Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom’s challenge in the Digital Age is a serious topic. We are facing today a strange new world and we are all wondering what we are going to do with it.
Some 2,500 years ago Greece discovered freedom. Before that there was no freedom. There were great civilizations, splendid empires, but no freedom anywhere. Egypt and Babylon were both tyrannies, one very powerful man ruling over helpless masses.
In Greece, in Athens (雅典), a little city in a little country, there were no helpless masses. And Athenians willingly obeyed the written laws which they themselves passed, and the unwritten, which must be obeyed if free men live together. They must show each other kindness and pity and the many qualities without which life would be very painful unless one chose to live alone in the desert.The Athenians never thought that a man was free if he could do what he wanted. A man was free if he was self-controlled. To make yourself obey what you approved was freedom. They were saved from looking at their lives as their own private affair. Each one felt responsible for the welfare of Athens, not because it was forced on him from the outside, but because the city was his pride and his safety. The essential belief of the first free government in the world was liberty for all men who could control themselves and would take responsibility for the state.
But discovering freedom is not like discovering computers. It cannot be discovered once for all. If people do not prize it, and work for it, it will go. Constant watch is its price. Athens changed. It was a change that took place without being noticed though it was of the extreme importance, a spiritual change which affected the whole state. It had been the Athenian爷s pride and joy to give to their city. That they could get material benefits from her never entered their minds. There had to be a complete change of attitude before they could look at the city as an employer who paid her citizens for doing her work. Now instead of men giving to the state, the state was to give to them.What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them; and with this as the primary object, ideas of freedom and self-reliance and responsibility were neglected to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a cooperative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share.
Athens reached the point when the freedom she really wanted was freedom from responsibility.There could be only one result. If men insisted on being free from the burden of self-dependence and responsibility for the common good, they would cease to be free. Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom. It is to be had on no other terms. Athens, the Athens of Ancient Greece, refused responsibility; she reached the end of freedom and was never to have it again.
But, “the excellent becomes the permanent”, Aristotle said. Athens lost freedom forever, but freedom was not lost forever for the world. A great American, James Madison, referred to: “The capacity (能力) of mankind for self-government.” No doubt he had not an idea that he was speaking Greek. Athens was not in the farthest background of his mind, but once man has a great and good idea, it is never completely lost. The Digital Age cannot destroy it. Somehow in this or that man’s thought such an idea lives though unconsidered by the world of action. One can never be sure that it is not on the point of breaking out into action only sure that it will do so sometime.
1.What does the underlined word “tyrannies” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. Countries where their people need help. B. Governments ruled with absolute power.
C. Splendid empires where people enjoy freedom. D. Powerful states with higher civilization
2.People believing in freedom are those who __________.
A. behave within the laws and value systems B. seek gains as their primary object
C. regard their life as their own business D. treat others with kindness and pity
3.What change in attitude took place in Athens?
A. The Athenians benefited spiritually from the government.
B. The Athenians no longer took pride in the city.
C. The Athenians refused to take their responsibility.
D. The Athenians looked on the government as a business.
4.What does the sentence “There could be only one result.” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A. Athens would continue to be free.
B. Athens would cease to have freedom.
C. Freedom would come from responsibility.
D. Freedom would stop Athens from self-dependence.
5.Why does the author refer to Aristotle and Madison?
A. The author is proud of man’s capacity. B. The author is cautious about self-government.
C. The author is skeptical of Greek civilization. D. The author is hopeful about freedom.
6.What is the author’s understanding of freedom?
A. Freedom can be more popular in the digital age.
B. Freedom needs to be guaranteed by responsibility.
C. Freedom should have priority over responsibility.
D. Freedom may come to an end in the digital age.
Suppose you become a leader in an organization. It’s very likely that you’ll want to have volunteers to help with the organization’s activities. To do so, it should help to understand why people undertake volunteer work and what keeps their interest in the work.
Let’s begin with the question of why people volunteer. Researchers have identified several factors that motivate people to get involved. For example, people volunteer to express personal values related to unselfishness, to expand their range of experiences, and to strengthen social relationships. If volunteer positions do not meet these needs, people may not wish to participate. To select volunteers, you may need to understand the motivations of the people you wish to attract.
People also volunteer because they are required to do so. To increase levels of community service, some schools have launched compulsory volunteer programs. Unfortunately, these programs can shift people’s wish of participation from an internal factor (e.g., “I volunteer because it’s important to me”) to an external factor (e.g., “I volunteer because I’m required to do so”). When that happens, people become less likely to volunteer in the future. People must be sensitive to this possibility when they make volunteer activities a must.
Once people begin to volunteer, what leads them to remain in their positions over time? To answer this question, researchers have conducted follow-up studies in which they track volunteers over time. For instance, one study followed 238 volunteers in Florida over a year. One of the most important factors that influenced their satisfaction as volunteers was the amount of suffering they experienced in their volunteer positions. Although this result may not surprise you, it leads to important practical advice. The researchers note that attention should be given to “training methods that would prepare volunteers for troublesome situations or provide them with strategies for coping with the problem they do experience”.
Another study of 302 volunteers at hospitals in Chicago focused on individual differences in the degree to which people view “volunteer” as an important social role. It was assumed that those people for whom the role of volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work. Participants indicated the degree to which the social role mattered by responding to statements such as “Volunteering in Hospital is an important part of who I am.”Consistent with the researchers’ expectations, they found a positive correlation (正相关) between the strength of role identity and the length of time people continued to volunteer. These results, once again, lead to concrete advice: “Once an individual begins volunteering, continued efforts might focus on developing a volunteer role identity.... Items like T-shirts that allow volunteers to be recognized publicly for their contributions can help strengthen role identity”.
1.People volunteer mainly out of __________.
A. internal needs B. social expectations
C. financial rewards D. academic requirements
2.What can we learn from the Florida study?
A. Follow-up studies should last for one year.
B. Strategy training is a must in research.
C. Volunteers should get mentally prepared
D. Volunteers are provided with concrete advice..
3.What is most likely to motivate volunteers to continue their work?
A. Individual differences in role identity. B. Role identity as a volunteer.
C. Publicly identifiable volunteer T-shirts. D. Practical advice from researchers.
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A. How to Get People to Volunteer B. How to Study Volunteer Behaviors
C. How to Keep Volunteers’ Interest D. How to Organize Volunteer Activities
In the United States alone, over 100 million cell-phones are thrown away each year. Cell-phones are part of a growing mountain of electronic waste like computers and personal digital assistants. The electronic waste stream is increasing three times faster than traditional garbage as a whole.
Electronic devices contain valuable metals such as gold and silver. A Swiss study reported that while the weight of electronic goods represented by precious metals was relatively small in comparison to total waste, the concentration (含量) of gold and other precious metals was higher in So-called e-waste than in naturally occurring minerals.
Electronic wastes also contain many poisonous metals. Even when the machines are recycled and the harmful metals removed, the recycling process often is carried out in poor countries, in practically uncontrolled ways which allow many poisonous substances to escape into the environment.
Creating products out of raw materials creates much more waste material, up to 100 times more, than the material contained in the finished products. Consider again the cell-phone, and imagine the mines that produced those metals, the factories needed to make the box and packaging(包装) it came in. Many wastes produced in the producing process are harmful as well.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that most waste is dangerous in that “the production, distribution, and use of products — as well as management of the resulting waste — all result in greenhouse gas release.” Individuals can reduce their contribution by creating less waste at the start — for instance, buying reusable products and recycling.
In many countries the concept of extended producer responsibility is being considered or has been put in place as an incentive (动机) for reducing waste. If producers are required to take back packaging they use to sell their products, would they reduce the packaging in the first place?
Governments’ incentive to require producers to take responsibility for the packaging they produce is usually based on money. Why, they ask, should cities or towns be responsible for paying to deal with the bubble wrap (气泡垫) that encased your television?
From the governments’ point of view, a primary goal of laws requiring extended producer responsibility is to transfer both the costs and the physical responsibility of waste management from the government and tax-payers back to the producers.
1.By mentioning the Swiss study, the author intends to tell us that __________.
A. the weight of e-goods is rather small
B. natural minerals contain more precious metals
C. E-waste deserves to be made good use of
D. the percentage of precious metals is heavy in e-waste
2.The responsibility of e-waste treatment should be extended __________.
A. from producers to governments B. from distributors to governments
C. from individuals to distributors D. from governments to producers
3.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. The increase in e-waste. B. The management of e-waste.
C. The seriousness of e-waste. D. The creation of e-waste.
1.According to the Code, visitors should act __________.
A. with relief and pleasure B. with care and respect
C. with caution and calmness D. with attention and observation
2.What are you encouraged to do when travelling in New Zealand?
A. Take your own camping facilities. B. Bury glass far away from rivers.
C. Observe signs to approach nesting birds. D. Follow the track for the sake of plants.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What will be replaced in the VIP rooms?
A. The windows. B. The pianos. C. The bathtubs.
2.What will take the most time to finish?
A. The basement level.
B. Mariners restaurant.
C. The Pacific Theater.
3.How big is the Pacific Center Hotel?
A. It has 1800 rooms.
B. It has 40 sea view rooms.
C. It is more than 16 stories tall.
4.When can guests start to see the musical performances?
A. In April 2017.
B. In January 2018.
C. In December 2019.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What does the woman first recommend to the man?
A. A CD player.
B. An item of jewelry.
C. A piece of clothing.
2.Why isn’t the man interested in the leather jacket?
A. He dislikes the color.
B. It’s too expensive.
C. He already has one.
3.What does the man say about the records?
A. The songs are his favorites.
B. There are some scratches on them.
C. There is nothing special about them.
4.What is the final price for the records?
A. $25. B. $28. C. $30.
