题目内容
SECTION B PASSAGES
Directions: In this section, you will hear several passages. Listen to the passages carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
听力原文： Bertrand Russell wrote a short and sweet essay called "Three Passions I Have Lived For." Here are Russell's three: The longing for love; the search for knowledge; and what he called "the unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. "Of these three, the first two require no external reminders. One seeks love because love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness; one seeks knowledge to understand the human heart. It is the third passion, the unbearable sympathy for the suffering of others that seems to call for frequent updating. So the world accommodates, with glimpses of that unbearable sympathy in Africa, where among the spasms of slaughter and disease, volunteers labour to keep that tortured continent alive; or in Iraq, where, between the pictures of invasions and explosions, a soldier occasionally is spotted lifting a child to safety. Or within our own borders, where those without homes or food are attended by those who refuse to let them go under. That constitutes the "unbearable" part, passion undercut by the powerlessness. Of course, reason and gentleness are politics by other means as well, but they require a different sort of passion. Russell's ideas of passion were straightforward and in the right place, which made his life worth living.
What is Bertrand Russell's third passion？
查看答案
搜索结果不匹配？点我反馈
更多问题
M: I think it's a little bit extreme. I think it's a very important institution, and has played a very important role.
W: Doing what？
M: Doing what nobody else is willing to do at such a moment when countries are in difficulties, which is to give them the financial resources to get out of a difficult joint, or maybe give that country the support, the financial support that the market is not willing to do.
W: You've been criticized for getting governments to stop spending money on their poor people, on their education, health care, and stuff like that.
M: Well, I think that's an unfair accusation. The fund finds a country that has so much public deficit and public debt that doesn't get credit in the market. So it's not that this program against poverty or that program to construct a road is unfunded, it's that the whole budget is unfunded. And when we decide that, of course, wages of public servants, construction of infrastructure, money dedicated to social problems, all of them suffer, but not because of the fund decision, but because of the situation. I accept that at some moments specific decisions that we have made maybe could have been better, sure.
What institution is the man work for？
听力原文： General Motors, the leading U.S. automaker on Tuesday reported a 4.2 per cent decline in total vehicle sales to 433,723 in April compared with the same month in 199Car sales fell 4.5 per cent and truck sales 3.9 per cent, the company said in a statement. Despite the April performance' GM vice-president for North American sales Roy Robert said: "We're going into the summer season with excellent momentum."
What is the percentage of total decline in vehicle sales in April this year？
In no small measure, the epidemic of paranormal beliefs--beliefs beyond the range of scientific explanation--is due to the rapid emergence of the mass media on a global scale. These media have virtually replaced the schools, colleges and universities as the chief conveyors of information. The days of the lone scientist conducting research in the lab or of the isolated scholar writing a paper or book for a limited audience have been bypassed. Today new ideas are popularized--whether half or fully baked--and they are broadcast far and wide even if they have not been sufficiently tested. Apparently the chief interests of most media corporations are entertainment rather than information, profit rather than truth, selling products rather than contributing to the sum of human knowledge. Accordingly, paranormal ideas are pandered to a gullible public and the line between fiction and reality is blurred. The public is often confronted with sensational accounts of hidden realms, and pseudoscience is mistaken for genuine existence. Even reputable publishers prefer to publish books touting paranormal claims rather than dispassionate scientific critiques. Why is it that of the thousands of proastrology, pro-psychic, or pro-UFO books published, very few are sceptical7 "They don't sell," is the response of the hallelujah choir within the publishing industry--a sad commentary on our times.
The skeptics thus have a vital role to play: to educate the public about the nature of science and to attempt to persuade media producers and directors that they have some responsibility to develop an appreciation for scientific rationality. One of the roles of CSICOP is to challenge the views of pseudoscience pouring forth daily from the media. It is clear that we cannot operate within the cloistered confines of the academy, but need to enter into the public arena. In monitoring the media, we surely have not sought to center producers or publishers; we only wish for some balance on their part in presenting paranormal claims, and for some role for scepticism about theses claims. Largely because of the media, large sectors of public opinion simply assume that psychic powers are real, that it is possible to modify material objects merely by the mind, that psychics can help detectives solve mysteries, and that we can abandon the clinical tests of medical science and heal patients by miraculous means. The number of paranormal, occult, and sci-fi television programs is increasing. Our objection is that "docudramas" are not labelled as fictionalized accounts but touted as fact. In regard to the many talk shows that constantly deal with paranormal topics, the skeptical viewpoint is rarely heard; and when it is permitted to be expressed, it is usually sandbagged by the host or other guests.
It can be inferred from the text that most people who have no doubts about paranormal phenomena are probably ______.
听力原文：W. Hello. 24th Precinct. Officer White speaking.
M: Help. Yeah, uh, it was wild, I mean really bizarre.
W: Calm down, sir! Now, what do you want to report？
M: Well, I'd like to report a UFO sighting.
W: Wait, tell me exactly what you saw.
M: Well, I was driving home from a party about three hours ago, so it was about 2:00 am, when I saw this bright light overhead. I stopped to watch the light when it disappeared be- hind a hill about a kilometre ahead of me.
W: Now, how do you know it was a UFO？ Perhaps you only saw the lights of an airplane, or the headlights of an approaching car.
M: Well, if it was that, how do you explain "the BEAST" ？
W: What do you mean, "the BEAST"？
M: Okay. I kept driving for about five minutes when all of a sudden, this giant, hairy creature jumped out in front of my car.
W: Oh, yeah. Then what？
M: Well, then, the beast picked up the front of my car and said, "Get out of the car. I'm taking you to my master!" Something like that.
W: Wow？ A hairy Mien who can speak English! Now, have you been taking any medication, drugs, or alcohol in the last 24 hours？ You mentioned you went to a party.
M: What？ Well, I did have a few beers, but I'm telling the truth.
W: Well, we'll look into your story. Thank you.
What is the woman's most probable job？
微信支付 
支付宝支付