III. Reading Comprehension (Each 2%, Total 30%)
From its inception, children’s literature had in it an unusual educational function,
which is to show horror and dire consequences in order to lead one into a certain pattern. Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China, for instance, relied on brutal intimidation to frighten children into docile behavior. In the story, Yeh-Shen was disfavored by her stepmother, and had to take care of all the house chores. At the
village where Yeh-Shen lived, a festival would be held in springtime. All young men and women would like to attend the festival since it provided them with a chance to meet other youths, and possibly further spouse. As the festival was approaching, Yeh-Shen longed to go. But, her stepmother forbade her to leave the house. Desperately, she asked help from the magic bones that her fish friend left to her before. Immediately, she was transformed into a beauty. That night at the festival, everyone marveled at her prettiness. However, in order to hide from her stepmother and stepsister, she ran away from the party. She therefore lost one of her slippers. She had to find her shoe and return to the bones; otherwise, the bones would no longer have any responses to her. When she went to take her lost shoe back, her beauty attracted the prince. Eventually, the prince asked for her hand in marriage. As she was rewarded for her good heart, hard work, and inner beauty, her stepmother and stepsister were crushed to death in a shower of stones because of their wickedness and malice. In short, through a combined representation of a good girl and a wicked stepsister, this tale promotes a pedagogy of fear and terror through images of death and disaster to pave the path for children to move into their expected roles.
【題組】37. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
(A) Yeh-Shen has two stepsisters
(B) Yeh-Shen’s father is an official
(C) Yeh-Shen is a Chinese daughter
(D) Yeh-Shen is one of Cinderella’s sisters-in-law
【題組】(b) (4%) Is the set consisting of only majority gate MAJ functionally complete? Justify your answer.
(Note that the majority gate MAJ(a,b,c) with three inputs a, b, c equals 1 if and only if at least two of the inputs are 1.)