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1. Present situations2. Possible reasons3. What should be done to solve this problem

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In politics, in the courts, even on the ubiquitous TV talk shows, it is good form to pick an intellectual fight. People attach each other--hurl insults, even-and it counts as logical argument. I cannot understand it.(1) It seems that our society favors a kind of ritualized aggression. Everywhere you look, in newspapers and on television, issues are presented using the terminology of war and conflict. We hear of battles duels (决斗) and disputes. We see things in terms of winners and losers, victors and victims.(2) The problem is society’s unquestioning belief in the advantages of the debate as a way of solving disagreements, even proving right from wrong. Our brainwashing begins early at school, When the brightest pupils are co-opted onto the debating system. They get there because they can think up a good argument go support their case. once on the debate team, they learn that they earn bonus points for the skill with which they verbally attack, or insult, the opposing team. (3) They win if they can successfully convince the audience that they are right, even if the case they are arguing is clearly non-sensual. They do this by proving themselves to be stronger, brighter, more outrageous, even.The training in this adversarial approach continues at out tertiary institutions. The standard way to present an academic paper, for instance, is to take up an opposing argument to something expressed by another academic. The paper must set out to prove the other person wrong. This is not at all the same thing as reading the original paper with an open mind and discovering that you disagree with it.The reverence for the adversarial approach spills over into all areas of life. Instead of answering their critics, politicians learn to sidestep negative comments and turn the point around to an attack on accusers. Defense lawyers argue the case for their clients event when they suspect they may be guilty. And ordinary people use the came tactics--just listen to your teenager next time you pull him up for coming home late. You can be sure a stream of abuse will flow about your own time-keeping, your irritating habits, your history of bad parenting.

1()

A. regardless of
B. even though
C. although
D. despite

Whoever said that victory has many fathers and defeat is an orphan, surely had never heard of the World Trade organization (WTO). In the case of the hapless multilateral trade body and its long suffering representatives, the total failure of the opening meeting of the so-called Millennium trade round has lots of people boasting of their role in the violent physical struggle. Well. That’s just brilliant. They are proud of being part of a movement that wants to wreck the most important engine of economic growth, prosperity and overall global rising living standards we have--the freedom of trade and movement of people and goods between nations.The 135-members WTO is composed of sovereign governments wishing to further this goal and ease the settlement of international trade disputes. From the sounds emanating from Seattle, though, it would now seem the WTO has now replaced the Trilateral Commission and the Freemasons as candidate No. 1 to take over the world.Everybody has his favorite Seattle story. The city’s police chief will have plenty of time to think about his, having now resigned in disgrace over the loss of control of downtown Seattle. The Seattle business community may be more inclined to brood over theirs; the poor fools invested $ 9 million to attract the meeting to their fine city. What stands out more I would nominate the union of steel workers who were marching in protest. It’s an image that will boggle the mind for years to come.The debate now is over just how effective this anti-globalist coalition will turn out to be. In the heat of the moment, it always looks as though the world as we know it is coming to an end. But the overwhelming likelihood is that we have not actually seen a replay of the anti-Vietnam War movement, which had much clearer focus, obviously, though its consequences were far-reaching. How long, after all, can you protest against cheap imports when those same imports are all over your houseNo, the real reason for the disaster in Seattle is political, and reports coming out of the meeting point to President Clinton as a major culprit. Which may be both good and bad. Taking the long view, other trade rounds have had difficult beginnings, too. It took years to get the Uruguay Round under way, which finally happened in 1986. Thankfully, we will soon be electing another president, and it should be someone whose actions match his rhetoric.Still, it is a disgrace that the world’s greatest trading nation, i. e. the United States, is currently led by a man whose motivations are so narrowly political and egocentric that he has now wrecked any chance of entering the history books as a champion of free trade. We can learn from the beginning of the passage that()

A. different forces contributed to the failure of the Millennium trade round.
B. many people bragged of their presence at the Millennium trade round.
C. there existed a range of violent debates as to the prospects of the WTO.
D. only a few members were proud of their membership of the WTO.

Biologically, there is only one quality which distinguishes us from animals: the ability to laugh. In a universe which appears to be utterly devoid of humor, we enjoy this supreme luxury. And it is a luxury, for unlike any other bodily process, laughter does not seem serve a biologically useful purpose. In a divided world, a laughter is a unifying force. Human begins oppose each other on a great many issues. Nations may disagree about systems of government and human relations may be plagued by ideological factions and political camps, but we all share the ability to laugh. And laughter, in turn, depends on the most complex and subtle of all-human qualities: a sense of humor. Certain comic stereotypes have a universal appeal. This can best be seen from the world-wide popularity of Charlie Chaplain’s early films. The little man at odds with society never fails to amuse no matter which country we come from. As that great commentator on human affairs, Dr. Samuel Johnson, once remarked, "Men have been wise in very different modes; but they have always laughed in the same way."A sense of humor may take various forms and laughter may he anything from refined tinkle to an earthquaking roar, but the effect is always the same. Humor helps us to maintain a correct sense of values. It is the one quality which political fanatics appear to lack. If we can see the funny side, we never make the mistake of taking ourselves too seriously. We are always reminded that tragedy is not really far removed from comedy, so we never get a lop-sided view of things.This is one of the chief functions of satire and irony. Human pain and suffering are so grim; we hover so often on the brink of war, political realities are usually enough to plunge us into total despair. In such circumstances, cartoons and satirical accounts of somber political events redress the balance. They take the wind out of pompous and arrogant politicians who have lost their sense of proportion. They enable us to see that many of our most profound actions are merely comic or absurd. We laugh when a great satirist like Swift writes about wars in Gulliver’s Travels. The Lilliputians and their neighbors attack each other because they can’t agree which end to break an egg. We laugh because we are meant to laugh; but we are meant to weep too. It is no wonder that in totalitarian regimes any satire against the Establishment is wholly banned. It is too powerful weapon to be allowed to flourish.The sense of humor must be singled out as man’s most important quality because it is associated with laughter. And laughter, in turn, is associated with happiness. Courage, determination, initiative--these are qualities we share with other forms of life. But the sense of humor is uniquely human. If happiness is one of the great goals of life, then it is the sense of humor that provides the key. The author quotes Dr. Samuel Johnson’s words to()

A. criticize the hypocrisy of politicians.
B. readdress the popularity of Chaplin.
C. illustrate a universal appeal of humor.
D. ban satires in totalitarian regimes.

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