專家解析大學(xué)英語四級考試歷年閱讀真題(十五)

　　36. Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the author?

　　A) Everyone has a right to hold his own opinion.

　　B) Free expression of opinions often leads to confusion.

　　C) Most people tend to be careless in forming their opinions.

　　D) Casual use of the word “opinion” often brings about quarrels.(A)

　　37. According to the author, who of the following would be labored as intolerant?

　　A) Someone who turns a deaf ear to others’ opinions.

　　B) Someone who can’t put up with others’ tastes.

　　C) Someone who values only their own opinions.

　　D) Someone whose opinion harms other people.(B)

　　38. The new Ford cars are cited as an example to show that ________.

　　A) it is foolish to criticize a famous brand

　　B) one should not always agree to others’ opinions

　　C) personal tastes are not something to be challenged

　　D) it is unwise to express one’s likes and dislikes in public(C)

　　39. Considered judgment is different from personal preference in that ________.

　　A) it is stated by judges in the court

　　B) it reflects public like and dislikes

　　C) it is a result of a lot of controversy

　　D) it is based on careful thought(D)

　　40. As indicated in the passage, being free to act on one’s opinion ________.

　　A) means that one can ignore other people’s criticism

　　B) means that one can impose his preferences on others

　　C) doesn’t mean that one has the right to do things at will

　　D) doesn’t mean that one has the right to charge others without evidence(C)

　　這篇材料講的是“觀點”，雖然有五段之多，但主要論述的內(nèi)容實際上只有一個：觀點到底是什么。文章的結(jié)構(gòu)是這樣的，開頭提出幾個觀點，如人人都有權(quán)表達(dá)自己的觀點(Everyone’s entitled to his opinion)，挑戰(zhàn)別人觀點的人總是被貼上偏狹的標(biāo)簽(anyone who would challenge another’s opinion is likely to be branded intolerant)。注意，intolerant不是無法忍受的意思，而是“不容異己、偏執(zhí)”等意思，“無法忍受的”應(yīng)是intolerable。而后，作者指出這些觀點的對錯必須根據(jù)觀點的定義來判斷(depends on what definition of opinion you have in mind)，從而為論述觀點的不同定義做好準(zhǔn)備。

　　第二段論述了觀點的第一個定義：一種個人偏好(by opinion he means his personal preference, a matter of taste)。作者以某人對新車的評論為例，指出，挑戰(zhàn)這類觀點不但是偏狹的(intolerant)，而且是愚蠢行為。

　　接下來是另外一個例子，最高法院將其“觀點”遞交給一個爭議不休的案子(Supreme Court has delivered its opinion in a controversial case)。這個例子中的觀點體現(xiàn)的不再是個人的偏好(their personal preferences, their mere likes and dislikes)，而是對一種經(jīng)過深思熟慮之后的判斷的傳達(dá)(they stated their considered judgment)。這是觀點的第二個定義。

　　這兩個定義回答了“挑戰(zhàn)別人觀點的人總是被貼上偏狹的標(biāo)簽”的對錯問題。

　　最后，作者又論述了觀點的第三種定義。作者把上述兩種定義視為觀點的兩種極端(two extremes)，而大多數(shù)觀點處于這二者之間，既不是個人偏好，也不是深思熟慮過的結(jié)論(It is not an expression of taste. Nor is it careful judgment)，而是融合了這兩方面的內(nèi)容。

　　這一定義回應(yīng)了“人人都有權(quán)表達(dá)自己的觀點”這一說法。作者在最后一段指出這種說法不僅是被允許的，而且是受到保護(hù)的，只要其觀點不傷害到別人(so long as, in doing so, we do not harm others)。