Time 35 minutes 26 Questions
Directions: Each passage in this section is followed by a group of questions to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage. For some of the questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question. However, you are to choose the best answer, that is, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question, and blacken the corresponding space on your answer sheet.
Nearly every writer on the philosophy of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., makes a connection between King and Henry David Thoreau, usually via Thoreau’s famous essay, “Civil Disobedience” (1849). In his book Stride Toward Freedom (1958), King himself stated that Thoreau’s essay was his first intellectual contact with the theory of passive resistance to governmental laws that are perceived as morally unjust. However, this emphasis on Thoreau’s influence on King is unfortunate: first, King would not have agreed with many other aspects of Thoreau’s philosophy, including Thoreau’s ultimate acceptance of violence as a form of protest; second, an overemphasis on the influence of one essay has kept historians from noting other correspondences between King’s philosophy and transcendentalism (1: a philosophy that emphasizes the a priori conditions of knowledge and experience or the unknowable character of ultimate reality or that emphasizes the transcendent as the fundamental reality; 2: a philosophy that asserts the primacy of the spiritual and transcendental over the material and empirical). “Civil Disobedience” was the only example of transcendentalist writing with which King was familiar, and in many other transcendentalist writings, including works by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller, King would have found ideas more nearly akin to his own.
The kind of civil disobedience King had in mind was, in fact, quite different from Thoreau’s view of civil disobedience (civil disobedience: n.不合作主义, 温和抵抗). Thoreau, like most other transcendentalists, was primarily interested in reform of the individual, whereas King was primarily interested in reform of society. As a protest against the Mexican War, Thoreau refused to pay taxes, but he did not hope by his action to force a change in national policy. While he encouraged others to adopt similar protests, he did not attempt to mount any mass protest action against unjust laws. In contrast to Thoreau, King began to advocate the use of mass civil disobedience to effect revolutionary changes within the social system.
However, King’s writings suggest that, without realizing it, he was an incipient transcendentalist. Most transcendentalists subscribed to the concept of “higher law” and included civil disobedience to unjust laws as part of their strategy. They often invoked the concept of higher law to justify their opposition to slavery and to advocate disobedience to the strengthened Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. In his second major book, King’s discussion of just and unjust laws and the responsibility of the individual is very similar to the transcendentalists’ discussion of higher law. In reference to how one can advocate breaking some laws and obeying others, King notes that there are two types of laws, just and unjust; he describes a just law as a “code that squares with (square with: (使)与...相符[一致]) the moral law (moral law: n. 道德律)” and an unjust law as a “code that is out of harmony with the moral law.” Thus, King’s opposition to the injustice of legalized segregation in the twentieth century is philosophically akin to the transcendentalists’ opposition to the Fugitive Slave Law in the nineteenth century.
1. Which one of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
(A) King’s philosophy was more influenced by Thoreau’s essay on civil disobedience than by any other writing of the transcendentalists.
(B) While historians may have overestimated Thoreau’s influence on King, King was greatly influenced by a number of the transcendentalist philosophers.
(C) Thoreau’s and King’s views on civil disobedience differed in that King was more concerned with the social reform than with the economic reform of society.
(D) Although historians have overemphasized Thoreau’s influence on King, there are parallels between King’s philosophy and transcendentalism that have not been fully appreciated.(D)
(E) King’s ideas about law and civil disobedience were influenced by transcendentalism in general and Thoreau’s essays in particular.
2. Which one of the following statements about “Civil Disobedience” would the author consider most accurate?
(A) It was not King’s first contact with the concept of passive resistance to unjust laws.
(B) It was one of many examples of transcendentalist writing with which King was familiar.
(C) It provided King with a model for using passive resistance to effect social change.
(D) It contains a number of ideas with which other transcendentalists strongly disagreed.(E)
(E) It influenced King’s philosophy on passive resistance to unjust laws.
3. In the first paragraph, the author is primarily concerned with
(A) chronicling the development of King’s philosophy on passive resistance to unjust law
(B) suggesting that a common emphasis on one influence on King’s philosophy has been misleading
(C) providing new information about the influence of twentieth-century philosophers on King’s work
(D) summarizing the work of historians of the most important influences on King’s philosophy(B)
(E) providing background information about nineteenth-century transcendentalist philosophers
4. According to the passage, which one of the following is true of’ Emerson and Fuller?
(A) Some of their ideas were less typical of transcendentalism than were some of Thoreau’s ideas.
(B) They were more concerned with the reform of society than with the reform of the individual.
(C) They would have been more likely than Thoreau to agree with King on the necessity of mass protest in civil disobedience.
(D) Their ideas about civil disobedience and unjust laws are as well known as Thoreau’s are.(E)
(E) Some of their ideas were more similar to King’s than were some of Thoreau’s.
5. According to the passage, King differed from most transcendentalists in that he
(A) opposed violence as a form of civil protest
(B) opposed war as an instrument of foreign policy under any circumstances
(C) believed that just laws had an inherent moral value
(D) was more interested in reforming society than in reforming the individual(D)
(E) protested social and legal injustice in United States society rather than United States foreign policy
6. The passage suggests which one of the following about Thoreau?
(A) He was the first to develop fully the theory of civil disobedience.
(B) His work has had a greater influence on contemporary thinkers than has the work of Emerson and Fuller.
(C) His philosophy does not contain all of the same elements as the philosophies of the other transcendentalists.
(D) He advocated using civil disobedience to force the federal government to change its policies on war.(C)
(E) He is better known for his ideas on social and legal reform than for his ideas on individual reform.
7. The passage provides support for which one of the following statements about the quotations in lines 52-55?
(A) They are an example of a way in which King’s ideas differed from Thoreau’s but were similar to the ideas of other transcendentalists.
(B) They provide evidence that proves that King’s philosophy was affected by transcendentalist thought.
(C) They suggest that King, like the transcendentalists, judged human laws by ethical standards.
(D) They suggest a theoretical basis for King’s philosophy of government.(C)
(E) They provide a paraphrase of Thoreau’s position on just and unjust laws.
In Democracies and its Critics, Robert Dahl defends both democratic value and pluralist democracies, or polyarchies (a rough shorthand term for Western political systems). Dahl argues convincingly that the idea of democracy rests on political equality—the equality capacity of all citizens to determine or influence collective decisions. Of course, as Dahl recognizes, if hierarchical ordering is inevitable in any structure of government, and if no society can guarantee perfect equality in the resources that may give rise to political influence, the democratic principle of political equality is incapable of full realization. So actual systems can be deemed democratic only as approximations to the ideal. It is on these grounds that Dahl defends polyarchy.
As a representative system in which elected officials both determine government policy and are accountable to a broad-based electorate, polyarchy reinforces a diffusion of power away from any single center and toward a variety of individuals, groups, and organizations. It is this centrifugal characteristic, Dahl argues, that makes polyarchy the nearest possible approximation to the democratic ideal. Polyarchy achieves this diffusion of power through party competition and the operation of pressure groups. Competing for votes, parties seek to offer different sections of the electorate what they most want; they do not ask what the majority thinks of an issue, but what policy commitments will sway the electoral decisions of particular groups. Equally, groups that have strong feelings about an issue can organize in pressure groups to influence public policy (public policy: 国家政策).
During the 1960s and 1970s, criticism of the theory of pluralist democracy was vigorous. Many critics pointed to a gap between the model and the reality of Western political systems. They argued that the distribution of power resources other than the vote was so uneven that the political order systematically gave added weight to those who were already richer or organizationally more powerful. So the power of some groups to exclude issues altogether from the political agenda effectively countered any diffusion of influence on decision-making.
Although such criticism became subdued during the 1980s, Dahl himself seems to support some of the earlier criticism. Although he regrets that some Western intellectuals demand more democracy from polyarchies than is possible, and is cautious about the possibility of further democratization, he nevertheless ends his book by asking what changes in structures and consciousness might make political life more democratic in present polyarchies. One answer, he suggests, is to look at the economic order of polyarchies from the point of view of the citizen as well as from that of producers and consumers. This would require a critical examination of both the distribution of those economic resources that are at the same time political resources, and the relationship between political structures and economic enterprises.
8. The characterization of polyarchies as “centrifugal” (line 22) emphasizes the
(A) way in which political power is decentralized in a polyarchy
(B) central role of power resources in a polyarchy
(C) kind of concentrated power that political parties generate in a polyarchy
(D) dynamic balance that exists between economic enterprises and elected officials in a polyarchy(A)
(E) dynamic balance that exists between voters and elected officials in a polyarchy
9. In the third paragraph, the author of the passage refers to criticism of the theory of polyarchy democracy primarily in order to
(A) refute Dahl’s statement that Western intellectuals expect more democracy from polyarchies than is possible
(B) advocate the need for rethinking the basic principles on which the theory of democracy rests
(C) suggest that the structure of government within pluralist democracies should be changed
(D) point out a flaw in Dahl’s argument that the principle of political equality cannot be fully realized(E)
(E) point out an objection to Dahl’s defense of polyarchy
10. According to the passage, the aim of a political party in a polyarchy is to do which one of the following?
(A) determine what the position of the majority of voters is on a particular issue
(B) determine what position on an issue will earn the support of particular groups of voters
(C) organize voters into pressure groups in order to influence public policy on a particular issue
(D) ensure that elected officials accurately represent the position of the party on specific issue(B)
(E) ensure that elected officials accurately represent the position of the electorate on specific issues
11. It can be inferred from the passage that Dahl assumes which one of the following in his defense of polyarchies?
(A) Polyarchies are limited in the extent to which they can embody the idea of democracy.
(B) The structure of polyarchical governments is free of hierarchical ordering.
(C) The citizens of a polyarchy have equal access to the resources that provide political influence.
(D) Polyarchy is the best political system to foster the growth of political parties.(A)
(E) Polyarchy is a form of government that is not influenced by the interests of economic enterprises.
12. Which one of the following is most closely analogous to pluralist democracies as they are described in relation to the democratic principle of political equality?
(A) an exact copy of an ancient artifact that is on display in a museum
(B) a performance of a musical score whose range of tonality cannot be completely captured by any actual instruments
(C) a lecture by a former astronaut to a class of young students who would like to be astronauts
(D) the commemoration of a historical event each year by a historian presenting a lecture on a topic related to the event(B)
(E) the mold from which a number of identical castings of a sculpture are made
13. Which one of the following, if true, would most strengthen Dahl’s defense of polyarchy?
(A) The political agenda in a polyarchy is strongly influenced by how power resources other than the vote are distributed.
(B) The outcome of elections is more often determined by the financial resources candidates are able to spend during campaigns than by their stands on political issue.
(C) Public policy in a polyarchy is primarily determined by decision-makers who are not accountable to elected officials.
(D) Political parties in a polyarchy help concentrate political power in the central government.(E)
(E) Small and diverse pressure groups are able to exert as much influence on public policy in a polyarchy as are large and powerful groups.
14. The passage can best be described as
(A) an inquiry into how present-day polyarchies can be made more democratic
(B) a commentary on the means pressure groups employ to exert influence within polyarchies
(C) a description of the relationship between polyarchies and economic enterprises
(D) a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of polyarchy as a form of democracy(D)
(E) an overview of the similarities between political parties and pressure groups in a polyarchy
The old belief that climatic stability accounts for the high level of species diversity in the Amazon River basin of South America emerged, strangely enough, from observations of the deep sea. Sanders discovered high diversity among the mud-dwelling animals of the deep ocean. He argued that such diversity could be attributed to the absence of significant fluctuations in climate and physical conditions, without which the extinction of species should be rare. In the course of time (in the course of time: 随着时间[岁月]的推移， 总有一天) new species would continue to evolve, and so the rate of speciation (speciation: n.[生]物种形成,与 speciality 区别) would be greater than the rate of extinction, resulting in the accumulation of great diversity. Sanders argued that the Amazon tropical rain forest is analogous to the deep sea: because the rain forest has a stable climate, extinction should be rare. Evidence that some species of rain-forest trees have persisted for some 30 million years in the Amazon basin, added to the absence of winter and glaciation, supports this view.
Recently however, several observations have cast doubt on the validity of the stability hypothesis and suggest that the climate of the Amazon basin has fluctuated significantly in the past. Haffer noted that different species of birds inhabit different corners of the basin in spite of the fact that essentially unbroken green forest spreads from the western edge to the eastern edge of the region. This pattern presented a puzzle to biologists studying the distributions of plants and animals: why would different species inhabit different parts of the forest if the habitat in which they lived had a stable climate?
Haffer proposed a compelling explanation for the distribution of species. Observing that species found on high ground are different from those on low ground and knowing that in the Amazon lowlands are drier than uplands, he proposed that during the ice ages the Amazon lowlands became a near-desert arid plain; meanwhile, the more elevated regions became islands of moisture and hence served as refuges for the fauna and flora of the rain forest. Populations that were once continuous diverged and became permanently separated. Haffer’s hypothesis appears to explain the distribution of species as well as the unusual species diversity. The ice-age refuges would have protected existing species from extinction. But the periodic geographic isolation of related populations (there have been an estimated 13 ice ages to date) would have facilitated the development of new species as existing species on the lowlands adapted to changing climates.
Although no conclusive proof has yet been found to support Haffer’s hypothesis, it has led other researchers to gauge the effects of climatic changes, such as storms and flooding, on species diversity in the Amazon basin. Their research suggests that climatic disturbances help account for the splendid diversity of the Amazon rain forest.
15. As discussed in the first paragraph of the passage, Sanders’ analogy between the deep sea and the Amazon basin involves which one of the following assumptions?
(A) Both the Amazon basin and the deep sea support an unusually high rate of speciation.
(B) Both the rain-forest trees in the Amazon basin and the mud-dwelling animals in the deep sea have survived for 30 million years.
(C) Both the deep sea and the Amazon basin have not experienced dramatic changes in climate or physical conditions.
(D) A dependable supply of water to the Amazon basin and the deep sea has moderated the rate of extinction in both habitats.(C)
(E) The rate of speciation in the Amazon basin is equivalent to the rate of speciation in the deep sea.
16. The author of the passage would most likely agree with which one of the following statements about Haffer’s hypothesis?
(A) It provides an intriguing and complete explanation for the high rate of species diversity in the Amazon basin.
(B) It is partially correct in that a number of climatic disturbances account for species diversity in the Amazon basin.
(C) It has not yet been verified, but it has had an influential effect on current research on species diversity in the Amazon basin.
(D) It is better than Sanders’ theory in accounting for the low rate of species extinction in the Amazon basin.(C)
(E) It provides a compelling explanation for the distribution of species in the Amazon basin but does not account for the high species diversity.
17. According to the passage, lowlands in the Amazon basin currently differ from uplands in which one of the following respects?
(A) Lowlands are desertlike, whereas uplands are lush.
(B) Lowlands are less vulnerable to glaciation during the ice ages than are uplands.
(C) Uplands support a greater diversity of species than do lowlands.
(D) Uplands are wetter than are lowlands.(D)
(E) Uplands are more densely populated than are lowlands.
18. Which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
(A) A hypothesis is discussed, evidence that undercuts that hypothesis is presented and a new hypothesis that may account for the evidence is described.
(B) A recently observed phenomenon is described, an explanation for that phenomenon is discussed, and the explanation is evaluated in light of previous research findings.
(C) Several hypotheses that may account for a puzzling phenomenon are described and discounted, and a more promising hypothesis is presented.
(D) A hypothesis and the assumptions on which it is based are described, and evidence is provided to suggest that the hypothesis is only partially correct.(A)
(E) Two alternative explanations for a phenomenon are presented and compared, and experiments designed to test each theory are described.
19. The author of the passage mentions the number of ice ages in the third paragraph most probably in order to
(A) provide proof that cooler and drier temperatures are primarily responsible for the distribution of species in the Amazon
(B) explain how populations of species were protected from extinction in the Amazon basin
(C) explain how most existing species were able to survive periodic climatic disturbances in the Amazon basin
(D) suggest that certain kinds of climatic disturbances cause more species diversity than do other kinds of climatic disturbances(E)
(E) suggest that geographic isolation may have occurred often enough to cause high species diversity in the Amazon basin
20. The passage suggests that which one of the following is true of Sanders’ hypothesis?
(A) He underestimated the effects of winter and glaciation in the Amazon basin on the tropical rain forest.
(B) He failed to recognize the similarity in physical conditions of the Amazon lowlands and the Amazon uplands.
(C) He failed to take into a count the relatively high rate of extinction during the ice ages in the Amazon basin.
(D) He overestimated the length of time that species have survived in the Amazon basin.(E)
(E) He failed to account for the distribution of species in the Amazon basin.
21. Which one of the following is evidence that would contribute to the “proof” mentioned in line 54?
(A) Accurately dated sediment cores from a freshwater lake in the Amazon indicate that the lake’s water level rose significantly during the last ice age.
(B) Data based on radiocarbon dating of fossils suggest that the Amazon uplands were too cold to support rain forests during the last ice age.
(C) Computer models of climate during global ice ages predict only insignificant reductions of monsoon rains in tropical areas such as the Amazon.
(D) Fossils preserved in the Amazon uplands during the last ice age are found together with minerals that are the products of an arid landscape.(E)
(E) Fossilized pollen from the Amazon lowlands indicates that during the last ice age the Amazon lowlands supported vegetation that needs little water rather than the rain forests they support today.
Although surveys of medieval legislation, guild organization, and terminology used to designate different medical practitioners have demonstrated that numerous medical specialties were recognized in Europe during the Middle Ages (Middle Ages: n. (前面与the连用)中世纪;中古时代), most historians continue to equate the term “woman medical practitioner,” wherever they encounter it in medieval records, with “midwife.” This common practice obscures the fact that, although women were not represented on all levels of medicine equally, they were represented in a variety of specialties throughout the broad medical community. A reliable study by Wickersheimer and Jacquart documents that of 7,647 medical practitioners in France during the twelfth through fifteenth centuries, 121 were women; of these, only 44 were identified as midwives, while the rest practiced as physicians, surgeons, apothecaries, barbers, and other healers.
While preserving terminological distinctions somewhat increases the quality of the information extracted from medieval documents concerning women medical practitioners, scholars must also reopen the whole question of why documentary evidence for women medical practitioners comprises such a tiny fraction of the evidence historians of medieval medicine usually present. Is this due to the limitations of the historical record, as has been claimed, or does it also result from the methods historians use? Granted, apart from medical licenses, the principal sources of information regarding medical practitioners available to researchers are wills, property transfers, court records, and similar documents, all of which typically underrepresent women because of restrictive medieval legal traditions. Nonetheless, the parameters researchers choose when they define their investigations may contribute to the problem. Studies focusing on the upper echelons of “learned” medicine, for example, tend to exclude healers on the legal and social fringes of medical practice, where most women would have been found.
The advantages of broadening the scope of such studies is immediately apparent in Pelling and Webster’s study of sixteenth-century London. Instead of focusing solely on officially recognized and licensed practitioners, the researchers defined a medical practitioner as “any individual whose occupation is basically concerned with the care of the sick.” Using this definition, they found primary source (primary source: 原始来源, 第一手来源) information suggesting that there were 60 women medical practitioners in the city of London in 1560. Although this figure may be slightly exaggerated, the evidence contrasts strikingly with that of Gottfried, whose earlier survey identified only 28 women medical practitioners in all of England between 1330 and 1530.
Finally, such studies provide only statistical information about the variety and prevalence of women’s medical practice in medieval Europe. Future studies might also make profitable use of analyses developed in other areas of women’s history as a basis for exploring the social context of women’s medical practice. Information about economic rivalry in medicine, women’s literacy, and the control of medical knowledge could add much to our growing understanding of women medical practitioners’ role in medieval society.
22. Which one of the following best expresses the main point of the passage?
(A) Recent studies demonstrate that women medical practitioners were more common in England than in the rest of Western Europe during the Middle Ages.
(B) The quantity and quality of the information historians uncover concerning women’s medical practice in medieval Europe would be improved if they changed their methods of study.
(C) The sparse evidence for women medical practitioners in studies dealing with the Middle Ages is due primarily to the limitations of the historical record.
(D) Knowledge about the social issues that influenced the role women medical practitioners played in medieval society has been enhanced by several recent studies.(B)
(E) Analyses developed in other areas of women’s history could probably be used to provide more information about the social context of women’s medical practice during the Middle Ages.
23. Which one of the following is most closely analogous to the error the author believes historians make when they equate the term “woman medical practitioner” with “midwife”?
(A) equating pear with apple
(B) equating science with biology
(C) equating supervisor with subordinate
(D) equating member with nonmember(B)
(E) equating instructor with trainee
24. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following assertions regarding Gottfried’s study?
(A) Gottfried’s study would have recorded a much larger number of women medical practitioners if the time frame covered by the study had included the late sixteenth century.
(B) The small number of women medical practitioners identified in Gottfried’s study is due primarily to problems caused by inaccurate sources.
(C) The small number of women medical practitioners identified in Gottfried’s study is due primarily to the loss of many medieval documents.
(D) The results of Gottfried’s study need to be considered in light of the social changes occurring in Western Europe during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.(E)
(E) In setting the parameters for his study. Gottfried appears to have defined the term “medical practitioner” very narrowly.
25. The passage suggests that a future study that would be more informative about medieval women medical practitioners might focus on which one of the following?
(A) the effect of social change on the political and economic structure of medieval society
(B) the effect of social constraints on medieval women’s access to a medical education
(C) the types of medical specialties that developed during the Middle Ages
(D) the reasons why medieval historians tend to equate the term “woman medical practitioner” with midwife(B)
(E) the historical developments responsible for the medieval legal tradition’s restrictions on women
26. The author refers to the study by Wickersheimer and Jacquart in order to
(A) demonstrate that numerous medical specialties were recognized in Western Europe during the Middle Ages
(B) demonstrate that women are often underrepresented in studies of medieval medical practitioners
(C) prove that midwives were officially recognized as members of the medical community during the Middle Ages
(D) prove that midwives were only a part of a larger community of women medical practitioners during the Middle Ages(D)
(E) prove that the existence of midwives can be documented in Western Europe as early as the twelfth century
27. In the passage, the author is primarily concerned with doing which one of the following?
(A) describing new methodological approaches
(B) revising the definitions of certain concepts
(C) comparing two different analyses
(D) arguing in favor of changes in method(D)
(E) chronicling certain historical developments
