D
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’ 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.Powerful states with higher civilization.
C.Splendid empires where people enjoy freedom.
D.Governments ruled with absolute power.
2.People believing in freedom are those who________ .
A.regard their life as their own business
B.seek gains as their primary object
C.behave within the laws and value systems
D.treat others with kindness and pity
3.What change in attitude took place in Athens?
A.The Athenians refused to take their responsibility.
B.The Athenians no longer took pride in the city.
C.The Athenians benefited spiritually from the government.
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 hopeful about freedom.
B.The author is cautious about self-government.
C.The author is skeptical of Greek civilization.
D.The author is proud of man’s capacity.
6.What is the author’s understanding of freedom?
A.Freedom can be more popular in the digital age.
B.Freedom may come to an end in the digital age.
C.Freedom should have priority over responsibility.
D.Freedom needs to be guaranteed by responsibility.
I used to believe in the American Dream, which meant a job, a mortgage (按揭), credit cards, success. I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us____chasing the same thing.
One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell____I found myself homeless and alone. I had my truck and $ 56. I____the countryside for some place I could rent for the____possible amount. I came upon a shabby house four miles up a winding mountain road____the Potomac River in West Virginia. It was____, full of broken glass and rubbish. I found the owner, rented it, and_____________.
The locals knew nothing about me,____slowly, they started teaching me the____of being a neighbor. They dropped off blankets, candles, and tools, and began____around to chat. They started to teach me a belief in a____American Dream—not the one of individual achievement but of____
What I had believed in, all those things I thought were____for a civilized life, were nonexistent in this place.____on the mountain, my most valuable possessions were my____with my neighbors.
Four years later, I moved back into____I saw many people were having a really hard time,____their jobs and homes. I managed to rent a big enough house to_______________________________________________________________________________if we hadn’t banded together.
The American Dream I believe in now is a shared one. It’s not so much about what I can get for myself; it’s about____we can all get by together.
1.A.separately B.equally C.violently D.naturally
2.A.off B.apart C.over D.out
3.A.crossed B.left C.toured D.searched
4.A.fullest B.largest C.fairest D.cheapest
5.A.at B.through C.over D.round
6.A.occupied B.abandoned C.emptied D.robbed
7.A.turned B.approached C.cleared D.cut
8.A.but B.although C.otherwise D.for
9.A.benefit B.lesson C.nature D.art
10.A.sticking B.looking C.swinging D.turning
11.A.wild B.real C.different D.remote
12.A.neighborliness B.happiness C.friendliness D.kindness
13.A.unique B.expensive C.rare D.necessary
14.A.Up B.Down C.Deep D.Along
15.A.cooperation B.relationships C.satisfaction D.appointments
16.A.reality B.society C.town D.life
17.A.creating B.losing C.quitting D.offering
18.A.put in B.turn in C.take in D.get in
19.A.yards B.shelters C.camps D.cottages
20.A.when B.what C.whether D.how
In my opinion, the idea of a family is much narrower than for many of us.
A.that used to be B.it is used to
C.it was used to D.it used to be
—When is he willing to lend somebody some money?
—Only when hard enough.
A.to press B.pressing C.pressed D.presses
One day Mary’s mother told her best friend of all her .
A.hope and fear B.hope and fears
C.hopes and fears D.hopes and fear
—Can I help you, sir?
—Yes, what’s the price of the apple?
—Ninety-seven _______ per kilogram.
A.pences B.pence C.penny D.pennys
