問題詳情

IV. 閱讀測驗 10%    The kris or keris is a distinctive, asymmetrical dagger indigenous to Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei,southern Thailand, and the southern Philippines. Both a weapon and spiritual object, a kris is often considered tohave an essence or spiritual presence, with some blades possessing good luck and others possessing bad. Krisblades can be straight or sinuous. The bends of sinuous blades are called luks. Most keris have fewer than 13luks, and the number of luks should be odd, or the keris is considered unlucky. The sinuous blade has becomesynonymous with the keris, especially with the popular tourist souvenirs of today. In reality, more than half ofthe old keris have straight blades. The luks maximize the width of the wound caused by the blade, whilemaintaining a convenient weight.   The blade is made from layers of different iron ores by a bladesmith, or Empu. Some blades can be madein a relatively short time, while more refined and elaborate weapons can take years or even a lifetime tocomplete. In a high-quality keris, the metal of the blade has been folded dozens or even hundreds of times andhandled with the utmost precision. There are keris blades that purportedly carry the imprints of the smith'sthumbs, or even lips, which were impressed upon the blade during the forging process. The handle and sheathare usually wood but can be made from decorative materials such as ivory or gold. 
   Keris blades are usually narrow and have a wide, asymmetrical base. Blade length is highly variable. Theblade is made from different iron ores and often contains nickel. The different metals used to forge the bladegive the keris its distinctive "watered" appearance. This is called pamor and is similar in concept to Damascuspatterning on Indo-Persian blades and "hada" on Japanese blades. Blades are acid-etched after being forged tobring out the contrasting patterns formed by the various metals used in the keris. Iron ore sources are rare insome areas of the Malay world, especially in Java. The Empu (those highly skilled smiths in the employment ofKratons, who can pass down their title of “Empu” to their sons) or pandai keris (smiths of varying skill levels,working outside of Kratons), often use whatever types of metal ores are available to make the blade. There aretales of blades made of everything from meteorite iron (rare and highly prized due to its spiritual significanceand higher nickel content), to scrap metals from vehicles, tools, railway tracks, captured Dutch cannons andblades, and in recent times, bicycle chains.  Functionally, the kris is not a slashing weapon like a bowie knife or other fighting knife, but rather astabbing instrument. If a kris fighter had stealth on his side, the kris was lethal. There are many stories of a krisbeing made especially for killing a specific person or ethnic group of people. The wound made by a kris was  terrible; the edge of the blade "danced" in the wound, and left tatters of dead flesh, which would begin to rot. Inbattle, a warrior carried three krisses: His own, one from his father-in-law, and one as a family heirloom. Theextra krisses served as parrying daggers. If the warrior didn’t have a second kris to parry with, he used thesheath. Krisses were often broken in battle and required repairs. A warrior’s location determined the materialsavailable to make repairs. It is quite usual to find a kris with fittings from several areas. For example, a kris mayhave a blade from Java, a hilt from Bali, and a sheath from Madura.
   
41. Which of the following is considered a kris that will bring misfortune?
(A) A kris that is made of meteorite.
(B) A kris that has ten luks.
(C) A kris without a sheath.
(D) A kris that is broken in battle.

參考答案

答案：B
難度：適中0.5
統計：A(0),B(0),C(0),D(0),E(0)

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