专八
In sixteenth-century Italy and eighteenth-century France, waning prosperity and increasing social unrest led the ruling families to try to preserve their superiority by withdrawing from the lower and middle classes behind barriers of etiquette． In a prosperous community, on the other hand, polite society soon absorbs the newly rich, and in England there has never been any shortage of books on etiquette for teaching them the manners appropriate to their new way of life．
Every code of etiquette has contained three elements: basic moral duties; practical rules which promote efficiency; and artificial, optional graces such as formal compliments to, say, women on their beauty or superiors on their generosity and importance．
In the first category are consideration for the weak and respect for age． Among the ancient Egyptians the young always stood in the presence of older people． Among the Mponguwe of Tanzania, the young men bow as they pass the huts of the elders． In England, until about a century ago, young children did not sit in their parents'
presence without asking permission．
Practical rules are helpful in such ordinary occurrences of social life as making proper introductions at parties or other functions so that people can be brought to know each other． Before the invention of the fork, etiquette
directed that the fingers should be kept as clean as possible; before the handkerchief came into common use,etiquette suggested that, after spitting, a person should rub the spit inconspicuously underfoot．
Extremely refined behavior, however, cultivated as an art of gracious living, has been characteristic only of societies with wealth and leisure, which admitted women as the social equals of men． After the fall of Rome, the first European society to regulate behavior in private life in accordance with a complicated code of etiquette was twelfth-century Province, in France．
Province had become wealthy The lords had returned to their castles from the crusades, and there the ideals of
chivalry grew up, which emphasized the virtue and gentleness of women and demanded that a knight should profess a pure and dedicated love to a lady who would be his inspiration, and to whom he would dedicate his valiant deeds, though he would never come physically close to her． This was the introduction of the concept of romantic love, which was to influence literature for many hundreds of years and which still lives on in a debased form in simple popular songs and cheap novels today．
In Renaissance Italy too, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, a wealthy and leisured society developed an extremely complex code of manners, but the rules of behavior of fashionable society had little influence on the daily life of the lower classes． Indeed many of the rules, such as how to enter a banquet room, or how to use a sword or handkerchief for ceremonial purposes, were irrelevant to the way of life of the average~working man, who spent most of his life outdoors or in his own poor hut and most probably did not have a handkerchief, certainly not
a sword, to his name．
Yet the essential basis of all good manners does not vary． Consideration for the old and weak and the avoidance of harming or giving unnecessary offence to others is a feature of all societies everywhere and at all levels from the highest to the lowest． You can easily think of dozens of examples of customs and habits in your own daily life which come under this heading．
One characteristic of the rich classes of a declining society is their tendency to __
A．preserve their superiority
B．retreat from the awkward position
C．produce publications on manners
D．change the laws of etiquette
【结构分析】
第一段指出在l6世纪的意大利和18世纪的法国，社会处于经济衰退和动荡之中，统治阶级为了维护他们高高在上的社会地位，用礼仪作为挡箭牌，割断与中下层阶级的联系，以此引出本文的主题_____礼仪。
第二段介绍了礼仪的三要素：基本的道德义务、实用礼仪和优雅的举止。
第三段举例说明了第一个要素是体谅弱者和尊重老人。
第四段介绍了第二个要素包括社交礼仪、餐桌礼仪等。
第五段至第七段介绍了第三个要素，指出优雅的生活方式所养成的极为讲究的举止行为只是富裕悠闲社会的特点，并以法国普罗旺斯繁荣时期形成的骑士礼仪和意大利文艺复兴时期形成的复杂礼仪为例来说明这一要素。
最后一段指出一些基本的礼节是不会改变的。
【试题解析】
本题的出题点在文章开头处。首段第一句提到，在16世纪的意大利和18世纪的法国由于经济衰退、社会动荡不安，统治阶级斌图通过礼仪来与中下层阶级脱离开来，维护自身高高在上的}土会地位，故选A。
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A．inspire his lady to perform valiant deeds
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