1997年研究生入学考试英语阅读理解A

Passage 1

It was 3:45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken. After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australia's Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die. The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10. Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up, half a world away, by John Hofsess, executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. He sent it on via the group's on line service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: "We posted bulletins all day long, because of course this isn't just something that happened in Australia. It's world history."

The full import may take a while to sink in. The NT Rights of the Terminally III law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right to life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back. In Australia - where an aging population, life extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part - other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia. In the US and Canada, where the right to die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling.

Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death - probably by a deadly injection or pill - to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill by two doctors. After a "cooling off" period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54 year old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally III law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. "I'm not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how I'd go, because I've watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks," he says.

1. From the second paragraph we learn that _____.
[A] the objection to euthanasia is slow to come in other countries
[B] physicians and citizens share the same view on euthanasia
[C] changing technology is chiefly responsible for the hasty passage of the law
[D] it takes time to realize the significance of the law's passage

2. When the author says that observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling, he means _____.
[A] observers are taking a wait and see attitude towards the future of euthanasia
[B] similar bills are likely to be passed in the US, Canada and other countries
[C] observers are waiting to see the result of the game of dominoes
[D] the effect taking process of the passed bill may finally come to a stop

3. When Lloyd Nickson dies, he will _____.
[A] face his death with calm characteristic of euthanasia
[B] experience the suffering of a lung cancer patient
[C] have an intense fear of terrible suffering
[D] undergo a cooling off period of seven days

4. The author's attitude towards euthanasia seems to be that of _____.
[A]opposition
[B]suspicion
[C]approval
[D]indifference

[第1题答案及题解页数] D

[第2题答案及题解页数] B

[第3题答案及题解页数] A

[第4题答案及题解页数] C

 

[长难句突破]

After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australia's Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die.

主体句式：Australia's Northern Territory became the first legal authority to ...

结构分析：本句开头是一个以after引导的时间状语从句。主句较长但结构比较清晰，其中句子末尾有一个以who引导的定语从句用来修饰patients。

In Australia - where an aging population, life extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part - other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia.

主体句式：Oother states are going to ...

结构分析：本句的主干部分在第二个破折号之后，而两个破折号中间的是一个用where引导的定语从句，用来补充说明Australia。从句的主句较为复杂，是由三个并列结构组成的"an aging population, life extending technology and changing community attitudes"，谓语是have played，宾语是their part。

[全文译文]

It was 3:45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken. After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australia's Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die. The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10. Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up, half a world away, by John Hofsess, executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. He sent it on via the group's on line service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: "We posted bulletins all day long, because of course this isn't just something that happened in Australia. It's world history." The full import may take a while to sink in. The NT Rights of the Terminally III law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right to life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back. In Australia - where an aging population, life extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part - other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia. In the US and Canada, where the right to die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling. Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death - probably by a deadly injection or pill - to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill by two doctors. After a "cooling off" period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54 year old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally III law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. "I'm not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how I'd go, because I've watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks," he says.

凌晨3:45进行了最后的投票表决。经过半年的争辩和最后16个小时的国会激烈辩论，澳大利亚北部地区成为世界上第一个允许医生根据绝症病人的个人意愿来结束其生命的合法地区。这一法案是以15票对10票的无可争议的结果通过的。该消息几乎同时出现在互联网上。身处地球另一端的加拿大死亡权利协会执行主席约翰·霍夫塞斯在收到该消息后便通过协会的在线服务网站"死亡之网"发布了公告。他说："我们这一整天都在发布公告，因为这件事的意义不仅仅在于它是在澳大利亚发生的事情，而是因为这是将载入世界历史的一件大事。" 这一法案的深刻意义要得到人们的深刻理解可能还需要一段时间。澳北州通过的晚期病人权益法使得无论是内科医生还是普通市民都同样地力图从道义和实际意义两方面来看待这一问题。有一些人感到如释重负，而另一些人，包括教会，生命权利组织以及澳大利亚医学会成员都对这一决议进行了猛烈的抨击，并批评如此草率地通过决议。但是安乐死这一潮流已无法逆转。在澳大利亚，人口老龄化，延长寿命技术和公众态度的变化都发挥着各自的作用。其他州也将考虑制定类似的法律法规来处理安乐死问题。在美国和加拿大，死亡权利运动正在积蓄力量积极准备。观察家们正在等待着将产生的多米诺骨牌效应。 根据澳北州所通过的这项新法案，成年病人可以要求安乐死--可以是通过注射致死药剂或服用致死药片--来结束痛苦的煎熬。但此前病人必须经由两名医生诊断其确实已病入膏肓，然后病人再需经过7天的"冷静思考期"，才可签署一份申请证明。48小时后，病人安乐死的愿望才会得到满足。对于居住于达尔文市、现年54岁的肺癌患者利奥德·尼克森来说，这个法律意味着他可以平静地生活下去而无须整天惧怕即将来临的苦难折磨：因呼吸困难而在煎熬中痛苦地死去。"从思想上说，我并不害怕死，但我怕的是怎样死去，"他说，"因为我在医院看到过病人在缺氧时苦苦挣扎，用手抓他们的面罩时的情景。"

 

Passage 2

A report consistently brought back by visitors to the US is how friendly, courteous, and helpful most Americans were to them. To be fair, this observation is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians, and should best be considered North American. There are, of course, exceptions. Small minded officials, rude waiters, and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US. Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment.

For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world.

The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didn't take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation.

Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping the weary traveler. Yet, the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US, especially in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist trails. "I was just traveling through, got talking with this American, and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner - amazing." Such observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon, but are not always understood properly. The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.

As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships. And, of course, speaking a language does not necessarily mean that someone understands social and cultural patterns. Visitors who fail to "translate" cultural meanings properly often draw wrong conclusions. For example, when an American uses the word "friend", the cultural implications of the word may be quite different from those it has in the visitor's language and culture. It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to distinguish between courteous convention and individual interest. Yet, being friendly is a virtue that many American value highly and expect from both neighbors and strangers.

5. In the eyes of visitors from the outside world, _____.
[A]rude taxi drivers are rarely seen in the US
[B]small minded officials deserve a serious comment
[C]Canadians are not so friendly as their neighbors
[D]most Americans are ready to offer help

6. It could be inferred from the last paragraph that _____.
[A]culture exercises an influence over social interrelationship
[B]courteous convention and individual interest are interrelated
[C]various virtues manifest themselves exclusively among friends
[D]social interrelationships equal the complex set of cultural conventions

7. Families in frontier settlements used to entertain strangers _____.
[A]to improve their hard life
[B]in view of their long distance travel
[C]to add some flavor to their own daily life
[D]out of a charitable impulse

8. The tradition of hospitality to strangers _____.
[A]tends to be superficial and artificial
[B]is generally well kept up in the United States
[C]is always understood properly
[D]was something to do with the busy tourist trails

[第5题答案及题解页数] D

[第6题答案及题解页数] A

[第7题答案及题解页数] C

[第8题答案及题解页数] B

 

[长难句突破]

The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.

主体句式：The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted...

结构分析：这个句子的复杂成分在于be interpreted后面的内容，这个部分由三个并列结构构成，分别为"neither as superficial"、"nor as artificial"和"but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition"。这种并列结构对应于汉语里面的"不是......也不是......而是......"。

[全文译文]

A report consistently brought back by visitors to the US is how friendly, courteous, and helpful most Americans were to them. To be fair, this observation is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians, and should best be considered North American. There are, of course, exceptions. Small minded officials, rude waiters, and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US. Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment. For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world. The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didn't take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation. Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping the weary traveler. Yet, the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US, especially in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist trails. "I was just traveling through, got talking with this American, and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner - amazing." Such observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon, but are not always understood properly. The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition. As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships. And, of course, speaking a language does not necessarily mean that someone understands social and cultural patterns. Visitors who fail to "translate" cultural meanings properly often draw wrong conclusions. For example, when an American uses the word "friend", the cultural implications of the word may be quite different from those it has in the visitor's language and culture. It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to distinguish between courteous convention and individual interest. Yet, being friendly is a virtue that many American value highly and expect from both neighbors and strangers.

去过美国的人经常带回报告说，大多数美国人对他们非常友善、好客、且他们都很乐于助人。公正地说，人们对加拿大和加拿大人也有这样的评论，因而，应当认为这是北美一个普遍的现象。当然也有例外。在美国，心胸狭隘的官员，举止粗鲁的招待和缺乏教养的出租车司机也并非罕见。尽管有不如意的地方，但因为人们经过观察常常得出美国人好客的意见，因而这也就值得讨论一番了。 过去很长的一段时间内，在美国很多地方，旅行者的到来因暂时打破了本地人原本的单调生活而受人欢迎。那个时候，人们的住处彼此非常遥远，沉闷、孤独是是一个普遍的问题。因此陌生人和旅行者很受欢迎，他们给当地人带来了娱乐消遣，同时还带来了外面世界的消息。 拓荒者的严酷生活现实也进一步促成了这一好客的传统。人们在独自旅行时，如果缺少食物、受伤或生病，通常只能向附近的小屋或村落求助。因而对于旅行者来说，这不是一个选择的问题；而对当地居民来说，这也并非是想要行善的一时冲动。这种情况反映了日常生活的严峻性：如果你不收留他，那他便无处可以落脚和求助了。请记住，说不定有一天你也可能陷入相同的遭遇。 现在有很多慈善组织专门致力于帮助疲惫不堪的旅行者。不过，热情接待陌生人的传统在美国仍然非常流行，尤其是在远离旅游热线的小城镇。"我只是随便走了一圈，和这个美国人聊了聊。没过多久，他就请我到他家吃饭--这真是不可思议。"来美国的旅客中碰到这种事件的还不少，但他们并非对这个现象都能正确理解。很多美国人在不经意间表现出的友好不应被看做是表面应酬或故作姿态，而应该视为是在历史发展中形成的一种文化传统。 同任何发达国家一样，美国人所有的社会交往的基础是一整套复杂的文化特征，信念和习俗。当然，会讲一种语言并不意味着就理解该语言的社会和文化模式。不能正确"诠释"文化含义的旅行者经常得出错误的结论。例如，美国人嘴里所说的"朋友"一词所包含的文化内涵可能与旅行者母语和文化中的"朋友"涵义大相径庭。要想分清称呼"朋友"是出于好客的文化习俗还是出于个人兴趣，只靠在公共汽车上的萍水相逢是不够的。然而，友好是很多美国人推崇备至的美德，同时他们也希望自己的邻居和陌生人也能够如此。

 

Passage 3

Technically, any substance other than food that alters our bodily or mental functioning is a drug. Many people mistakenly believe the term drug refers only to some sort of medicine or an illegal chemical taken by drug addicts. They don't realize that familiar substances such as alcohol and tobacco are also drugs. This is why the more neutral term substance is now used by many physicians and psychologists. The phrase "substance abuse" is often used instead of "drug abuse" to make clear that substances such as alcohol and tobacco can be just as harmfully misused as heroin and cocaine.

We live a society in which the medicinal and social use of substances (drugs) is pervasive: an aspirin to quiet a headache, some wine to be sociable, coffee to get going in the morning, a cigarette for the nerves. When do these socially acceptable and apparently constructive uses of a substance become misuses? First of all, most substances taken in excess will produce negative effects such as poisoning or intense perceptual distortions. Repeated use of a substance can also lead to physical addiction or substance dependence. Dependence is marked first by an increased tolerance, with more and more of the substance required to produce the desired effect, and then by the appearance of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the substance is discontinued.

Drugs (substances) that affect the central nervous system and alter perception, mood, and behavior are known as psychoactive substances. Psychoactive substances are commonly grouped according to whether they are stimulants, depressants, or hallucinogens. Stimulants initially speed up or activate the central nervous system, whereas depressants slow it down. Hallucinogens have their primary effect on perception, distorting and altering it in a variety of ways including producing hallucinations. These are the substances often called psychedelic (from the Greek word meaning "mind-manifesting") because they seemed to radically alter one's state of consciousness.

9. "Substance abuse" (Line 5, Paragraph 1) is preferable to "drug abuse" in that _____.
[A]substances can alter our bodily or mental functioning if illegally used
[B]"drug abuse" is only related to a limited number of drug takers
[C]alcohol and tobacco are as fatal as heroin and cocaine
[D]many substances other than heroin or cocaine can also be poisonous

10. The word "pervasive" (Line 1, Paragraph 2) might mean _____.
[A]widespread
[B]overwhelming
[C]piercing
[D]fashionable

11. Physical dependence on certain substances results from _____.
[A]uncontrolled consumption of them over long periods of time
[B]exclusive use of them for social purposes
[C]quantitative application of them to the treatment of diseases
[D]careless employment of them for unpleasant symptoms

12. From the last paragraph we can infer that _____.
[A]stimulants function positively on the mind
[B]hallucinogens are in themselves harmful to health
[C]depressants are the worst type of psychoactive substances
[D]the three types of psychoactive substances are commonly used in groups

[第9题答案及题解页数] D

[第10题答案及题解页数] A

[第11题答案及题解页数] A

[第12题答案及题解页数] B

 

[长难句突破]

We live a society in which the medicinal and social use of substances (drugs) is pervasive: an aspirin to quiet a headache, some wine to be sociable, coffee to get going in the morning, a cigarette for the nerves.

主体句式：We live a society in which...

结构分析：本句的主干中包含了一个in which引导的定语从句，从来修饰society。冒号后面的几个并列结构以逗号隔开，用来补充说明前文的"substances (drugs) is pervasive"的具体情况

Dependence is marked first by an increased tolerance, with more and more of the substance required to produce the desired effect, and then by the appearance of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the substance is discontinued.

主体句式：Dependence is marked first by... and then by ...

结构分析：本句的主干为"Dependence is marked"，后面由以by引导的两个并列介词结构构成，由and连接。第一部分中包含了一个with 引导的介词状语，把主句的内容进一步展开说明。第二部分的最后是一个when引导的时间状语从句，用来修饰"the appearance of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms"。

[全文译文]

Technically, any substance other than food that alters our bodily or mental functioning is a drug. Many people mistakenly believe the term drug refers only to some sort of medicine or an illegal chemical taken by drug addicts. They don't realize that familiar substances such as alcohol and tobacco are also drugs. This is why the more neutral term substance is now used by many physicians and psychologists. The phrase "substance abuse" is often used instead of "drug abuse" to make clear that substances such as alcohol and tobacco can be just as harmfully misused as heroin and cocaine. We live a society in which the medicinal and social use of substances (drugs) is pervasive: an aspirin to quiet a headache, some wine to be sociable, coffee to get going in the morning, a cigarette for the nerves. When do these socially acceptable and apparently constructive uses of a substance become misuses? First of all, most substances taken in excess will produce negative effects such as poisoning or intense perceptual distortions. Repeated use of a substance can also lead to physical addiction or substance dependence. Dependence is marked first by an increased tolerance, with more and more of the substance required to produce the desired effect, and then by the appearance of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the substance is discontinued. Drugs (substances) that affect the central nervous system and alter perception, mood, and behavior are known as psychoactive substances. Psychoactive substances are commonly grouped according to whether they are stimulants, depressants, or hallucinogens. Stimulants initially speed up or activate the central nervous system, whereas depressants slow it down. Hallucinogens have their primary effect on perception, distorting and altering it in a variety of ways including producing hallucinations. These are the substances often called psychedelic (from the Greek word meaning "mind-manifesting") because they seemed to radically alter one's state of consciousness.

从技术角度说，除了食品外，任何能改变我们生理和心理机能的物质都是药物。很多人误认为"药物"这个词仅仅指某些药品或是吸毒者服用的违禁化学品。他们没有意识到诸如酒精、烟草这些我们熟悉的物质也都是药物。这也就是为什么现在许多医生和心理学家使用"物质"这个更加中性的词的原因。他们常用"物质滥用"而不用"药物滥用"来清楚表明滥用酒精、烟草这样的物质与滥用海洛因和可卡因一样有害。 在我们生活的这个社会中，物质（药物）在医疗和社交方面的使用都很广泛：服用阿斯匹林可以缓解头痛，应酬时要喝酒，早晨醒来喝咖啡来提神，抽一支香烟可以稳定情绪等等。使用这些物质得到了社会的认可，而且很明显具有其积极的作用，但什么时候就变成滥用了呢？首先，大多数物质的过量使用都会产生负作用，如中毒或严重的感知错乱。反复使用一种物质可以导致上瘾、也就是对这种物质的依赖。依赖的最初表现是不断增长的耐药量，用量越来越大才能达到预期效果，而一旦中断使用就会出现非常不舒服的停药症状。 作用于中枢神经系统、能改变感知觉和行为的药物（物质）被称为对神经起作用的物质，这一类物质通常分为兴奋剂、镇静剂和幻觉剂。兴奋剂主要起到加速或激活中枢神经系统活动的作用，而镇静剂则相反：使其活动变缓。幻觉剂主要影响人的感知，通过各种不同的方式对感知加以扭曲或改变，其中包括产生幻觉。这些物质常被认为能"引起幻觉"（psychedelic一词源自希腊语，其意思是"心灵显现"），因为它们似乎能改变人的意识状态。

 

Passage 4

No company likes to be told it is contributing to the moral decline of a nation. "Is this what you intended to accomplish with your careers?" Senator Robert Dole asked Time Warner executives last week. "You have sold your souls, but must you corrupt our nation and threaten our children as well?" At Time Warner, however, such questions are simply the latest manifestation of the soul searching that has involved the company ever since the company was born in 1990. It's a self-examination that has, at various times, involved issues of responsibility, creative freedom and the corporate bottom line.

At the core of this debate is chairman Gerald Levin, 56, who took over for the late Steve Ross in 1992. On the financial front, Levin is under pressure to raise the stock price and reduce the company's mountainous debt, which will increase to 17.3 billion after two new cable deals close. He has promised to sell off some of the property and restructure the company, but investors are waiting impatiently.

The flap over rap is not making life any easier for him. Levin has consistently defended the company's rap music on the grounds of expression. In 1992, when Time Warner was under fire for releasing Ice T's violent rap song Cop Killer, Levin described rap as a lawful expression of street culture, which deserves an outlet. "The test of any democratic society," he wrote in a Wall Street Journal column, "lies not in how well it can control expression but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude, however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We won't retreat in the face of any threats."

Levin would not comment on the debate last week, but there were signs that the chairman was backing off his hard line stand, at least to some extent. During the discussion of rock singing verses at last month's stockholders' meeting, Levin asserted that "music is not the cause of society's ills" and even cited his son, a teacher in the Bronx, New York, who uses rap to communicate with students. But he talked as well about the "balanced struggle" between creative freedom and social responsibility, and he announced that the company would launch a drive to develop standards for distribution and labeling of potentially objectionable music.

The 15 member Time Warner board is generally supportive of Levin and his corporate strategy. But insiders say several of them have shown their concerns in this matter. "Some of us have known for many, many years that the freedoms under the First Amendment are not totally unlimited," says Luce. "I think it is perhaps the case that some people associated with the company have only recently come to realize this."

13. Senator Robert Dole criticized Time Warner for _____.
[A]its raising of the corporate stock price
[B]its selfexamination of soul
[C]its neglect of social responsibility
[D]its emphasis on creative freedom

14. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
[A]Luce is a spokesman of Time Warner.
[B]Gerald Levin is liable to compromise.
[C]Time Warner is united as one in the face of the debate.
[D]Stever Ross is no longer alive

15. In face of the recent attacks on the company, the chairman _____.
[A]stuck to a strong stand to defend freedom of expression
[B]softened his tone and adopted some new policy
[C]changed his attitude and yielded to objection
[D]received more support from the 15member board

16. The best title for this passage could be _____.
[A]A Company under Fire
[B]A Debate on Moral Decline
[C]A Lawful Outlet of Street Culture
[D]A Form of Creative Freedom

[第13题答案及题解页数] C

[第14题答案及题解页数] D

[第15题答案及题解页数] B

[第16题答案及题解页数] A

 

[长难句突破]

"The test of any democratic society," he wrote in a Wall Street Journal column, "lies not in how well it can control expression but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude, however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We won't retreat in the face of any threats."

主体句式：He wrote in a Wall Street Journal column

结构分析：西方媒体的新闻报道文字中经常出现直接引用人物言论或其著作片断的话，这样的句子往往结构看上去比较复杂，但实际分析后就会发现这种句型很容易解剖。以本句为例，作者把主句放在了宾语（即这篇文章的引言）的中间。宾语即引言包含了两个句子，其中第一个句子比较复杂，其主干成分为"The test lies not in... but in ..."，即由两个并列结构构成，相当于中文的"不是......而是......"。这两个并列结构的in后面都跟了一个句子表示不同的状况，句子最后的"however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be"是对两种情况的补充说明。第二个句子比较短，即"We won't retreat in the face of any threats."，其中"in the face of"是"面临、面对"的意思。

[全文译文]

No company likes to be told it is contributing to the moral decline of a nation. "Is this what you intended to accomplish with your careers?" Senator Robert Dole asked Time Warner executives last week. "You have sold your souls, but must you corrupt our nation and threaten our children as well?" At Time Warner, however, such questions are simply the latest manifestation of the soul searching that has involved the company ever since the company was born in 1990. It's a self-examination that has, at various times, involved issues of responsibility, creative freedom and the corporate bottom line. At the core of this debate is chairman Gerald Levin, 56, who took over for the late Steve Ross in 1992. On the financial front, Levin is under pressure to raise the stock price and reduce the company's mountainous debt, which will increase to 17.3 billion after two new cable deals close. He has promised to sell off some of the property and restructure the company, but investors are waiting impatiently. The flap over rap is not making life any easier for him. Levin has consistently defended the company's rap music on the grounds of expression. In 1992, when Time Warner was under fire for releasing Ice T's violent rap song Cop Killer, Levin described rap as a lawful expression of street culture, which deserves an outlet. "The test of any democratic society," he wrote in a Wall Street Journal column, "lies not in how well it can control expression but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude, however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We won't retreat in the face of any threats." Levin would not comment on the debate last week, but there were signs that the chairman was backing off his hard line stand, at least to some extent. During the discussion of rock singing verses at last month's stockholders' meeting, Levin asserted that "music is not the cause of society's ills" and even cited his son, a teacher in the Bronx, New York, who uses rap to communicate with students. But he talked as well about the "balanced struggle" between creative freedom and social responsibility, and he announced that the company would launch a drive to develop standards for distribution and labeling of potentially objectionable music. The 15 member Time Warner board is generally supportive of Levin and his corporate strategy. But insiders say several of them have shown their concerns in this matter. "Some of us have known for many, many years that the freedoms under the First Amendment are not totally unlimited," says Luce. "I think it is perhaps the case that some people associated with the company have only recently come to realize this."

没有一家公司愿意听到别人说自己引起了社会的道德败坏。上星期，参议员罗伯特·多尔质问时代--华纳公司的高级经理们时说："难道这就是你们要成就的事业吗？你们已经出卖了自己的灵魂，难道你们还一定要腐化我们这个民族，威胁我们的下一代吗？"不过，对于成立于1990年的时代--华纳公司而言，这样的质问仅仅只是公司自我反思的最新表白，是在不同时期关于责任、创作自由和公司底线问题的自我反省。 56岁的现任董事长杰拉德·莱文于1992年接替已故董事长斯蒂夫·罗斯，他现在成为了争论的焦点人物。在财政方面，他承受着抬高股价，减少公司巨额债务的压力。在谈妥两笔新的有线电视协议后，公司债务将达到173亿美元。他也答应出售部分财产并重组公司，而现在，投资者们却仍在焦急地等待着。 对于说唱音乐的吹捧并没使他的日子变得好过一些。莱文一直以说唱音乐是一种富于表现力的演唱方式为理由来捍卫公司的这种音乐形式。在1992年，当公司因出品冰特乐队狂暴的说唱歌曲《警察杀手》而遭受了巨大的谴责时，莱文说这是街头文化的合法表达方式，它应该有自己的宣泄途径。他在《华尔街日报》一篇专栏文章中写道："对于任何一个民主社会的检验不在于它如何有效地控制各种言论和情感的表达，而在于社会是否给予了人们思考和表达的最广泛的自由--不管有时这种做法的结果会引起多大争论和愤怒。在任何威胁面前，我们决不会退却。" 莱文不愿对上周的评论做出评论，但有迹象表明这位董事长的强硬立场起码在一定程度上有所松动。在上个月的股东大会上，大家就摇滚乐的歌词问题进行了讨论。莱文强调"音乐不是社会丑恶现象出现的原因"，他甚至还以他的儿子为例，后者是纽约州布朗克斯的一个教师，他用说唱音乐的形式与学生进行交流。但他也谈到了创作自由和社会责任之间要"保持平衡"的问题。他还宣布，公司将全力为那些可能引起人们反感的音乐制定各种发行和标识的标准。 总的来说，时代--华纳公司的15位董事是支持莱文和公司的经营策略的。但据内部消息人士透露，其中有几位董事对此事表示担忧。"我们中的一些人多年来一直都知道宪法修正案第一条所说的自由并非毫无限制的自由，"鲁斯说，"但我觉得与公司有关系的一些人可能是最近才意识到这一点。"