A strange thing about humans is their capacity for blind rage. Rage is presumably an emotion resulting from survival instinct, but the surprising thing about it is that we do not deploy it against other animals. If we encounter a dangerous wild animal - a poisonous snake or a wild cat - we do not fly into a temper. If we are unarmed, we show fear and attempt to back away; if we are suitably armed, we attack, but in a rational manner not in a rage. We reserve rage for our own species. It is hard to see any survival value in attacking one s own, but if we take account of the long competition, which must have existed between our own subspecies and others like Neanderthal man - indeed others still more remote from us than Neanderthal man - human rage becomes more comprehensible.
In our everyday language and behavior there are many reminders of those early struggles. We are always using the words us and them . Our side is perpetually trying to do down the other side. In games we artificially create other subspecies we can attack. The opposition of us and them is the touchstone of the two-party system of democratic politics. Although there are no very serious consequences to many of these modern psychological representations of the us and them emotion, it is as well to remember that the original aim was not to beat the other subspecies in a game but to exterminate it.
The readiness with which humans allow themselves to be regimented has permitted large armies to be formed, which, taken together with the us and them blind rage, has led to destructive clashes within our subspecies itself. The First World War is an example in which Europe divided itself into two imaginary subspecies. And there is a similar extermination battle now in Northern Ireland. The idea that there is a religious basis for this clash is illusory, for not even the Pope has been able to control it. The clash is much more primitive than the Christian religion, much older in its emotional origin. The conflict in Ireland is unlikely to stop until a greater primitive fear is imposed from outside the community, or until the combatants become exhausted.
31.A suitable title for this passage would be____.
A) Why Human Armies Are Formed B) Man s Anger Against Rage
C) The Human Capacity for Rage D) Early Struggles of Angry Man
32.According to the author, the surprising aspect of human anger is____.
A) its lengthy and complex development B) a conflict such as is now going on in Northern Ireland
C) that we do not fly into a temper more often D) that we reserve anger for mankind
33.The passage suggests that____.
A) historically, we have created an us versus them society
B) humans have had a natural disinclination toward formal grouping
C) the First World War is an example of how man has always avoided domination
D) the emotional origin of the war in Ireland is lost in time
34.From the passage we can infer that ____.
A) the artificial creation of a subspecies unlike us is something that never happens
B) games are psychologically unhealthy C) any artificially created subspecies would be our enemy
D) the real or imagined existence of an opposing subspecies is inherent in man s activities
35.The author believes that a religious explanation for the war in Northern Ireland is____.
A) founded in historical fact B) deceptive C) apparent D) probably accurate
答案:CDADB
Potboiler: 粗制滥造的作品
Scapegoat: 替罪羊
Cold turkey: 突然完全戒毒
Garnish: 装饰菜;扣押财产
Codswallop: 废话
Pinkie: 小手指
Clip:“剪、夹、快”的绕口令
圣经典故: The writing on the wall
Goldbrick: 金砖变懒汉
Carnival: 嘉年华
Bender: 狂饮
善用persiflage(英法文化差异)
Ducks and drakes: 打水漂
Unplugged:“不插电”
Fussbucket: 大惊小怪的人
Potluck: 家常便饭
Spiv: 骗子,票贩子
Kings X!
爱是amour,爱是rak
英女王圣诞致词2014
希腊神话: Greek gift
Maze: 迷魂阵
Google vs Googol
Carry the can: 代人受过
Canard: 流传、谣言
Have cold feet: 打退堂鼓
Mares nest: 子虚乌有
圣经故事: The apple of ones eye
Crony: “朋友”的含义
Handicapped: 残疾的
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