2009年考研英语阅读理解PartAText4Text4.PDFVIP

新东方《考研英语历年真题详解及复习指南》 2009 年考研英语阅读理解 Part A Text 4 Text 4 ①The most thoroughly studied intellectuals in the history of the New World are the ministers and political leaders of seventeenth-century New England. ②According to the standard history of American philosophy, nowhere else in colonial America was “so much importance attached to intellectual pursuits.” ③According to many books and articles, New England’s leaders established the basic themes and preoccupations of an unfolding, dominant Puritan tradition in American intellectual life. ①To take this approach to the New Englanders normally means to start with the Puritans’ theological innovations and their distinctive ideas about the church—important subjects that we may not neglect. ②But in keeping with our examination of southern intellectual life, we may consider the original Puritans as carriers of European culture, adjusting to New World circumstances. ③The New England colonies were the scenes of important episodes in the pursuit of widely understood ideals of civility and virtuosity. ①The early settlers of Massachusetts Bay included men of impressive education and influence in England. ②Besides the ninety or so learned ministers who came to Massachusetts churches in the decade after 1629, there were political leaders like John Winthrop, an educated gentleman, lawyer, and official of the Crown before he journeyed to Boston. ③These men wrote and published extensively, reaching both New World and Old World audiences, and giving New England an atmosphere of intellectual earnestness. ①We should not forget, however, that most New Englanders were less well educated. ②While few craftsmen or farmers, let alone depend