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8. The subject of paragraph 7 is ____.
A. isolation B. inherited factors
C. food and diet D. animal meat
9. This article concludes that ____ contribute to the remarkable long life of these peoples.
A. moderate diets B. clean mountain air
C. daily hard work D. all the above factors
10. How do you think the author feels about these longlived people?
A. He is impressed with them.
B. He doesnt care.
C. He doesnt like them.
D. He cares little about them.
3
A university student in Nairobi, Kenya, was stopped for a traffic violation the other day. The policeman took out his ticket book and asked, “What tribe are you?” In Lusaka, Zambia, a young man applying for a job was told to see the manager. He leaned over the receptionists desk and asked, “What tribe is he?” When the receptionist told him that the manager was a Mashona, the applicant replied, “Then Ill never get the job.”
This phenomenon is called tribalism. There are more than 2,000 tribes in black Africa. Each has its own language, customs, names, and physical characteristics that make its members almost immediately recognizable to a person from another tribe. To the Westerner, tribalism is one of the most difficult of African customs to understand. It makes many people think of savagery, warfare, or oldfashioned customs.
However, to most Africans, tribalism simply means very strong loyalty to ones ethnic group. It is a force that can be both good and bad. By definition tribalism means sharing among members of the extended family. It makes sure that a person is taken care of by his own group. To give a job to a fellow tribesman is not wrong; it is an obligation. Similarly, for a politician or military leader, it is considered good common sense to choose his closest advisers from people of his own tribe. This ensures security, continuity, authority. Tribal loyalty may mean a quick promotion—from sergeant to captain, from clerk to manager—within a very short time.
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