Passage 8

　　The conflict between good and evil is a common theme running through the great literatureand drama of the world, from the time of the ancient Greeks to all the present. The principle that conflict is the heart of dramatic action when illustrated by concrete examples, almost always turns up some aspect of the struggle between good and evil.

　　The idea that there is neither good nor evil--in any absolute moral or religious sense—is widespread in our times. There are various relativistic and behavioristic standards of ethics. If these standards even admit the distinction between good and evil, it is as a relative matter and not as whirlwind of choices that lies at the center of living. In any such state of mind, conflict can at best, be only a petty matter, lacking true universality. The acts of the evildoer and of the virtuous man alike become dramatically neutralized. Imagine the reduced effect of Crime and Punishment or The Brothers Karamazoc, had Dostoevsky thought that good and evil, as portrayed in those books, were wholly relative, and if he had had no conviction about them.

　　You can't have a vital literature if you ignore or shun evil. What you get then is the world of Pollyanna, goody-goody in place of the good. Cry, The Beloved Country is a great and dramatic novel because Alan Paton, in addition to being a skilled workman, sees with clear eyes both good and evil, differentiates them, pitches them into conflict with each other, and takes sides. He sees that the native boy Absalom Kumalo, who has murdered, cannot be judged justly without taking into account the environment that has had part in shaping him. But Paton sees, too, that Absalom the individual, not society the abstraction, committed the act and is responsible for it. Mr. Paton understands mercy. He knows that this precious thing is not evoked by sentimental impulse, but by a searching examination of the realities of human action. Mercy follows a judgment; it does not precede it.

　　One of the novels by the talented Paul Bowles, Let It Come Down, is full of motion, full of sensational depravities, and is a crashing bore. The book recognizes no evil, and is coldly indifferent to the moral behavior of its characters. It is a long shrug. Such a view of life is non- dramatic and negates the vital essence of drama.

　　41. In our age, according to the author, a standpoint often taken in the area of ethics is the _____.

　　A) relativistic view of morals

　　B) greater concern with religion

　　C) emphasis on evil

　　D) greater concern with universals

　　42. The author believes that in great literature, as in life, good and evil are ____

　　A) relative

　　B) unimportant

　　C) constantly in conflict

　　D) dramatically neutralized

　　43. When the author uses the expression "it is a long shrug" in referring to Bowles's book, he　is commenting on the ___

　　A) length of the novel

　　B) indifference to the moral behavior of the characters

　　C) monotony of the story

　　D) sensational depravities of the book.

　　44. In the opinion of the author, Cry, The Beloved Country is a great and dramatic novel be-cause of Paton's ____.

　　A) insight into human behavior

　　B) behavioristic beliefs

　　C) treatment of good and evil as abstractions

　　D) willingness to make moral judgments

　　45. The word "shun" in the 1st sentence in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.

　　A) shut

　　B) attend

　　C) show

　　D) avoid

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　　Passage 8

　　文章大意：

　　從古希臘時(shí)代一直到現(xiàn)在，善與惡的沖突一直是貫穿文學(xué)和戲劇的一個(gè)普遍主題(第一段)。然而，今天我們這個(gè)時(shí)代卻蔓延著這樣一種觀點(diǎn)，即在任何道德或宗教意義上是沒有絕對的善與惡的。這種觀點(diǎn)認(rèn)為既使承認(rèn)善與惡的區(qū)別，那也是一個(gè)相對的問題。作者認(rèn)為如果用這種觀點(diǎn)去寫作，那么偉大的文學(xué)作品將會失去魅力。在第三段，作者又舉例說明想要?jiǎng)?chuàng)作出優(yōu)秀的文學(xué)作品，就不能忽視或回避邪惡。Paton的偉大之處就在于他不僅文筆流暢，而且能夠洞悉善與惡的區(qū)別，并且表明自己的立場。在第四段中作者舉了一個(gè)反面例子說明是非不分、善惡不辨的作品只能是失敗的(bore，a shrug)。得出結(jié)論：善、惡的沖突永遠(yuǎn)是文學(xué)和戲劇創(chuàng)作的重要要素。

　　答案解析：

　　[41)A第二段第一句說明在我們這個(gè)時(shí)代，從任何純粹的道德和宗教意義上講，是沒有絕對的善良和邪惡的。

　　[42]C由第一段可知，作者認(rèn)為善與惡的沖突長期存在于生活和文學(xué)作品中。

　　[43]B由前一句話可知這本書不承認(rèn)善與惡的區(qū)別，而且對道德行為漠不關(guān)心。

　　[44]D第二段第三句說明這本書之所以偉大是因?yàn)樽髡呙鞔_善惡之間的區(qū)別，使他們之間產(chǎn)生沖突，并且表明了自己的立場。而C中abstractions意為抽象的東西，小說中形象得區(qū)別了善惡。

　　[45]D由or可知，ignore是其近義詞，并且全句是表明如果作者忽略或回避邪惡，是不可能寫出一部偉大的作品的。