Despite their many differences of temperament and of literary perspective, Emers

游客2024-01-12  23

问题 Despite their many differences of temperament and of literary perspective, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, and Whitman shared certain beliefs. Common to all these writers is their humanistic perspective. Its basic premises are that humans are the spiritual center of the universe and that in them alone is the clue to nature, history, and ultimately the cosmos. Without denying outright the existence of a deity, this perspective explains humans and the world in terms of humanity.
    This common perspective is almost always universalized. It emphasizes the human as universal, freed from the accidents of time, space, birth, and talent. Thus, for Emerson, the "American Scholar" turns out to be simply "Man Thinking," while, for Whitman, the "Song of Myself" merges imperceptibly into a song of all the "children of Adam," where "every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. "
    Also common to all five writers is the belief that self-realization depends on the harmonious reconciliation of two universal psychological tendencies: first, the self-asserting impulse of the individual to be responsible only to himself or herself, and second, the self-transcending impulse of the individual to know and become one with that world. These conflicting impulses can be seen in the democratic ethic. Democracy advocates individualism, the preservation of the individual’s freedom and self-expression. But the democratic self is torn between the duty to self, which is implied by the concept of liberty, and the duty to society, which is implied by the concepts of equality and fraternity.
    A third assumption common to the five writers is that intuition and imagination offer a surer road to truth than does abstract logic or scientific method. It is illustrated by their emphasis upon introspection— their belief that the clue to external nature is to be found in the inner world of individual psychology—and by their interpretation of experience as, in essence, symbolic. Both these stresses presume an organic relationship between the self and the cosmos of which only intuition and imagination can properly take account. These writers’ faith in the imagination and in themselves led them to conceive of the writer as a seer.  [br] The author discusses "the democratic ethic" (see lines 26-32) in order to

选项 A、explain the relationship between external experience and inner imagination
B、support the notion that the self contains two conflicting and irreconcilable factions
C、illustrate the relationship between the self’s desire to be individual and its desire to merge with all other selves
D、elaborate on the concept that the self constantly desires to realize its potential
E、give an example of the idea that, in order to be happy, the self must reconcile its desires with external reality

答案 C

解析 The passage discusses the democratic ethic as a specific instance of two conflicting impulses: the desire to be responsible to the self versus the desire to transcend the self and become one with the world. In particular, the democratic ethic relates to the conflict between one’s duty to self and one’s duty to society.
A     The passage’s discussion of the democratic ethic relates to the conflict of the individual’s self-asserting and self-transcending impulses. However, the democratic ethic is brought up to illustrate rather than explain this idea. Furthermore, the democratic ethic does not deal specifically with inner imagination and external experience, but rather with conflicting duties.
B     The passage nowhere indicates that the self has two irreconcilable factions. The discussion of the democratic ethic is part of a discussion regarding the importance of the harmonious reconciliation of two psychological tendencies.
C     Correct. As discussed above, the author’s
discussion of the democratic ethic is intended to illustrate the relationship between one’s duty to oneself and one’s duty to be a part of society; we can interpret the latter as one form of becoming one with the world.
D     The passage does not indicate that these five writers believed that the self constantly desires to realize its own potential.
E     The passage does not indicate that these five writers believed that happiness requires a reconciliation of the self’s desires with external reality.
The correct answer is C.
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