芸芸视频QQ:747883097TL:02881942202推荐:09新东方公共课程 考研英语英译汉、完型与词汇分册 第一部分英译汉全真试题(1994-2004年) According to the new school of scientists, technology is an overlooked force in expanding the horizons of scientific dge. 71)Science moves fo more ordinary things like improved techniques and tools. 72)"In short",a leader of the new school contends, the scientific revolution, as we call it. was largely the improvement and invention and use of a series of instruments that expanded the reach of science in innumerable directions. "73)Over the vears. tools and technology themselves as a ource of fundamental innovation have largely been ignored by historians and philosophers of science. The modern school that hails technology argues that such masters as Galileo, Newton, Maxwell, Einstein, and inventors such as Edison attached great importance to, and derived great benefit from, craft information and technological devices of different kinds that were usable in scientific experiments. The centerpiece of the argument of a technology-yes, genius-no advocate was an analysis of Galileo's role at the start of the scientific revolution. The wisdom of the day was derived from Ptolemy, astronomer of the second century, whose elaborate system of the sky put Earth at the center of all heavenly motions. 74) Galileo's greatest glory was that in 1609 he was the first person to turn the newly invented telescope on the heavens to prove that the planets revolve around the sun rather than around the Earth. But the real hero of the story, according to the new school of scientists, was the long evolution in the improvement of macl for making eyeglass Federal policy is necessarily involved in the technology vs. genius dispute. 75)Whether the Government should increase the financing of pure science at the expense of technology or vice versa often depends on the issue of which is seen as the driving forc age 2 The standardized educational or psychological tests that are widely used to aid in selecting, classifying, assigning, or promoting students, employees, and military personnel have been the target of recent attacks in books, magazines, the daily press, and even in congress. 71) The target is wrong, for in attacking the tests. critics divert attention from the fault that lies with ill-informed or incompetent users. The tests themselves are merely tools, with characteristics that can be measured with reasonable precision under specified conditions. Whether the results will be valuable, meaningless, or even misleading depends partly upon the tool itself but largely upon the user. All informed predictions of future performance are based upon some knowledge of relevant past performance: school grades research productive, sales records, or whatever is appropriate. 72) How well the predictions will be validated by later performance depends upon the amount, reliability. and appropriateness of the information used and on the skill and wisdom with which it is interpreted. Anyone who keeps careful score knows that the information available is always incomplete and that the predictions are always subject to error Standardized tests should be considered in this context. They provide a quick, objective method of getting some kids of information about what a person learned, the skills he has developed or the kinds of person he is. The information so obtained has, qualitatively, the same advantages and shortcomings as other kinds of information. 73)Whether to use tests, other kinds of information, or both in a particular situation depends, therefore, upon the evidence from experience concerning
1 考研英语英译汉、完型与词汇分册 第一部分 英译汉全真试题(1994-2004 年) Passage 1 According to the new school of scientists, technology is an overlooked force in expanding the horizons of scientific knowledge. 71) Science moves forward, they say, not so much through the insights of great men of genius as because of more ordinary things like improved techniques and tools.72) "In short", a leader of the new school contends, "the scientific revolution, as we call it, was largely the improvement and invention and use of a series of instruments that expanded the reach of science in innumerable directions." 73) Over the years, tools and technology themselves as a source of fundamental innovation have largely been ignored by historians and philosophers of science. The modern school that hails technology argues that such masters as Galileo, Newton, Maxwell, Einstein, and inventors such as Edison attached great importance to, and derived great benefit from, craft information and technological devices of different kinds that were usable in scientific experiments. The centerpiece of the argument of a technology-yes, genius-no advocate was an analysis of Galileo's role at the start of the scientific revolution. The wisdom of the day was derived from Ptolemy, an astronomer of the second century, whose elaborate system of the sky put Earth at the center of all heavenly motions. 74) Galileo's greatest glory was that in 1609 he was the first person to turn the newly invented telescope on the heavens to prove that the planets revolve around the sun rather than around the Earth. But the real hero of the story, according to the new school of scientists, was the long evolution in the improvement of machinery for making eyeglasses. Federal policy is necessarily involved in the technology vs. genius dispute. 75) Whether the Government should increase the financing of pure science at the expense of technology or vice versa often depends on the issue of which is seen as the driving force. Passage 2 The standardized educational or psychological tests that are widely used to aid in selecting, classifying, assigning, or promoting students, employees, and military personnel have been the target of recent attacks in books, magazines, the daily press, and even in congress. 71) The target is wrong, for in attacking the tests, critics divert attention from the fault that lies with ill-informed or incompetent users. The tests themselves are merely tools, with characteristics that can be measured with reasonable precision under specified conditions. Whether the results will be valuable, meaningless, or even misleading depends partly upon the tool itself but largely upon the user. All informed predictions of future performance are based upon some knowledge of relevant past performance: school grades research productive, sales records, or whatever is appropriate. 72) How well the predictions will be validated by later performance depends upon the amount, reliability, and appropriateness of the information used and on the skill and wisdom with which it is interpreted. Anyone who keeps careful score knows that the information available is always incomplete and that the predictions are always subject to error. Standardized tests should be considered in this context. They provide a quick, objective method of getting some kids of information about what a person learned, the skills he has developed, or the kinds of person he is. The information so obtained has, qualitatively, the same advantages and shortcomings as other kinds of information. 73) Whether to use tests, other kinds of information, or both in a particular situation depends, therefore, upon the evidence from experience concerning
comparative validity and upon such factors as cost and availability 74)In general. the tests work most effectively when the qualities to be measured can be most precisely defined and least effectively when what is to be measured or predicted can not be well defined. Properly used, they provide a rapid means of getting comparable information about many people. Sometimes they identify students whose high potential has not been previously recognized, but there are many things they do not do. 75. For example, they do not compensate for gross social inequality. and thus do not tell how able an underprivileged youngster might have been had he grown up under more favorable cIrcumstances assage The differences in relative growth of various areas of scientific research have several causes. 71)Some of these causes are completely reasonable results of social needs. Others are reasonable consequences of particular advances in science being to some extent self-accelerating. Some, however, are less reasonable processes of different growth in which preconceptions of the form scientific theory ought to take, by persons in authority, act to alter the growth pattern of different areas. This is a new problem probably not yet unavoidable; but it is a frightening trend. 72)This trend began during the Second World War, when several governments came to the conclusion that the specific demands that a government wants to make of its scientific establishment cannot generally be foreseen in detail. It can be predicted however, that from time to time questions will arise which will require specific scientific answers. It is therefore generally valuable to treat the scientific establishment as a resource or machine tomb kept in functional order. 73) This seems mostly effectively done by supporting a certain amount of research not related to immediate goals but of possible This kind of support, like all government support, requires decisions about the appropriate recipients of funds Decisions based on utility as opposed to lack of utility are straightforward But a decision among projects none of which has immediate utility is more difficult. The goal of the supporting agencies is the praisable one of supporting"good"as opposed to"bad"science, but a valid determination is difficult to make. Generally, the idea of good science tends to become confused with the capacity of the field in question to generate an elegant theory. 74)However. the world is so made that elegant systems are in principle unable to deal with some of the world's more fascinating and delightful aspects. 75 New forms of thought as well as new subiects for thought must arise in the future as they have in the past, giving rise to new standards of elegance 4 Do animals have rights? This is how the question is usually put It sounds like a useful, ground-clearing way to start 71)Actually, it isn't, because it assumes that there is an agreed account of human rights, which is something the world does not hav On one view of rights, to be sure, it necessarily follows that animals have none. 72) Some philosophers argue that rights exist only within a social contract, as part of an exchange of duties and entitlements. Therefore, animals cannot have rights The idea of punishing a tiger that kills somebody is absurd for exactly the same reason, so is the idea that tigers have rights However, this is only one account, and by no means an uncontested one. It denies rights not only to animals but also to some people- for instance, to infants, the mentally incapable and future generations. In addition, it is unclear what force a contract can have for people who never consented to it: how do you reply to somebody who says"I don,'t like this contract"? The point is this without agreement on the rights of people, arguing about the rights of animals is fruitless. 73 )It leads the discussion to extremes at the outset; it invites you to think that animals should be treated either with the consideration 2
2 comparative validity and upon such factors as cost and availability. 74) In general, the tests work most effectively when the qualities to be measured can be most precisely defined and least effectively when what is to be measured or predicted can not be well defined. Properly used, they provide a rapid means of getting comparable information about many people. Sometimes they identify students whose high potential has not been previously recognized, but there are many things they do not do. 75. For example, they do not compensate for gross social inequality, and thus do not tell how able an underprivileged youngster might have been had he grown up under more favorable circumstances. Passage3 The differences in relative growth of various areas of scientific research have several causes. 71) Some of these causes are completely reasonable results of social needs. Others are reasonable consequences of particular advances in science being to some extent self-accelerating. Some, however, are less reasonable processes of different growth in which preconceptions of the form scientific theory ought to take, by persons in authority, act to alter the growth pattern of different areas. This is a new problem probably not yet unavoidable; but it is a frightening trend. 72) This trend began during the Second World War, when several governments came to the conclusion that the specific demands that a government wants to make of its scientific establishment cannot generally be foreseen in detail. It can be predicted, however, that from time to time questions will arise which will require specific scientific answers. It is therefore generally valuable to treat the scientific establishment as a resource or machine tomb kept in functional order. 73) This seems mostly effectively done by supporting a certain amount of research not related to immediate goals but of possible consequence in the future. This kind of support, like all government support, requires decisions about the appropriate recipients of funds. Decisions based on utility as opposed to lack of utility are straightforward. But a decision among projects none of which has immediate utility is more difficult. The goal of the supporting agencies is the praisable one of supporting "good " as opposed to "bad" science, but a valid determination is difficult to make. Generally, the idea of good science tends to become confused with the capacity of the field in question to generate an elegant theory. 74) However, the world is so made that elegant systems are in principle unable to deal with some of the world's more fascinating and delightful aspects. 75) New forms of thought as well as new subjects for thought must arise in the future as they have in the past, giving rise to new standards of elegance. Passage 4 Do animals have rights? This is how the question is usually put. It sounds like a useful, ground-clearing way to start. 71) Actually, it isn't, because it assumes that there is an agreed account of human rights, which is something the world does not have. On one view of rights, to be sure, it necessarily follows that animals have none. 72) Some philosophers argue that rights exist only within a social contract, as part of an exchange of duties and entitlements. Therefore, animals cannot have rights. The idea of punishing a tiger that kills somebody is absurd; for exactly the same reason, so is the idea that tigers have rights. However, this is only one account, and by no means an uncontested one. It denies rights not only to animals but also to some people — for instance, to infants, the mentally incapable and future generations. In addition, it is unclear what force a contract can have for people who never consented to it: how do you reply to somebody who says "I don't like this contract"? The point is this without agreement on the rights of people, arguing about the rights of animals is fruitless. 73) It leads the discussion to extremes at the outset: it invites you to think that animals should be treated either with the consideration
humans extend to other humans or with no consideration at all. this is a false choice. Better to start with another. more treat animals a moral issue at all? S In of this kind think that animals lie outside the area of moral choice. Any regard for the suffering of animals is seen as a mistake a sentimental displacement of feeling that should properly be directed to other humans This view, which holds that torturing a monkey is morally equivalent to chopping wood, may seem bravely"logical". In fact it is simply shallow: the confused centre is right to reject it. The most elementary form of moral reasoning-the ethical equivalent of learning to crawl is to weigh others' interests against ones own. This in turn requires sympathy and imagination: without which there is no capacity for moral thought. To see an animal in pain is enough, for most, to engage sympathy. 75)When that happens. it is not a mistake: it is mankinds instinct for moral reasoning in action, an instinct that lould be encouraged rather than laughed at They were, by far, the largest and most distant objects that scientists had ever detected: a strip of enormous cosmic clouds some 15 billion light-years from earth. 71)But even more important, it was the farthest that scientists had been able to look into the past, for what they were seeing were the patterns and structures that existed 15 billion years ago. That was just about the moment that the universe was born. What the researchers found was at once both amazing and expected; the US National Aeronautics and Space Administrations Cosmic Background Explorer satellite - Cobe -had discovered landmark evidence that the universe did in fact begin with the primeval explosion that has become known as the Big bang(the theory that the universe originated in an explosion from a single mass of energy. 72) The existence of the giant clouds was virtually required for the Big Bang. first put forward in the 1920s. to maintain its reign as the dominant explanation of the cosmos. According to the theory, the universe burst into being as a submicroscopic, unimaginable dense knot of pure energy that flew outward in all directions, emitting radiation as it went, condensing into particles and then into atoms of gas. Over billions of years, the gas was compressed by gravity into galaxies, stars, plants and eventually, even humans Cobe is designed to see just the biggest structures, but astronomers would like to see much smaller hot spots as well, the seeds of local objects like clusters and superclusters of galaxies. They shouldnt have long to wait. 73)Astrophysicists working with groundbased detectors at the South Pole and balloon-borne instruments are closing in on such structures. and may report their findings soon. 74)If the small hot spots look as expected. that will be a triumph for yet another scientific idea, a refinement of the ig Bang called the inflationary universe theory. Inflation says that very early on, the universe expanded in size by more than a trillion trilliontrillion trillionfold in much less than a second, propelled by a sort of antigravity. 75)Odd though it sounds, cosmic inflation is a scientifically plausible consequence of some respected ideas in elementary-particle physics. and many astrophysicists have been convinced for the better part of a decade that it is true P e 6 71)While there are almost as many definitions of history as there are historians. modern practice most closely conforms to one that sees history as the attempt to recreate and explain the significant events of the past. Caught in the web of its own tune and place, each generation of historians determines anew what is significant for it in the past. In this search the evidence found is always incomplete and scattered; it is also frequently partial or partisan. The irony of the historian,'s craft is that its practitioners always know that their efforts are but contributions to an unending proc 72)Interest in historical methods has arisen less through external challenge to the validity of history as an intellectual discipline 3
3 humans extend to other humans, or with no consideration at all. This is a false choice. Better to start with another, more fundamental, question: is the way we treat animals a moral issue at all? Many deny it. 74) Arguing from the view that humans are different from animals in every relevant respect, extremists of this kind think that animals lie outside the area of moral choice. Any regard for the suffering of animals is seen as a mistake — a sentimental displacement of feeling that should properly be directed to other humans. This view, which holds that torturing a monkey is morally equivalent to chopping wood, may seem bravely "logical". In fact it is simply shallow: the confused centre is right to reject it. The most elementary form of moral reasoning—the ethical equivalent of learning to crawl — is to weigh others' interests against one's own. This in turn requires sympathy and imagination: without which there is no capacity for moral thought. To see an animal in pain is enough, for most, to engage sympathy. 75) When that happens, it is not a mistake: it is mankind's instinct for moral reasoning in action, an instinct that should be encouraged rather than laughed at. Passage 5 They were, by far, the largest and most distant objects that scientists had ever detected: a strip of enormous cosmic clouds some 15 billion light-years from earth. 71) But even more important, it was the farthest that scientists had been able to look into the past, for what they were seeing were the patterns and structures that existed 15 billion years ago. That was just about the moment that the universe was born. What the researchers found was at once both amazing and expected; the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Cosmic Background Explorer satellite — Cobe — had discovered landmark evidence that the universe did in fact begin with the primeval explosion that has become known as the Big Bang (the theory that the universe originated in an explosion from a single mass of energy.) 72) The existence of the giant clouds was virtually required for the Big Bang, first put forward in the 1920s, to maintain its reign as the dominant explanation of the cosmos. According to the theory, the universe burst into being as a submicroscopic, unimaginable dense knot of pure energy that flew outward in all directions, emitting radiation as it went, condensing into particles and then into atoms of gas. Over billions of years, the gas was compressed by gravity into galaxies, stars, plants and eventually, even humans. Cobe is designed to see just the biggest structures, but astronomers would like to see much smaller hot spots as well, the seeds of local objects like clusters and superclusters of galaxies. They shouldn't have long to wait. 73) Astrophysicists working with groundbased detectors at the South Pole and balloon-borne instruments are closing in on such structures, and may report their findings soon. 74) If the small hot spots look as expected, that will be a triumph for yet another scientific idea, a refinement of the Big Bang called the inflationary universe theory. Inflation says that very early on, the universe expanded in size by more than a trillion trillion trillion trillionfold in much less than a second, propelled by a sort of antigravity. 75) Odd though it sounds, cosmic inflation is a scientifically plausible consequence of some respected ideas in elementary-particle physics, and many astrophysicists have been convinced for the better part of a decade that it is true. Passage 6 71) While there are almost as many definitions of history as there are historians, modern practice most closely conforms to one that sees history as the attempt to recreate and explain the significant events of the past. Caught in the web of its own tune and place, each generation of historians determines anew what is significant for it in the past. In this search the evidence found is always incomplete and scattered; it is also frequently partial or partisan. The irony of the historian's craft is that its practitioners always know that their efforts are but contributions to an unending process. 72) Interest in historical methods has arisen less through external challenge to the validity of history as an intellectual discipline
and more from internal quarrels among historians themselves. While history once revered its affinity to literature and philosophy, the emerging social sciences seemed to afford greater opportunities for asking new questions and providing rewarding approaches to an understanding of the past. Social science methodologies had to be adapted to a discipline governed by the primacy of historical sources rather than the imperatives of the contemporary world. 73)During this transfer, traditional historical methods were augmented by additional methodologies designed to interpret the new forms of evidence in the historical study. Methodolgy is a term that remains inherently ambiguous in the historical profession. 74)There is no agreement whether methodology refers to the concepts peculiar to historical work in general or to the research techniques appropriate to th various branches of historical inquiry. Historians, especially_those so blinded by their research interests that they have been accused of"tunnel method, "frequently fall victim to the"technicist fallacy. " Also common in the natural sciences, the technicist fallacy mistakenly identifies the discipline as a whole with certain parts of its technical implementation. 75)It applies equally to traditional historians who view history as only the extemal and intermal criticism of sources and to social science historians who equate their activity with specific techniques. Passage Governments throughout the world act on the assumption that the welfare of their people depends largely on the economic strength and wealth of the community. 71)Under modern conditions. this requires varying measures of centralized control and hence the help of specialized scientists such as economists and operational research experts. 72) Furthermore, it is obvious that the strength of a country's economy is directly bound up with the efficiency of its agriculture and industry. and that this in tum rests upon the efforts of scientists and technologists of all kinds. It also means that governments are increasingly compelled to interfere in these sectors in order to step up production and ensure that it is utilized to the best advantage. For example, they may encourage research in various ways including the setting up of their own research centers; they may alter the structure of education, or interfere in order to reduce the wastage of natural resources or tap resources hitherto unexploited or they may cooperate directly in the growing number of international projects related to science, economics and industry. In any case, all such interventions are heavily dependent on scientific advice and also scientific and technological manpower of all kinds 73)Owing to the remarkable development in mass-communications people everywhere are feeling new wants and are being exposed to new customs and ideas, while governments are often forced to introduce still further innovations for the reasons given above. At the same time the normal rate of social change throughout the world is taking place at a vastly accelerated speed compared with the past. For example, 74)in the early industrialized countries of Europe the process of industrialization - with all the far-reaching changes in social patterns that followed - was spread over nearly a century, whereas nowadays a developing nation may undergo the same process in a decade or so. All this has the effect of building up unusual pressures and tensions within the community and consequently presents serious problems for the governments concerned. 75) Additional social stresses may also occur because of the population explosion or problems arising from mass migration movements - themselves made relatively easy nowadays by modern means of transport. As a result of all these factors, governments are becoming increasingly dependent on biologists and social scientists for planning the appropriate programs and putting them into effect P In less than 30 years time the Star Trek holodeck will be a reality. Direct links between the brain,'s nervous system and a computer will also create full sensory virtual environments, allowing virtual vacations like those in the film Total Recall 71)There will be television chat shows hosted by robots. and cars with pollution monitors that will disable them
4 and more from internal quarrels among historians themselves. While history once revered its affinity to literature and philosophy, the emerging social sciences seemed to afford greater opportunities for asking new questions and providing rewarding approaches to an understanding of the past. Social science methodologies had to be adapted to a discipline governed by the primacy of historical sources rather than the imperatives of the contemporary world. 73) During this transfer, traditional historical methods were augmented by additional methodologies designed to interpret the new forms of evidence in the historical study. Methodolgy is a term that remains inherently ambiguous in the historical profession. 74) There is no agreement whether methodology refers to the concepts peculiar to historical work in general or to the research techniques appropriate to the various branches of historical inquiry. Historians, especially those so blinded by their research interests that they have been accused of "tunnel method," frequently fall victim to the "technicist fallacy." Also common in the natural sciences, the technicist fallacy mistakenly identifies the discipline as a whole with certain parts of its technical implementation. 75) It applies equally to traditional historians who view history as only the external and internal criticism of sources, and to social science historians who equate their activity with specific techniques. Passage 7 Governments throughout the world act on the assumption that the welfare of their people depends largely on the economic strength and wealth of the community. 71) Under modern conditions, this requires varying measures of centralized control and hence the help of specialized scientists such as economists and operational research experts. 72) Furthermore, it is obvious that the strength of a country' s economy is directly bound up with the efficiency of its agriculture and industry, and that this in turn rests upon the efforts of scientists and technologists of all kinds. It also means that governments are increasingly compelled to interfere in these sectors in order to step up production and ensure that it is utilized to the best advantage. For example, they may encourage research in various ways including the setting up of their own research centers; they may alter the structure of education, or interfere in order to reduce the wastage of natural resources or tap resources hitherto unexploited; or they may cooperate directly in the growing number of international projects related to science, economics and industry. In any case, all such interventions are heavily dependent on scientific advice and also scientific and technological manpower of all kinds. 73) Owing to the remarkable development in mass-communications, people everywhere are feeling new wants and are being exposed to new customs and ideas, while governments are often forced to introduce still further innovations for the reasons given above. At the same time the normal rate of social change throughout the world is taking place at a vastly accelerated speed compared with the past. For example, 74) in the early industrialized countries of Europe the process of industrialization — with all the far-reaching changes in social patterns that followed — was spread over nearly a century, whereas nowadays a developing nation may undergo the same process in a decade or so. All this has the effect of building up unusual pressures and tensions within the community and consequently presents serious problems for the governments concerned. 75) Additional social stresses may also occur because of the population explosion or problems arising from mass migration movements — themselves made relatively easy nowadays by modern means of transport. As a result of all these factors, governments are becoming increasingly dependent on biologists and social scientists for planning the appropriate programs and putting them into effect. Passage 8 In less than 30 years' time the Star Trek holodeck will be a reality. Direct links between the brain' s nervous system and a computer will also create full sensory virtual environments, allowing virtual vacations like those in the film Total Recall. 71) There will be television chat shows hosted by robots, and cars with pollution monitors that will disable them
when they offend. 72)Children will play with dolls equipped with personality chips. computers with in-built personalities will be regarded as workmates rather than tools, relaxation will be in front of smell-television, and digital age will have arrived According to bT s futurologist, lan Pearson, these are among the developments scheduled for the first few decades of the new millennium(a period of 1, 000 years), when supercomputers will dramatically accelerate progress in all areas 73)Pearson has pieced together the work of hundreds of researchers around the world to produce a unique millennium technology calendar that gives the latest dates when we can expect hundreds of key breakthroughs and discoveries to take place. Some of the biggest developments will be in medicine, including an extended life expectancy and dozens of artificial organs coming into use between now and 2040 Pearson also predicts a breakthrough in computer-human links. " By linking directly to our nervous system, computers could pick up what we feel and, hopefully, simulate feeling too so that we can start to develop full sensory environments, rather like the holidays in Total Recall or the Star Trek holodeck, he says. 74) But that, Pearson points out, is only the start of man-machine integration: "It will be the beginning of the long process of integration that will ultimately lead to a fully electronic human before the end of the next century. Through his research, Pearson is able to put dates to most of the breakthroughs that can be predicted. However, there are still no forecasts for when faster-than-light travel will be available, or when human cloning will be perfected, or when time travel will be possible. But he does expect social problems as a result of technological advances. a boom in neighborhood surveillance cameras will, for example, cause problems in 2010, while the arrival of synthetic lifelike robots will mean people may not be able to distinguish between their human friends and the droids. 75)And home appliances will also become so smart that controlling and operating them will result in the breakout of a new psychological disorder kitchen rage Almost all our major problems involve human behavior, and they cannot be solved by physical and biological technology alone. What is needed is a technology of behavior, but we have been slow to develop the science from which such a technology might be drawn. 61)One difficulty is that almost all of what is called behavioral science continues to trace behavior to states of mind, feelings, traits of character. human nature, and so on. Physics and biology once followed similar practices and advanced only when they discarded them. 62) The behavioral sciences have been slow to change partly because the explanatory items often seem to be directly observed and partly because other kinds of explanations have been hard to find. The environment is obviously important, but its role has remained obscure. It does not push or pull, it lects, and this function is difficult to discover and analyze. 63) The role of natural selection in evolution was formulated only a little more than a hundred years ago, and the selective role of the environment in shaping and maintaining the behavior of the individual is only beginning to be recognized and studied. As the interaction between organism and environment has come to be understood, however, effects once assigned to states of mind, feelings and traits are beginning to be traced to accessible conditions, and a technology of behavior may therefore become available. It will not solve our problems, however, until it replaces traditional prescientific views, and these are strongly entrenched. Freedom and dignity illustrate the difficulty. 64)They are the possessions of the autonomous (self-governing) man of traditional theory, and they are essential to practices in which a person is held responsible for his conduct and given credit for his achievements. A scientific analysis shifts both the responsibility and the achievement to the environment. It also raises questions concerning"values".Who will use a technology and to what ends? 65)Until these issues are resolved. a 5
5 when they offend. 72) Children will play with dolls equipped with personality chips, computers with in-built personalities will be regarded as workmates rather than tools, relaxation will be in front of smell-television, and digital age will have arrived. According to BT' s futurologist, Ian Pearson, these are among the developments scheduled for the first few decades of the new millennium (a period of 1,000 years), when supercomputers will dramatically accelerate progress in all areas of life. 73) Pearson has pieced together the work of hundreds of researchers around the world to produce a unique millennium technology calendar that gives the latest dates when we can expect hundreds of key breakthroughs and discoveries to take place. Some of the biggest developments will be in medicine, including an extended life expectancy and dozens of artificial organs coming into use between now and 2040. Pearson also predicts a breakthrough in computer-human links. "By linking directly to our nervous system, computers could pick up what we feel and, hopefully, simulate feeling too so that we can start to develop full sensory environments, rather like the holidays in Total Recall or the Star Trek holodeck," he says. 74) But that, Pearson points out, is only the start of man-machine integration: "It will be the beginning of the long process of integration that will ultimately lead to a fully electronic human before the end of the next century." Through his research, Pearson is able to put dates to most of the breakthroughs that can be predicted. However, there are still no forecasts for when faster-than-light travel will be available, or when human cloning will be perfected, or when time travel will be possible. But he does expect social problems as a result of technological advances. A boom in neighborhood surveillance cameras will, for example, cause problems in 2010, while the arrival of synthetic lifelike robots will mean people may not be able to distinguish between their human friends and the droids. 75) And home appliances will also become so smart that controlling and operating them will result in the breakout of a new psychological disorder — kitchen rage. Passage 9 Almost all our major problems involve human behavior, and they cannot be solved by physical and biological technology alone. What is needed is a technology of behavior, but we have been slow to develop the science from which such a technology might be drawn. 61) One difficulty is that almost all of what is called behavioral science continues to trace behavior to states of mind, feelings, traits of character, human nature, and so on. Physics and biology once followed similar practices and advanced only when they discarded them. 62) The behavioral sciences have been slow to change partly because the explanatory items often seem to be directly observed and partly because other kinds of explanations have been hard to find. The environment is obviously important, but its role has remained obscure. It does not push or pull, it selects, and this function is difficult to discover and analyze. 63) The role of natural selection in evolution was formulated only a little more than a hundred years ago, and the selective role of the environment in shaping and maintaining the behavior of the individual is only beginning to be recognized and studied. As the interaction between organism and environment has come to be understood, however, effects once assigned to states of mind, feelings, and traits are beginning to be traced to accessible conditions, and a technology of behavior may therefore become available. It will not solve our problems, however, until it replaces traditional prescientific views, and these are strongly entrenched. Freedom and dignity illustrate the difficulty. 64) They are the possessions of the autonomous (self-governing) man of traditional theory, and they are essential to practices in which a person is held responsible for his conduct and given credit for his achievements. A scientific analysis shifts both the responsibility and the achievement to the environment. It also raises questions concerning "values". Who will use a technology and to what ends? 65) Until these issues are resolved, a
technology of behavior will continue to be rejected, and with it possibly the only way to solve our problems. Passage 10 Human beings in all times and places think about their world and wonder at their place in it. Humans are thoughtful and creative, possessed of insatiable curiosity. (61)Furthermore. humans have the ability to modify the environment in which they live, thus subjecting all other life forms to their own peculiar ideas and fancies. Therefore, it is important to stud humans in all their richness and diversity in a calm and systematic manner, with the hope that the knowledge resulting from such studies can lead humans to a more harmonious way of living with themselves and with all other life forms on this planet Earth Anthropology"derives from the Greek words anthropos"human"and logos "the study of. By its very name, anthropology encompasses the study of all humankind Anthropology is one of the social sciences. (62) Social science is that branch of intellectual enquiry which seeks to study humans and their endeavors in the same reasoned, orderly, systematic, and dispassioned manner that natural scientists use for the study of natural phenomena. Social science disciplines include geography, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. Each of these social sciences has a subfield or specialization which lies particularly close to anthropology All the social sciences focus upon the study of humanity. Anthropology is a field-study oriented discipline which makes extensive use of the comparative method in analysis. (63 )The emphasis on data gathered first-hand. combined with a cross-cultural perspective brought to the analysis of cultures past and present, makes this study a unigue and distinctly. Con,Anthropological analyses rest heavily upon the concept of culture. Sir Edward Tylor's formulation of the cept of culture was one of the great intellectual achievements of 19th century science (64)Tylor defined culture as".that complex whole which includes belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. This insight, so profound in its simplicity, opened up an entirely new way of perceiving and understanding human life. Implicit within Tylor's definition is the concept that culture is learned, shared, and patterned behavior. (65)Thus, the anthropological concept of "culture "like the concept of"set"in mathematics, is an abstract concept which makes possible immense amounts of concrete research and understanding. Passage ll The relation of language and mind has interested philosophers for many centuries (61)The Greeks assumed that the structure of language had some connection with the process of thought, which took root in Europe long before people realized how diverse languages could be Only recently did linguists begin the serious study of languages that were very different from their own. Two anthropologist-linguists, Franz Boas Edward Sapir, were pioneers in describing many native languages of North and South America during the first half of the twentieth century(62)We are obliged to them because some of these languages have since vanished, as the peoples who spoke them died out or became assimilated and lost their native languages. Other linguists the earlier part of this century, however, who were less eager to deal with bizarre data from"exotic"language, were not always so grateful (63) The newly described languages were often so strikingly different from the well studied languages of Europe and Southeast Asia that some scholars even accused Boas and Sapir of fabricating their data. Native American languages are indeed different, so much so in fact that Navajo could be used by the US military as a code during World War ll to send secret messages Sapir's pupil, Benjamin Lee Whorf, continued the study of American Indian languages.(64) Being interested in the 6
6 technology of behavior will continue to be rejected, and with it possibly the only way to solve our problems. Passage 10 Human beings in all times and places think about their world and wonder at their place in it. Humans are thoughtful and creative, possessed of insatiable curiosity. (61) Furthermore, humans have the ability to modify the environment in which they live, thus subjecting all other life forms to their own peculiar ideas and fancies. Therefore, it is important to study humans in all their richness and diversity in a calm and systematic manner, with the hope that the knowledge resulting from such studies can lead humans to a more harmonious way of living with themselves and with all other life forms on this planet Earth. "Anthropology" derives from the Greek words anthropos "human" and logos "the study of." By its very name, anthropology encompasses the study of all humankind. Anthropology is one of the social sciences. (62) Social science is that branch of intellectual enquiry which seeks to study humans and their endeavors in the same reasoned, orderly, systematic, and dispassioned manner that natural scientists use for the study of natural phenomena. Social science disciplines include geography, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. Each of these social sciences has a subfield or specialization which lies particularly close to anthropology. All the social sciences focus upon the study of humanity. Anthropology is a field-study oriented discipline which makes extensive use of the comparative method in analysis. (63) The emphasis on data gathered first-hand, combined with a cross-cultural perspective brought to the analysis of cultures past and present, makes this study a unique and distinctly important social science. Anthropological analyses rest heavily upon the concept of culture. Sir Edward Tylor's formulation of the concept of culture was one of the great intellectual achievements of 19th century science. (64) Tylor defined culture as "... that complex whole which includes belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society." This insight, so profound in its simplicity, opened up an entirely new way of perceiving and understanding human life. Implicit within Tylor's definition is the concept that culture is learned, shared, and patterned behavior. (65) Thus, the anthropological concept of "culture," like the concept of "set" in mathematics, is an abstract concept which makes possible immense amounts of concrete research and understanding. Passage 11 The relation of language and mind has interested philosophers for many centuries. (61) The Greeks assumed that the structure of language had some connection with the process of thought, which took root in Europe long before people realized how diverse languages could be. Only recently did linguists begin the serious study of languages that were very different from their own. Two anthropologist-linguists, Franz Boas Edward Sapir, were pioneers in describing many native languages of North and South America during the first half of the twentieth century. (62) We are obliged to them because some of these languages have since vanished, as the peoples who spoke them died out or became assimilated and lost their native languages. Other linguists in the earlier part of this century, however, who were less eager to deal with bizarre data from "exotic" language, were not always so grateful. (63) The newly described languages were often so strikingly different from the well studied languages of Europe and Southeast Asia that some scholars even accused Boas and Sapir of fabricating their data. Native American languages are indeed different, so much so in fact that Navajo could be used by the US military as a code during World War II to send secret messages. Sapir's pupil, Benjamin Lee Whorf, continued the study of American Indian languages. (64) Being interested in the
relationship of language and thought, Whorf developed the idea that the structure of language determines the structure of habitual thought ma society. He reasoned that because the structure of habitual thought in a society. He reasoned that because it is easier to formulate certain concepts and not others in a given language, the speakers of that language think along one track and not along another (65) Whorf came to believe in a sort of linguistic determinism which in its strongest form, states that language imprisons the mind, and that the grammatical patterns in a language can produce far-reaching consequences for the culture of a society. Later, this idea became to be known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, but this term is somewhat inappropriate. Although both Sapir and Whorf emphasized the diversity of languages, Sapir himself never explicitly supported the notion of linguistic 第二部分英译汉全真模拟试题( Passages1-10) Directions: Read the following passage carefully and then translate the underlined sentences into Chinese. (10 points) 71) The main impression growing out of twelve vears on the faculty of a medical school is that the No. l health problem in the U. s. today, even more than AIDS or cancer. is that Americans don't know how to think about health and illness. Our reactions are formed on the terror level. We fear the worst, expect the worst, thus invite the worst. The result is that we are becoming a nation of weaklings and hypochondriacs(自疑有病者), a self-medicating society incapable of distinguishing between casual, everyday symptoms and those that require professional attention Somewhere in our early education we become addicted to the notion that pain means sickness. 72)We fail to learn that pain is the body' s way of informing the mind that we are doing something wrong, not necessarily that something is wrong. We don't understand that pain may be telling us that we are eating too much or the wrong things; or that we are smoking too much or drinking too much or that there is too much emotional congestion in our lives or that we are being worn down by having to cope daily with overcrowded streets and highways, the pounding noise of garbage grinders or the cosmic distance between the entrance to the airport and the departure gate, we get the message of pain all wrong. 73) Instead of addressing ourselves to the cause. we become pushovers for pills. driving the pain underground and inviting it to return with increased authority 74)Earlv in life. too. we become seized with the bizarre idea that we are constantly assaulted by invisible monsters called germs, and that we have to be on constant alert to protect ourselves against their fury. Equal emphasis, however, is not given to the presiding fact that our bodies are superbly equipped to deal with the little demons, and that the best way of forestalling an attack is to maintain a sensible life-style The most significant single statement about health to appear in the medical journals during the past decade is by dr. Franz Ingelfinger, the late and former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine. Ingelfinger noted that almost all illnesses are self-limiting. That is, the human body is capable of handling them without outside intervention. 75) The thrust of the article was that we need not feel we are helpless if disease tries to tear away at our bodies. and that we can have greater confidence in the reality of a healing system that is beautifully designed to meet most of its problems. And even when outside help is required, our own resources have something of value to offer in a combined strategy of treatmeN P When offices are planned the attention paid to the correct use of space, and individual and company needs, is often totally inadequate. 71) Bad planning can frustrate the manager and emplovee and reduce their level of performance. 7
7 relationship of language and thought, Whorf developed the idea that the structure of language determines the structure of habitual thought ma society. He reasoned that because the structure of habitual thought in a society. He reasoned that because it is easier to formulate certain concepts and not others in a given language, the speakers of that language think along one track and not along another. (65) Whorf came to believe in a sort of linguistic determinism which, in its strongest form, states that language imprisons the mind, and that the grammatical patterns in a language can produce far-reaching consequences for the culture of a society. Later, this idea became to be known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, but this term is somewhat inappropriate. Although both Sapir and Whorf emphasized the diversity of languages , Sapir himself never explicitly supported the notion of linguistic determinism. 第二部分 英译汉全真模拟试题 (Passages 1-10) Passage 1 Directions: Read the following passage carefully and then translate the underlined sentences into Chinese. (10 points) 71) The main impression growing out of twelve years on the faculty of a medical school is that the No. 1 health problem in the U. S. today, even more than AIDS or cancer, is that Americans don't know how to think about health and illness. Our reactions are formed on the terror level. We fear the worst, expect the worst, thus invite the worst. The result is that we are becoming a nation of weaklings and hypochondriacs (自疑有病者), a self-medicating society incapable of distinguishing between casual, everyday symptoms and those that require professional attention. Somewhere in our early education we become addicted to the notion that pain means sickness. 72) We fail to learn that pain is the body's way of informing the mind that we are doing something wrong, not necessarily that something is wrong. We don't understand that pain may be telling us that we are eating too much or the wrong things; or that we are smoking too much or drinking too much; or that there is too much emotional congestion in our lives; or that we are being worn down by having to cope daily with overcrowded streets and highways, the pounding noise of garbage grinders, or the cosmic distance between the entrance to the airport and the departure gate, we get the message of pain all wrong. 73) Instead of addressing ourselves to the cause, we become pushovers for pills, driving the pain underground and inviting it to return with increased authority. 74) Early in life, too, we become seized with the bizarre idea that we are constantly assaulted by invisible monsters called germs, and that we have to be on constant alert to protect ourselves against their fury. Equal emphasis, however, is not given to the presiding fact that our bodies are superbly equipped to deal with the little demons, and that the best way of forestalling an attack is to maintain a sensible life-style. The most significant single statement about health to appear in the medical journals during the past decade is by Dr. Franz Ingelfinger, the late and former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine. Ingelfinger noted that almost all illnesses are self-limiting. That is, the human body is capable of handling them without outside intervention. 75) The thrust of the article was that we need not feel we are helpless if disease tries to tear away at our bodies, and that we can have greater confidence in the reality of a healing system that is beautifully designed to meet most of its problems. And even when outside help is required, our own resources have something of value to offer in a combined strategy of treatment. Passage 2 When offices are planned the attention paid to the correct use of space, and individual and company needs, is often totally inadequate. 71) Bad planning can frustrate the manager and employee and reduce their level of performance
This is why so much research has been undertaken since the war into effective office planning. There is a growing realisation that investment in people means that their needs should be thoroughly analysed and rovided for. It has encouraged a number of office planning approaches. 72)The best of these approaches take into account not iust the physical aspects of a building but the complex individual and group relationships which need to be understood before a plan is implemented. A man,'s personal preference is always for his own separate office. Where this can be achieved it provides privacy and special advantages for him. However, it is quite uneconomic for most organisations to provide such facilities on anything but a limited scale. 73)Moreover the corporate needs for good communications, smooth exchange of ideas and paper work and flexibility demand a different form of planning. Preoccupation with rental costs has led in the past to openplan offices which in the worst circumstances are laid out in such a regimented fashion that the atmosphere is totally Nevertheless, costs must be faced realistically. Perhaps the best balance between the needs of most of the employees and the needs of the company are to be found in landscaped offices Developed in Germany in the late 1950s, landscaping, or Burolandschaft as it is sometimes called, seeks to achieve good communications and information flow by the correct juxtaposition of departments. 74)Its aim is to provide a leasing working environment for all, coupled with economic use of space and the ability on management's part to alter office layout to cope with changes in working methods. Ideally a floor area of not less than 6000 sq ft is required, generally in the form of a square or rectangle the sides of which have a ratio of less than two to one. Employees are grouped together in clusters, in accordance with a plan that takes nto account work flow and desirable relationships across traditional organisational barriers. Such groups are identified and separated by movable screens. 75) An acceptable general noise level is achieved by careful acoustic control to provide aural privacy and mask intrusive noise. All great writers express their ideas in an individual way: it is often possible to determine the authorship of a terary passage from the style in which it is written. 71) Many authors feel that the conventions of the written language hamper them and they use words freely, with little observance of accepted grammar and sentence structure, in order to convey vividly their feelings. beliefs and fantasies. Others with a deep respect for traditional usage achieve a style of classical clearness and perfection or achieve effects of visual or musical beauty by their mastery of existing forms enriched by a sensitive and adventurous vocabulary, vivid imagery and a blending of evocative vowels and consonants sult, to break ht. In dealing with a foreign language, however, they have to bear in mind two conditions for experiment. 72)Any great experimental artist is fully familiar with the conventions from which he wishes to break free he is capable of achievement in established forms but feels these are inadequate for the expression of his ideas. In the second place, he is indisputably an outstanding artist who has something original to express; otherwise the experiments will appear pretentious, even childish Few students can achieve so intimate an understanding of a foreign language that they can explore its resources freely and experimentally. Not all feel the need to do so. 73)_And in any case examination candidates need to become thoroughly acquainted with conventional usage as it is a sure knowledge of accepted forms that examiners look for. The student undertaking a proficiency course should have the ability to use simple English correctly to express everyday facts and ideas. 74) This ability to express oneself in a foreign language on a basis of thinking in that language without 8
8 This is why so much research has been undertaken since the war into effective office planning. There is a growing realisation that investment in people means that their needs should be thoroughly analysed and provided for. It has encouraged a number of office planning approaches. 72) The best of these approaches take into account not just the physical aspects of a building but the complex individual and group relationships which need to be understood before a plan is implemented. A man's personal preference is always for his own separate office. Where this can be achieved it provides privacy and special advantages for him. However, it is quite uneconomic for most organisations to provide such facilities on anything but a limited scale. 73) Moreover the corporate needs for good communications, smooth exchange of ideas and paper work, and flexibility demand a different form of planning. Preoccupation with rental costs has led in the past to openplan offices which in the worst circumstances are laid out in such a regimented fashion that the atmosphere is totally impersonal. Nevertheless, costs must be faced realistically. Perhaps the best balance between the needs of most of the employees and the needs of the company are to be found in landscaped offices. Developed in Germany in the late 1950s, landscaping, or Burolandschaft as it is sometimes called, seeks to achieve good communications and information flow by the correct juxtaposition of departments. 74) Its aim is to provide a pleasing working environment for all, coupled with economic use of space and the ability on management's part to alter office layout to cope with changes in working methods. Ideally a floor area of not less than 6000 sq.ft.is required, generally in the form of a square or rectangle the sides of which have a ratio of less than two to one. Employees are grouped together in clusters, in accordance with a plan that takes into account work flow and desirable relationships across traditional organisational barriers. Such groups are identified and separated by movable screens. 75) An acceptable general noise level is achieved by careful acoustic control to provide aural privacy and mask intrusive noise. Passage 3 All great writers express their ideas in an individual way: it is often possible to determine the authorship of a literary passage from the style in which it is written. 71) Many authors feel that the conventions of the written language hamper them and they use words freely, with little observance of accepted grammar and sentence structure, in order to convey vividly their feelings. beliefs and fantasies. Others with a deep respect for traditional usage achieve a style of classical clearness and perfection or achieve effects of visual or musical beauty by their mastery of existing forms enriched by a sensitive and adventurous vocabulary, vivid imagery and a blending of evocative vowels and consonants. Young people often feel the need to experiment and, as a result, to break away from the traditions they have been taught. In dealing with a foreign language, however, they have to bear in mind two conditions for experiment. 72) Any great experimental artist is fully familiar with the conventions from which he wishes to break free; he is capable of achievement in established forms but feels these are inadequate for the expression of his ideas. In the second place, he is indisputably an outstanding artist who has something original to express; otherwise the experiments will appear pretentious, even childish. Few students can achieve so intimate an understanding of a foreign language that they can explore its resources freely and experimentally. Not all feel the need to do so. 73) And in any case examination candidates need to become thoroughly acquainted with conventional usage as it is a sure knowledge of accepted forms that examiners look for. The student undertaking a proficiency course should have the ability to use simple English correctly to express everyday facts and ideas. 74) This ability to express oneself in a foreign language on a basis of thinking in that language without
reference to ones own is essential at all stages of learning. Students with extensive experience in translation who have had little practice in using the foreign language directly must, above all, write very simply at first, using only easy constructions which they are convinced are correct, forgetting for the time being their own language and rigorously avoiding translating from it. More complex forms, more varied vocabulary and sentence structure should evolve naturally in step with the student's increasing knowledge of the language. The student introduces a certain form or construction only when he is thoroughly familiar with it and is certain that it is normally used in this way. As he achieves additional conidence, he can begin to take an interest in the use of the language to create diverse effects. He may want to convey impressions of suspense, calm, dignity humour, of music or poetry. 75) He will master the art of logical explanation, of exact letter-writing of formal speeches and natural conversation and of vivid impressionistic description. But he will still write within the limits of Ms ability and knowledge. And, as a leamer, he will still be studying and observing conventional English usage in all that he writes Passage 4 We usually assume that an innate characteristic of human beings is the close and immediate attachment between the newborn child and its parents, especially its mother. Because abandonment or abuse of children seems to defy such beliefs, we are baffled by reports of widespread parental abuse of children. A look at the past may provide a different perspective on the present According to some scholars, maternal indifference to infants may have been typical of the Middle Ages. Aries says there is evidence that in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries parents showed little affection for their children, and Edward Shorter argues that this indifference was probably typical among the ordinary people of Western Europe, even in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 71) The death of young children seems to have been accepted casually, and although overt infanticide was frowned upon, allowing children to die was sometimes encouraged, or at least tolerated. For example, in Western Europe it was common for mothers to leave infants at foundling hospitals or with rural wet nurses, both of which resulted in very high mortality rates. 72)Whether these practices were typically the result of economic desperation, the difficulty of raising an out-of-wedlock child, or lack of attachment to an infant is not clear, but the fact that many well-to-do married women casually chose to give their infants to wet nurses. despite the higher mortality risks. suggests that the reasons were not always economic difficulty or fear of social stigma. While the practice of overt infanticide and child abandonment may have been relatively widespread in parts of Western Europe, it does not seem to have been prevalent in either England or America. 73)_Indeed, authorities in both those countries in the sixteenth century prosecuted infanticide cases more vigorously than other forms of murder, and the practice of leaving infants with wet nurses went out of fashion in England by the end of the eighteenth century. By the eighteenth century in Western Europe, parents were expressing more interest in their children and more affection for them, and by the nineteenth century, observers were beginning to criticize parents for being too child-centered Nevertheless parents were still not prevented from abusing their own children, as long as it did not result in death. 74) Because the parent-child relationship was regarded as sacred and beyond State intervention. it was not until the late nineteenth century that reformers in England were able to persuade law makers to pass legislation to protect children from abusive parents._75) Ironically, efforts to prevent cruelty to animals preceded those to accomplish the same ends for children by nearly a half century. A scientist who does research in economic psychology and who wants to predict the way in which consumers will spend their money must study consumer behaviour. 71) He must obtain data both on the resources of consumers and on the motives
9 reference to one's own is essential at all stages of learning. Students with extensive experience in translation who have had little practice in using the foreign language directly must, above all, write very simply at first, using only easy constructions which they are convinced are correct, forgetting for the time being their own language and rigorously avoiding translating from it. More complex forms, more varied vocabulary and sentence structure should evolve naturally in step with the student's increasing knowledge of the language. The student introduces a certain form or construction only when he is thoroughly familiar with it and is certain that it is normally used in this way. As he achieves additional conidence, he can begin to take an interest in the use of the language to create diverse effects. He may want to convey impressions of suspense, calm, dignity, humour, of music or poetry. 75) He will master the art of logical explanation, of exact letter-writing, of formal speeches and natural conversation and of vivid impressionistic description. But he will still write within the limits of Ms ability and knowledge. And, as a learner, he will still be studying and observing conventional English usage in all that he writes. Passage 4 We usually assume that an innate characteristic of human beings is the close and immediate attachment between the newborn child and its parents, especially its mother. Because abandonment or abuse of children seems to defy such beliefs, we are baffled by reports of widespread parental abuse of children. A look at the past may provide a different perspective on the present. According to some scholars, maternal indifference to infants may have been typical of the Middle Ages. Aries says there is evidence that in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries parents showed little affection for their children, and Edward Shorter argues that this indifference was probably typical among the ordinary people of Western Europe, even in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 71) The death of young children seems to have been accepted casually, and although overt infanticide was frowned upon, allowing children to die was sometimes encouraged, or at least tolerated. For example, in Western Europe it was common for mothers to leave infants at foundling hospitals or with rural wet nurses, both of which resulted in very high mortality rates. 72) Whether these practices were typically the result of economic desperation, the difficulty of raising an out-of-wedlock child, or lack of attachment to an infant is not clear, but the fact that many well-to-do married women casually chose to give their infants to wet nurses, despite the higher mortality risks, suggests that the reasons were not always economic difficulty or fear of social stigma. While the practice of overt infanticide and child abandonment may have been relatively widespread in parts of Western Europe, it does not seem to have been prevalent in either England or America. 73) Indeed, authorities in both those countries in the sixteenth century prosecuted infanticide cases more vigorously than other forms of murder, and the practice of leaving infants with wet nurses went out of fashion in England by the end of the eighteenth century. By the eighteenth century in Western Europe, parents were expressing more interest in their children and more affection for them, and by the nineteenth century, observers were beginning to criticize parents for being too child-centered. Nevertheless parents were still not prevented from abusing their own children, as long as it did not result in death. 74) Because the parent-child relationship was regarded as sacred and beyond State intervention, it was not until the late nineteenth century that reformers in England were able to persuade law makers to pass legislation to protect children from abusive parents. 75) Ironically, efforts to prevent cruelty to animals preceded those to accomplish the same ends for children by nearly a half century. Passage 5 A scientist who does research in economic psychology and who wants to predict the way in which consumers will spend their money must study consumer behaviour. 71) He must obtain data both on the resources of consumers and on the motives
that tend to encourage or discourage money spending. If an economist were asked which of the three groups borrow most-people with rising incomes, stable incomes, or declining incomes-he would probably answer, those with declining incomes. Actually, in the years 1947-1950, the answer was: people with rising incomes. People with stable incomes were next and people with declining incomes borrowed the least. This shows us that traditional assumptions about earning and spending are not al ways reliable. 72)Another traditional assumption is that if people who have money expect prices to go up, they hasten to buy. If they expect prices to go down. they will postpone buying. But research surveys have shown that this is not always true. The expectations of price increases may not stimulate buying. One typical attitude was expressed by the wife of a mechanic in an interview at a time of rising prices. In a few months, "she said, " We'll have to pay more for meat and milk; We'll have less to spend on other things. Her family had been planning to buy a new car but they postponed this purchase. 73)Furthermore, the rise in prices that has already taken place may be resented and buver's resistance may be evoked. This is shown by the following typical comment: "I just don' t pay these prices; they are too high Traditional assumptions should be investigated carefully, and factors of time and place should be considered. The investigations mentioned above were carried out in America. 74)Investigations conducted at the same time in great Britain. however, yielded results that were more in agreement with traditional assumptions about saving and spending patterns. The condition most conductive to spending appears to be price stability. 75) If prices have been stable and peop have been accustomed to consider them"right"and expect them to remain stable. they are likely to buy. Thus, it appears that the common business policy of maintaining stable prices with occasional sales or discounts is based on a correct understanding of consumer psychology P 6 Aging can be defined as the progressive deterioration, with the passage of time, of the structures and functions of a mature organism. This ultimately leads to the death of the organism. 71)Either the progressive loss of function makes the organism less able to withstand infectious disease or. often, the failure of some vital organ precipitates the death of all the Many fish and reptiles also seem to avoid, or at least inhibit, aging by continuing to grow throughout their lives. 72)We do not know iust what brings on death. but it may simply be the same factors that cause death in younger members of the species: disease and predation. These challenges to life, acting in a completely random way, will eventually strike down all the members of a given generation. It is probably also true that fish and reptiles become less well adapted to their environment when they exceed a certain size. 73) In any case, the ability to grow steadily, even if slowly. does seem to protect them from the harmful effects of aging. Some marine turtles are estimated to live more than 150 years Mammals, as we have seen, grow to a certain size and then stop. Some time after the cessation of growth, agi The actual time span involved varies widely from species to species. a three-year-old laboratory rat is very old. 74) In man. although the deterioration associated with aging can be detected by the age of 30 years, fatal loss of function may not occur until much later What are the symptoms of aging? 75)Decreased muscular strength. decreased lung capacity. decreased pumping of blood from the heart, decreased urine formation in the kidney and decreased metabolic rate are just a few of the many body changes which occur with aging Passage 7 Scientists must accept facts even when they would like them to be different. 71)They must strive to distinguish between what they see and what they wish too see for humanity's capacity for self-deception is vast. People have 10
10 that tend to encourage or discourage money spending. If an economist were asked which of the three groups borrow most — people with rising incomes, stable incomes, or declining incomes — he would probably answer, those with declining incomes. Actually, in the years 1947-1950, the answer was: people with rising incomes. People with stable incomes were next and people with declining incomes borrowed the least. This shows us that traditional assumptions about earning and spending are not always reliable. 72) Another traditional assumption is that if people who have money expect prices to go up, they hasten to buy. If they expect prices to go down, they will postpone buying. But research surveys have shown that this is not always true. The expectations of price increases may not stimulate buying. One typical attitude was expressed by the wife of a mechanic in an interview at a time of rising prices. "In a few months," she said, "We'll have to pay more for meat and milk; We'll have less to spend on other things." Her family had been planning to buy a new car but they postponed this purchase. 73) Furthermore, the rise in prices that has already taken place may be resented and buyer's resistance may be evoked. This is shown by the following typical comment: "I just don' t pay these prices; they are too high. Traditional assumptions should be investigated carefully, and factors of time and place should be considered. The investigations mentioned above were carried out in America. 74) Investigations conducted at the same time in Great Britain, however, yielded results that were more in agreement with traditional assumptions about saving and spending patterns. The condition most conductive to spending appears to be price stability. 75) If prices have been stable and people have been accustomed to consider them "right" and expect them to remain stable, they are likely to buy. Thus, it appears that the common business policy of maintaining stable prices with occasional sales or discounts is based on a correct understanding of consumer psychology. Passage 6 Aging can be defined as the progressive deterioration, with the passage of time, of the structures and functions of a mature organism. This ultimately leads to the death of the organism. 71) Either the progressive loss of function makes the organism less able to withstand infectious disease or, often, the failure of some vital organ precipitates the death of all the rest. Many fish and reptiles also seem to avoid, or at least inhibit, aging by continuing to grow throughout their lives. 72) We do not know just what brings on death, but it may simply be the same factors that cause death in younger members of the species: disease and predation. These challenges to life, acting in a completely random way, will eventually strike down all the members of a given generation. It is probably also true that fish and reptiles become less well adapted to their environment when they exceed a certain size. 73) In any case, the ability to grow steadily, even if slowly, does seem to protect them from the harmful effects of aging. Some marine turtles are estimated to live more than 150 years. Mammals, as we have seen, grow to a certain size and then stop. Some time after the cessation of growth, aging begins. The actual time span involved varies widely from species to species. A three-year-old laboratory rat is very old. 74) In man, although the deterioration associated with aging can be detected by the age of 30 years, fatal loss of function may not occur until much later. What are the symptoms of aging? 75) Decreased muscular strength, decreased lung capacity, decreased pumping of blood from the heart, decreased urine formation in the kidney, and decreased metabolic rate are just a few of the many body changes which occur with aging. Passage 7 Scientists must accept facts even when they would like them to be different. 71) They must strive to distinguish between what they see and what they wish too see for humanity's capacity for self-deception is vast. People have