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.
Even though Danish students have equal access to education, their choice of studies is still influenced by social class. Young people from working class backgrounds are ______by studies with a clear job profile and high income, ______prestige and studies with a strong identity interest young people of parents with university degrees when choosing which studies to ______. This is what researchers from the University of Copenhagen ______in a new study. Students who have chosen to study medicine, architecture, economy and sociology often come from homes where the parents have ________higher education, whereas business studies and pharmacy often ______young people with a working class background. This is ______by a research team from the University of Copenhagen and Aalborg University in a new study.
“There is a ______between the studies chosen by young Danes and their ______background. Even for the young people who have very good grades in their A-level exams, and who could successfully ______admission to a large variety of studies, the parents’ ______of education and social class play an important role in their choice,” says Education Sociologist Jens Peter Thomsen, who is one of the researchers behind the study.
The study “The Educational Strategies of Danish University Students from Professional and Working-Class Backgrounds” is ______60 interviews with Danish students from six different university level study programmes: Medicine, architecture, sociology, economy, pharmacy and business studies.
The young people bring with them the ______they get from their families. If you grow up in a home with parents who are doctors or architects with a strong professional ______, it is an obvious choice to follow the ______path as your parents when you grow up.
“For young people whose parents are university educated, ______such as fame and mastery of expert knowledge are important. They are ______by an educational culture in which you are a diligent student, and where leisure activities are ______to the identity that lies within your studies. These young people have also grown up with ______discussions around the dinner table which also prepare them for their lives as students,” says Jens Peter Thomsen.
He also added, “Young people who come from a working class background, and have good grades have to ______the full range of opportunities they have. But the effort to reach this goal must start early”.
1.A.monitored B.motivated C.motioned D.multiplied
2.A.while B.although C.when D.if
3.A.pursue B.engage C.involve D.conduct
4.A.calculate B.suspect C.conclude D.achieve
5.A.required B.confirmed C.refused D.completed
6.A.subscribes to B.caters to C.sticks to D.appeals to
7.A.inquired B.proved C.extended D.acquired
8.A.connection B.comparison C.difference D.contradiction
9.A.educational B.political C.social D.professional
10.A.balance B.develop C.identify D.seek
11.A.situation B.judgment C.level D.preference
12.A.connected with B.based on C.committed to D.combined with
13.A.resources B.experiences C.finance D.memory
14.A.degree B.identity C.success D.responsibility
15.A.perfect B.usual C.common D.same
16.A.changes B.problems C.factors D.characters
17.A.disturbed B.moved C.puzzled D.attracted
18.A.tied B.accustomed C.transferred D.copied
19.A.practical B.topical C.physical D.medical
20.A.take charge of B.take control of C.take advantage of D.take care of
It’s terrible. My car break down just as we were going on our holiday.
A.might B.would C.could D.must
—What makes you so unhappy?
— .
A.Because I’ve put on weight
B.Putting on weight
C.For I’ve lost some weight
D.Because of my putting on weight
Leonardo da Vince birds kept in cages in order to have the pleasure of setting them free.
A.is said to be buying
B.is said to have bought
C.had said to buy
D.who said to have bought
—Could you possibly tell me what to do with such sort of situation?
—It’s no good asking me all the time, Anna. You’ll have to learn to think yourself.
A.of B.to C.by D.for
