首页
登录
职称英语
What our society suffers from most today is the absence of consensus about wha
What our society suffers from most today is the absence of consensus about wha
游客
2023-12-16
29
管理
问题
What our society suffers from most today is the absence of consensus about what it and life in it ought to be. Such consensus cannot be gained from society’s present stage, or from fantasies about what it ought to be. For that the present is too close and too diversified, and the future too uncertain, to make believable claims about it. A consensus in the present hence can be achieved only through a shared understanding of the past, as Homer’s epics informed those who lived centuries later what it meant to be Greek, and by what images and ideals they were to live their lives and organize their societies.
Most societies derive consensus from a long history, a language all their own, a common religion, common ancestry. The myths by which they live are based on all of these, But the United States is a country of immigrants, coming from a great variety of nations. Lately, it has been emphasized that an asocial, narcissistic personality has become characteristic of Americans, and that it is this type of personality that makes for the lack of well-being, because it prevents us from achieving consensus that would counteract a tendency to withdraw into private worlds. In his study of narcissism, Christopher Lasch says that modem man, "tortured by self-consciousness, turns to new therapies not to free himself of his personal worries but to find meaning and purpose in life, to find something to live for". There is widespread distress because national morale has declined, and we have lost an earlier sense of national vision and purpose.
Contrary to rigid religions or political beliefs, as ate found in totalitarian societies, our culture is one of great individual differences, at least in principle and in theory. But this leads to disunity, even chaos. Americans believe in the value of diversity, but just because ours is a society based on individual diversity, it needs consensus about some dominating ideas more than societies based on uniform origin of their citizens. Hence, if we are to have consensus, it must be based on a myth--a vision--about a common experience, a conquest that made us Americans, as the myth about the conquest of Troy formed the Greeks. Only a common myth can offer relief from the fear that life is without meaning or purpose. Myths permit us to examine our place in the world by comparing it to a shared idea. Myths are shared fantasies that form the tie that binds the individual to other members of his group. Such myths help to ward off feelings of isolation, guilt, anxiety, and purposelessness --in short, they combat isolation and the breakdown of social standards and values. [br] Homer’s epics mentioned in Paragraph 1 exemplify the fact that ______.
选项
A、the present is varying too fast to be caught up easily
B、the future may be so indefinite as to be unpredictable
C、the past can help to shape a consensus in the present
D、the past determines social moralities for later generations
答案
C
解析
细节题。第一段第4句表明,以as(像……—样)引入Homer’s epics (荷马史诗)就是要举例证明其主句的说法。据此,C项可取。其余3项不合句意。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3277567.html
相关试题推荐
Ontheissueofadaptationtosociety,Janetthinks______.[originaltext]
Withthedevelopmentofsociety,thecomputerhaspervadedalmostallareaso
Ethnographyisthestudyofaparticularhumansocietyortheprocessofmaki
Ethnographyisthestudyofaparticularhumansocietyortheprocessofmaki
Ourshasbecomeasocietyofemployees.Ahundredyearsorsoagoonlyoneou
Ourshasbecomeasocietyofemployees.Ahundredyearsorsoagoonlyoneou
Opinionpollsarcnowbeginningtoshowareluctantconsensusthat,whoeveri
AscientistIntoday’ssocietywearenowseeingmorechildrenundertheage
AscientistIntoday’ssocietywearenowseeingmorechildrenundertheage
AscientistIntoday’ssocietywearenowseeingmorechildrenundertheage
随机试题
American’sLeisureActivitiesLeisureactivities【T1】______.Bothmenand
[originaltext]M:It’sasimplequestionatthecenterofalmostanydiscussion
KeepingitintheFamilyForexpatparents,passingontheirnativelanguagesca
I’velovedmymother’sdesksinceIwas
A.调整胃肠运动B.强心C.利胆保肝D.解热E.降压利水渗湿药的主要药理作用包括
万达房地产经纪公司(以下简称万达公司)经纪人万小姐与客户张先生洽谈一笔房地产买卖
共用题干 第一篇TheUnitedStatesperceivesits
2019年1-2月份,全国固定资产投资(不含农户)44849亿元,同比增长6.1
金融租赁公司的业务主要包括()。A.同业拆借 B.融资租赁业务
(2012年真题)在控制检查风险时,注册会计师应当采取的有效措施是()。A
最新回复
(
0
)