digital culture. As cultures express themselves in new forms not everything gets better or more civilized. The multiplicity of meanings attached to the word made and will make it difficult to define. There is no single, unproblematic definition, although many attempts have been made to establish one. The only non-problematic definitions go back to agricultural meaning (for example, cereal
culture or strawberry culture) and medical meaning (for example, bacterial culture or penicillin
culture). Since in anthropology and sociology we also acknowledge culture clashes, culture shock,
and counter-culture, the range of reference is extremely wide.
1. According to the passage, the word culture____.
A. is related to the preparation and use of land for farming
B. develops from Greek and Roman literature and history
C. comes from a source that has not been identified
D. derives from the same root as civilization does
2. It is stated in paragraph 1 that a cultured person_____.
A. has a job related to cultivation
B. takes care of the soil and what grows on it
C. has knowledge of arts, literature, and music
D. does a job relevant to education
3. The author remarks that culture and civilization are the two words that_____.
A. share the same word formation pattern
B. are both related to agriculture and cultivation
C. have nearly the same meaning
D. do not develop from the same meaning
4. It can be inferred from the passage that since the 20th century______.
A. schools and universities have not taught classical literature, philosophy, and history
B. classical literature, philosophy, and history have been considered as core subjects
C. classical literature, philosophy, and history have not been taught as compulsory subjects
D. all schools and universities have taught classical literature, philosophy, and history
5. The word “attributes” in paragraph 1 most likely means______.
A. aspects B. fields C. qualities D. skills
6. The word “static” in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by “_____”.
A. regular B. balanced C. unchangedD. dense
7. Which of the following is NOT stated in the passage?
A. Anthropology and sociology have tried to limit the references to culture
B. . Distinctions have been drawn between culture and civilization.
C. The word culture can be used to refer to a whole way of life of people
D. The use of the word culture has been changed since the 19th century
8. It is difficult to give the definitions of the word culture EXCEPT for its______.
A. agricultural and medical meanings
B. historical and figurative meanings
C. philosophical and historical meanings
D. sociological and anthropological meanings
9. Which of the following is NOT true about the word culture?
A. It is a word that cannot be defined.
B. Its use has been considerably changed
C. It differs from the word civilization
D. It evolves from agriculture
10. The passage mainly discusses______.
A. the distinction between culture and civilization
B. the figurative meanings of the word culture
C. the derivatives of the word culture
D. the multiplicity of meanings of the word culture
