题目内容

We all believe in something or someone. We must believe, just as we must eat, sleep, and reproduce. Mankind has an insatiable need for and an irresistible attraction to a vast array of beliefs about gods and demons, magic and miracles, truth and falsehood, love and hate, same and different. Implausible, even irrational ideas, have been cherished for centuries. Saints and other martyrs suffered indescribable pain and agony, even death, for their beliefs. Scientists have been put to death for their belief that the earth is round, or that there is an Invisible force called gravity, or that the earth is not the center of the universe with the sun revolving around it, or that the blood circulates throughout the body, or that Man evolving around it, or that the blood circulates throughout the body, or that Man evolved from lower forms of life. Religious leaders have attracted millions of people with their version of how life began and how we must behave.
If people do not believe In medicine and science, religion, education, government, and the social contract, chaos results and no society can tolerate that, which is why all societies impose order on their members. We must believe or face unbearable ambiguity and anxiety.
Belief is faith and faith is trust and trust is security, predictability. Fear and hope are the twins that shape belief. We fear death, our enemies, illness, the known, the unknown, and punishment. Hope tells us that things will improve. We will not be defeated. We will succeed. It promises ns a good life here and after death. Fear persuades ns to believe that we can be protected, safe, if we join a group whose god is capable of holding evil at bay, then I cling to that group. We dare not, not believe. Furthermore, belief confers upon believers a special status: those who know the truth. Many people believe that their faith will help them to overcome sickness, fear, sorrow, joy, grief etc., each trigger specific endocrinal secretions--hormones and neurotransmitters (adrenalin, serotonin or dopamine) that modify behavior. In order to control this torrent of endocrinal activity, many people turn to their faith because it convinces them that things will improve and that positive attitude cures the body to fight the invading bacteria or virus. Mind and body are totally integrated, supporting the notion that belief (faith) is a very powerful emotional force affecting physical behavior.
Is the most effective belief system one that is composed of absolutes--unyielding, unvarying and eternal? The answer is yes, because when we eliminate doubt from a situation we feel secure, restored to balance, but if the belief system is science and is based on objective information without absolutes and requires a questioning attitude, not an accepting one us in most belief systems it unnerves people. They cannot handle the uncertainty, the lack of a God or some omnipotent overseer who eliminates doubt and reassures us that all is well and under control. Any system that offers definitive answers to complex human questions and problems: this is right, this is wrong, this is true, this is false--one question, one answer only, is very appealing.
All beliefs require confirmation from an authoritative source whether that be a priest, a rabbi, a shaman, a family member, a special friend, an expert--one who commands obedience and respect. An authenticator. Per- haps all belief is composed of the same elements in approximately the same proportions for even science re- quires a suspension of some disbelief, some uncertainty, however miniscule. Black Holes and the Big Bang are metaphoric truths derived from the physics we know now. But you have to believe, to have faith in the methods of science to gather information, to analyse and interpret it objectively in order to accept its conclusions. No one witnessed the Big Bang, or a Black Hole. These were inferred from careful study and analysis by many re- searchers

A. Faith.
B. Trust,
C. Security.
D. Hope

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According to the passage, the rise of gold price ______.

A. will not last long
B. will attract some central banks to sell gold
C. will impel central banks to switch into paper money
D. will lead to a dollar crisis

SECTION B INTERVIEW
Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions.
Now listen to the interview.
听力原文:It's a Matter of Attitude
A: Until I was 100 years old, I hadn't really lived. All these interesting things have happened to me since I was 100 years old.
B: Tell me what's happened since you were 100.
A: Well, for one thing, I rode on the -- I had a blimp ride.
B: The Goodyear blimp.
A: The Goodyear blimp. Oh, he took me out so I could see Catalina. A very, very beautiful trip. Oh, and I're had helicopter trips, a lot of them, over Burbank, and once he took me so close to the Hollywood sign that I could almost touch it.
B: Now, you're been alive over a century. You have seen a lot of changes...
A: Everything.
B: You were born what year?
A: I was born January 30, 1885, in a small village about 70 miles south of Chicago.
B: All right. Now, you for your 100th birthday and your 102nd and your 104th went in a helicopter and a blimp. Your 106th birthday, what do you want to do for your 106th?
A: Oh, I want to meet a superstar.
B: I hope you do. All right. As I said, we have people here who are breaking the stereotypes that getting old means sitting around doing nothing and waiting to die. Mary Ann, you are over 100 and you have gone through quite a change in the last several years, in terms of how you looked at aging and how you look at it now.
A: Well, I think my whole attitude about aging has changed. I think the older I got the more comfortable I was with myself and the happier I was. I found that as I got older I no longer ran scared anymore. It's sort of kind of go your best shot, you know, what can you do to me now? It's all been done to me. All that can happen now is really more of the same. So I just don't have that fear anymore.
B: Now, a lot of people think that part of aging is that we don't get to do the things that we could do, we become inactive, we sit around, we watch television, we crochet, but we can't go out and have fun anymore. You disprove that all the time.
A: Oh, I think people are very foolish to have that kind of attitude. We all can make choices, and it's up to us when we get older to decide what choice we're going to make. And it's a matter of attitude. If you at my age I say that any morning that I wake up and I'm still alive, it's a wonderful morning.
B: All right. Now, you do not look your age at all. Not only that, here a lot of other men might be sitting around and watching TV or playing cards all day long, You're pressing your weight, your own weight? And incredibly active. Did you age gracefully? Did you think that when you got older you d be active? Or did you have to psych yourself up and say, "Wait a minute, I don't want to get old?"
A: I think I had to psych myself up. And I agree with them in all their remarks, too. You know, young people are afraid to even say the word old. Well, they should read Browning, you know. The best is yet to come.
B: Tell me what's great about it.
A: Well, I have a chance to do the things that I didn't do when I was working and supporting my family. And a lot of people say, well, you can't do them. Well, I can. I'm going to school. I'm very active in my community. We go on vacation to Washington, Hawaii and all that. I mean, r m enjoying life and I'm very active.
According to the interview, what happened since Mary Ann were 100?

A. She had a blimp ride.
B. She had a horse ride.
C. She touched the Hollywood sign.
D. She stayed at home.

According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A. Kids shouldn't he tried as adults.
B. Discrimination exists In the justice system.
C. Minority kids are likely to commit crimes.
D. States shouldn't pass the laws.

According to the proposal made by President Clinton, patients will be able to do the following EXCEPT ______.

A. enjoy more rights to their medical records
B. be open with their doctors
C. decide how to use their medical information
D. sue their insurers for improper use of their medical records

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