Text 2
While anti-slavery sentiment eventually dictated policy in both the United States and Great Britain, the course of abolition differed greatly in the two nations. In America, the institution of slavery was strongly defended in a debate that ultimately resulted in the Civil War of 1860. In Britain, by contrast, slavery was done away with by 1807 and barred throughout its colonial possessions by 1833. In analyzing Britain’s course, historians have well documented the influences of economic change, humanitarian protest and reform movement.
One factor that has been largely ignored by scholars, however, is the impetus that was provided by children’s literature. This medium gained great popularity in Britain during the last half of the 18th century and provided direct access to young, impressionable minds. Consequently, children’s literature constituted the perfect vehicle for the spreading of humanitarian ideas and played a vital role in creating anti-slavery concerns.
In 1761, John Newberry’s Tom Telescope included the first known reference to the slave trade in children’s literature. Tom, the book’s hero, took issue with a man who was fond of his household pet yet, as a slave merchant, thought “nothing of separating the husband from the wife, the parents from the children.” Slavery was not only cruel and oppressive, Tom seemed to be saying, but it was also irrational and contrary to natural law. Written before much of the horrors of the Atlantic slave trade were revealed, Tom Telescope contained an implicit message. Soon afterwards, writers and publishers were in a position to be more explicit. One of the leaders in this movement was the Society of Friends who, in 1787, published Little Truths. Passages in this work directly related conditions aboard slave ships: “children were in the ship, pressed like fishes in a barrel.”
Around the turn of the 18th century, blacks were introduced for the first time as main characters in children’s literature. An early example of this device is found in Thomas Day’s immensely popular The History of Sandford and Merton, in which a black beggar miraculously rescues Harry Sandford from a raging bull. Significantly, Day says very little about the institution of slavery itself, but the reader is left with no doubt that it is inhuman and cruel.
While it would be misleading to assume that every children’s book published between 1750 and 1850 contained anti-slavery sentiments, the numbers are significant enough to suggest that they played a vital role in shaping their attitudes toward blacks. At the same time, even when the capabilities of blacks were recognized, there was always a tendency to depict them as different rather than equal. Perhaps unwittingly, children’s literature helped to form a stereotype that --- while successfully attacking slavery --- also strengthened the 19th century Englishmen’s sense of racial superiority. (457 words)
Notes: dictate vt. 口授；強(qiáng)行制定。take issue with 與…爭(zhēng)論。unwittingly 出于無(wú)意。stereotype 千篇一律的模式。
1. According to the text, all of the following may be the factors in creating anti-slavery sentiment in the British territories except ____________.
A. children’s literature B. protest by humanitarian groups
C. the Civil War of 1860 D. economic changes and the reform movement
2. It can be inferred from the text that at the time of the publication of John Newberry’s Tom Telescope in 1761, _______.
A. there seemed to be no anti-slavery sentiment in England
B. little was known about the horrors of conditions aboard slave ships
C. the hero of the book, Tom, became a popular literary character in England
D. it was generally accepted in England that slavery was irrational and contrary to natural law
3. According to the author, which of the following is true about British authors of children’s literature in the mid-18thcentury?
A. They believed that blacks were equal rather than different.
B. A significant number of these writers were opposed to slavery.
C. Their writing played a major role in all reforms of the 19th century.
D. Most were not only talented story-writers but accomplished historians.
4. Which of the following best describes the organization of the text?
A. Current beliefs are challenged and new evidence is presented.
B. A theory is presented and then data are introduced to support it
C. An observation is made and then some exceptions to it are noted.
D. An idea is first supported and then evidence is introduced to challenge it.
5. The primary purpose of the text is to ____________.
A. emphasize the unnatural oppression inherent in the institution of slavery
B. highlight the way the abolition of slavery in Great Britain differed from that in the U.S.
C. underline the continued racism in Great Britain despite that country’s abolition of slavery
D. discuss the influence of the 18th- and 19th-century children’s literature on the debate over slavery in Britain
Word Study
1. differ vi. 不同；有分歧：1) In many respects they differ greatly from the Chinese. 2) The brothers differ in their interests. 3) He differed with his brother about [on/over] a political question. 4) On one point, I differ with [or from] you.
2. by contrast 對(duì)比起來(lái)，與之相比：By contrast, even the most modern aircraft look clumsy and slow.
in contrast to [with] 和…形成對(duì)比，與…比較起來(lái)：1) His white hair was in sharp contrast to [with] his dark skin. 2) In contrast to his brother, he was always considerate in his treatment of others.
3. impetus 慣性，動(dòng)力，推動(dòng)力：1) The car ran down the hill under its own impetus. 2) Children need an impetus to study. 3) Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas. 4) The impetus that produced the age of exploration was the increased need for trade. 5) The exposure of widespread graft (貪污) among city officials gave great impetus to demands for reform.
4. gain vt. 獲得，得到，贏得；加快，增加；改進(jìn)：1) He gained full marks in the examination. 2) This medium gained great popularity in Britain during the last century. 3) Mike has gained a reputation as an expert football player. 4) To gain time, I pretended that I had not heard the question. 5) Step by step he gained the students’ confidence. 6) Last week I gained another five pounds. 7) The doctors say that she continues to gain (好轉(zhuǎn)). 、 8) gain ground 取得進(jìn)展：The Iraqi soldiers fought hard and began to gain ground. 9) gain control of 控制住，占領(lǐng)：They finally gained control of the city. 10) They have gained in strength. (他們已增強(qiáng)了力量。)
5. take issue with 與…爭(zhēng)論：He thought his boss was wrong but was afraid to take issue with him on the matter.
at issue 討論/爭(zhēng)論的[問(wèn)題]：The point at issue is whether you are willing to go abroad or not.
6. think nothing of 覺(jué)得不怎樣，不以為然：1) He thinks nothing of your work. 2) He thinks nothing of walking 10km. a day.
think highly of 贊賞：1) The people think very highly of him. 2) Our work was well (=highly) thought of.
think much of 對(duì)…評(píng)價(jià)很高：1) He thinks too much of himself. 2) I don’t think much of him as a teacher.
7. contrary to 與…相反，違反：1) What you wish to do is contrary to the regulations. 2) Contrary to expectation, the war was long and painful.
on the contrary 相反：On the contrary, the war is bound to deepen the eventual economic collapse.
8. implicit 含蓄的，隱含的：It is implicit in your statement that I was wrong. 反義詞：explicit 明確的，直截了當(dāng)?shù)模篐e gave explicit instructions not to be disturbed.
9. relate vt. 1) 講述：1) He has related the whole story. 2) 把…聯(lián)系起來(lái)：It is difficult to relate these results to any known cause. 3) be related to 與…有關(guān)：All things are related to all other things.
