Text3

　　We sometimes hear that essays are an old-fashioned form ,that so-and-o is the“last essayist”, but the facts of the marketplace argue quite otherwise. Essays of nearly any kind are so much easier than short stories for a writer to sell, so many more see print, it’s strange that though two fine anthologies(collections)remain that publish the year’s best stories, no comparable collection exists for essays. Such changes in the reading public’s taste aren’t always to the good, needless to say. The art of telling stories predated even cave painting, surely; and if we ever find ourselves living in caves again, it(with painting and drumming)will be the only art left, after movies, novels, photography, essays, biography, and all the rest have gone down the drain—the art to build from.

　　Essays, however, hang somewhere on a line between two sturdy poles: this is what I think, and this is what I am .Autobiographies which aren’t novels are generally extended essays, indeed. A personal essay is like the human voice talking, its order being the mind’s natural flow, instead of a systematized outline of ideas. Though more changeable or informal than an article or treatise, somewhere it contains a point which is its real center, even if the point couldn’t be uttered in fewer words than the essayist has used. Essays don’t usually boil down to a summary, as articles do, and the style of the writer has a “nap” to it, a combination of personality and originality and energetic loose ends that stand up like the nap(绒毛)on a piece of wool and can’t be brushed flat. Essays belong to the animal kingdom, with a surface that generates sparks, like a coat of fur, compared with the flat, conventional cotton of the magazine article writer, who works in the vegetable kingdom, I nstead. But, essays, on the other hand, may have fewer “levels” than fiction, because we are not supposed to argue much about their meaning. In the old distinction between teaching and storytelling, the essayist, however cleverly he tries to conceal his intentions, is a bit of a teacher or reformer, and an essay is intended to convey the same point to each of us.

　　An essayist doesn’t have to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth; he can shape or shave his memories, as long as the purpose is served of explaining a truthful point. A personal essay frequently is not autobiographical at all, but what it does keep in common with autobiography is that, through its tone and tumbling progression, it conveys the quality of the author’s mind. Nothing gets in the way. Because essays are directly concerned with the mind and the mind’s peculiarity, the very freedom the mind possesses is conferred on this branch of literature that does honor to it, and the fascination of the mind is the fascination of the essay.

　　31. The author asserts that the changes in readers’taste

　　［A］ contribute to the incompatibility of essays with stories.

　　［B］ often result in unfavorable effect, to say the least.

　　［C］ sometimes come to something undesirable, of course.

　　［D］ usually bring about beneficial outcome, so to say.

　　32. The author suggests that if the Stone Age should come up again

　　［A］ the art of essay-writing would lose its foundation.

　　［B］ the art and literature would most totally vanish.

　　［C］ the art of story-telling would remain in caves alone.

　　［D］ the life of art would be thoroughly drained away.

　　33. Essays are characterized by all of the following EXCEPT

　　［A］ careful arrangement and organization of chief ideas.

　　［B］ remarkable concision and meaningful presentation.

　　［C］ improbable condensation to any shorter accounts.

　　［D］ flashes of wit and enlightenment of argumentation.

　　34. What chiefly distinguishes essays from articles may be in

　　［A］ the different amount of words used in representation.

　　［B］ the acute sensibility and keen insight of essayists.

　　［C］ the distinction between animal and vegetable worlds.

　　［D］ the variation of arguments about their meanings.

　　35. The essayists’main task seems to be

　　［A］ the implied revelation and description of the truth.

　　［B］ the free depiction and modification of their memories.

　　［C］ the frank confession of what is concealed in their mind.

　　［D］ the communication of their striking thoughts to readers.

　　Text4

　　In a representative democracy, legislatures exist to represent the public and to ensure that public issues are efficiently addressed by a group representative of the population as a whole. It is often written that a legislator confronts a moral dilemma if, on a given issue upon which he must cast a vote, his view is decidedly different from that of the majority of his constituents. In such a circumstance, it is not clear whether voting citizens have chosen the legislator because of their faith in his personal judgment or whether they have elected him in order to give direct effect to their own views.

　　But this dilemma is more apparent than real. A truly identifiable conflict between the legislator’s opinion and that of his constituency is rare, because the legislator is usually better informed than the public on the issue in question and his opinion, therefore, cannot fairly be compared to theirs. Indeed, this fact underlines the legislator’s most important function: to gather broad-based information in order to make more considered decisions than each citizen could reach individually and thus to serve the public interest better than the public could do on its own.

　　Let us suppose that a legislator opposes a very popular proposed public works project because he has studied its financial consequences and believes, over the long run, it is financially unsound. If the legislator’s constituents eagerly support the project, not having studied the relevant financial data, it is entirely too simplistic to view the legislator as having to confront a moral dilemma. The truth is that the legislator does not know how his constituents would view the project if they truly understood its financial consequences, and thus, he cannot actually conclude that his view differs from that of his constituents.

　　The legislator’s job is first to study the short-range and long-range goals of the people he represents, without confusing these with his own. Then, using his knowledge and judgment, he is to promote the electorate’s goals as he understands them. Consider, for instance, a legislator whose constituents wish to maintain the rural character of their district. If the legislator himself dislikes rural living and he believes an industrial environment would offer greater benefit to the community than a rural environment, he must separate these viewpoints from his professional judgment. He is not to promote industrialization because he personally favors it.

　　However, if the legislator’s considered opinion is that his district needs to sponsor some industrial development in order to maintain its overall agricultural character, it is his duty to promote the industrial development, even if his constituents oppose it. So long as he honestly attempts to serve his electorate’s objectives, the legislator should stand firm against the expressed opinion of his own constituents.

　　36. The author’s purpose in the first paragraph is to

　　[A] explain the basic requirements for legislative issues.

　　[B] point out a possible moral dilemma facing a legislator.

　　[C] hint the clash between legislation and public concerns.

　　[D] show the disparity between legislators and constituents.

　　37. The second paragraph indicates that a legislator’s dilemma is

　　[A] more obvious than an actual one.

　　[B] more easily identified in reality.

　　[C] plainer than its real existence.

　　[D] hardly so factual as it seems.

　　38. The disagreement between a legislator and his constituents

　　[A] causes a moral problem merely in a democracy.

　　[B] usually reflects a debate about long-term goals.

　　[C] barely creates a moral dilemma in most cases.

　　[D] arises only when constituents are ill informed.

　　39. The author implies that a legislator should

　　[A] best serve his constituents anyhow.

　　[B] evaluate his electorate’s complaints.

　　[C] embody the public interests forever.

　　[D] follow his constituents’intentions.

　　40. The legislator who promotes industrialization of the rural district

　　[A] fails to understand the requirements of the region.

　　[B] advances his agenda at the cost of that of his voters.

　　[C] ignores the crucial issue of the community he represents.

　　[D] carries through the common views of his constituents.

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