首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
What our society suffers from most today is the absence of consensus about what it and life in it ought to be; such consensus ca
What our society suffers from most today is the absence of consensus about what it and life in it ought to be; such consensus ca
admin
2011-10-20
35
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 this study of narcissism, Christopher Lash says that modern man, "tortured by self-consciousness, turns to new therapies not to free himself of his personal worries hut 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 are found in totalitarian societies, our culture is one of the 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 isolations, guilt, anxiety, and purposelessness—in short, they combat isolation and the breakdown of social standards and values.
选项
A、explore certain ways of making for a consensus.
B、spotlight the role of myths in binding a community.
C、interpret the meaning and purpose of modern life.
D、reverse the decline of social standards and values.
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/fTp4777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Inthefollowingtext,somesentenceshavebeenremoved.ForQuestions41-45,choosethemostsuitableonefromthelist(A、B、C、
Wecanknowfromthefirstparagraphthat______.Accordingtothesecondparagraph,itcanbefoundbyresearchersthat______.
Healthcareisanextraordinarilyobsoletesystem.Aprofessorofemergencymedicineatmajoruniversitysentmeareallyheartb
Bothcommonsenseandresearchsaymemorydeclinesovertime.Theaccuracyofrecallandrecognitionareattheirbestimmediate
Whoknowsbetterthanyourcustomerswhereyouroperationscanbeimproved?Today,progressivefirmsincreasinglyrelyonadviso
Paulreceivedthegirl"TheEnglish-ChineseDictionary"fromhisfriendJames,andwrotealettertothankJames.Thefollowing
ThetimehascomeforhumanitytojourneytoMars.We’reready.(46)ThoughMarsisdistant,wearefarbetterpreparedtodayto
Thefirsttwostagesinthedevelopmentofcivilizedmanwereprobablytheinventionofweaponsandthediscoveryoffire,altho
YourfriendMaryBrownwillgotoWashingtonD.C.nextmonth.WritealettertoTonywhoisthereandintroduceMarytohim.You
Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingeighteenth-centurydevelopmentshadastrongimpactonsilversmiths?Basedon
随机试题
A、ADRB、OTCC、DIDD、TallaridaE、Rx药源性疾病的英文简称()
监控量测必测项目按位移变化速率控制量测频率时,当位移速度≥5mm/d时,监控量测频率宜为()。
有关仲裁的叙述中,正确的是( )。
某项工程项目分解后,根据工作间的逻辑关系绘制的双代号网络计划如下图所示。工程实施到第12天末进行检查时各工作进展如下:A、B、C三项工作已经完成,D与G工作分别已完成5天的工作量,E工作完成了4天的工作量。问题:哪些工作是关键工作?
一般人对战地记者的理解往往肤浅片面,如果说得好听点,就是过于浪漫化了。让大家动心的,是战地记者的“帅”“酷”,是那种从事着_______的工作,行走在死亡边缘,享受英雄般注目的_______。依次填入画横线部分最恰当的一项是()。
IRT的项目特征曲线上的位置与项目特征函数之间的关系说法正确的是
在黄炎培看来,“职业教育机关唯一的生命”是
A、 B、 C、 D、 C
--It’srathercold,isn’tit?--Yes,Ithinkso.You’dbetter______yourcoat.
A、ThereisnoofficiallawsandregulationsinSomalia.B、ThebirthdocumentsinSomaliaarekeptconfidential.C、Somaliahasno
最新回复
(
0
)