2. 外语
  3. Our next task is to consider the policies and principles a ruler ought to follow in dealing with his subjects or with his friend

Our next task is to consider the policies and principles a ruler ought to follow in dealing with his subjects or with his friend

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问题     Our next task is to consider the policies and principles a ruler ought to follow in dealing with his subjects or with his friends. Since I know many people have written on this subject, I am concerned it may be thought presumptuous for me to write on it as well, especially since what I have to say, as regards this question in particular, will differ greatly from the recommendations of others. But my hope is to write a book that will be useful, at least to those who read it intelligently, and so I thought it sensible to go straight to a discussion of how things are in real life and not waste time with a discussion of an imaginary world. For many authors have constructed imaginary republics and principalities that have never existed in practice and never could; for the gap between how people actually behave and how they ought to behave is so great that anyone who ignores everyday reality in order to live up to an ideal will soon discover he has been taught how to destroy himself, not how to preserve himself. For anyone who wants to act the part of a good man in all circumstances will bring about his own ruin, for those he has to deal with will not all be good. So it is necessary for a ruler, if he wants to hold on to power, to learn how not to be good, and to know when it is and when it is not necessary to use this knowledge.
    Let us leave to one side, then, all discussion of imaginary rulers and talk about practical realities. I maintain that all men, when people talk about them, and especially rulers, because they hold positions of authority, are described in terms of qualities that are inextricably linked to censure or to praise. So one man is described as generous, another as a miser; one is called open-handed, another tight-fisted; one man is cruel, another gentle; one untrustworthy, another reliable; one effeminate and cowardly, another bold and violent; one sympathetic, another self-important; one promiscuous, another monogamous; one straightforward, another duplicitous; one tough, another easy-going-, one serious, another cheerful; one religious, another atheistical; and so on.
    Now I know everyone will agree that if a ruler could have all the good qualities I have listed and none of the bad ones, then this would be an excellent state of affairs. But one cannot have all the good qualities, nor always act in a praiseworthy fashion, for we do not live in an ideal world. You have to be canny enough to avoid being thought to have those evil qualities that would make it impossible for you to retain power; as for those that are compatible with holding on to power, you should avoid them if you can; but if you cannot, then you should not worry too much if people say you have them. Above all, do not be upset if you are supposed to have those vices a ruler needs if he is going to stay securely in power, for, if you think about it, you will realize there are some ways of behaving that are supposed to be virtuous, but would lead to your downfall, and others that are supposed to be wicked, but will lead to your welfare and peace of mind.
The word "presumptuous" in the first paragraph probably means________.
选项 A、showing dishonesty
B、showing rebellion
C、showing submission
D、showing disrespect
答案D
解析 语义题。首段第二句指出，“我知道许多人已就这一主题写过文章，所以我担心再次论及它可能会被人们认为太过“presumptuous”，尤其是刚好在此问题上我的主张迥异于其他人。”根据句中的因果关系可以看出就某个主题写与别人观点不同的文章，与诚实不诚实无关，故排除[A]；这里作者并没有说挑战权威或传统观点，因此谈不上叛逆，故排除[B]；观点与别人的观点相反，故不可能表示服从，因此排除[C]；只有“不尊重”符合上下文语境，故[D]为答案。
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