No one can be a great thinker who does not realize that as a thinker it is his first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead. Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think. Not that it is solely, or chiefly to form great thinkers that freedom of thinking is required. On the contrary, it is as much or even more indispensable to enable average human beings to attain the mental stature which they are capable of. There have been, and may again be, great individual thinkers in a general atmosphere of mental slavery. But there never has been, nor ever will be, in that atmosphere an intellectually active people. Where any people has made a temporary approach to such a character, it has been because the dread of heterodox speculation was for a time suspended. Where there is a tacit convention that principles are not to be disputed; where the discussion of the greatest questions which can occupy humanity is considered to be closed, we cannot hope to find that generally high scale of mental activity which has made some periods of history so remarkable. Never was when controversy avoided the subjects which are large and important enough to kindle enthusiasm the mind of a people stirred up from its foundations and the impulse given which raised even persons of the most ordinary intellect to something of the dignity of thinking beings.
He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side; if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion. The rational position for him would be suspension of judgment, and unless he contents himself with that. He is either led by authority, or adopts, like the generality of the world, the side to which he feels the most inclination. Nor is it enough that he should hear the arguments of adversaries from his own teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as refutations. That is not the way to do justice to the arguments or bring them into real contact with his own mind. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them; who defend them in earnest and do their very utmost for them. He must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form: he must feel the whole force of the difficulty which the true view of the subject has to encounter and dispose of; else he will never really possess himself of the portion of truth which meets and removes that difficulty. Ninety-nine in a hundred of what are called educated men are in this condition; even of those who can argue fluently for their opinions. Their conclusion may be true, but it might be false for anything they know: they have never thrown themselves into the mental position of those who think differently from them and considered what such persons may have to say; and consequently they do not, in any proper sense of the word, know the doctrines which they themselves profess. They do not know those parts of it which explain and justify the remainder; the considerations which show that a fact which seemingly conflicts with another is reconcilable with it or that, of two apparently strong reasons, one and not the other ought to be preferred.
1. The best title for this passage is ( ).
2. According to the author, it is always advisable to ( ).
3. According to the author, which of the following statements is true?
4. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?
问题1选项
A.The Age of Reason
B.The Need for Independent Thinking
C.The Value of Refutation
D.How People Think
问题2选项
A.have opinions which cannot be refuted
B.adopt the point of view to which he feels the most inclination
C.be acquainted with the arguments favoring the point of view with which he disagrees
D.ignore the accepted opinions of the vast majority
问题3选项
A.Most educated people study both sides of a question.
B.Heterodox speculation will lead to many errors in thinking.
C.The vast majority of people who argue fluently are acquainted with only one side of an issue.
D.It is wise to get both sides of a debatable issue from one’s teachers.
问题4选项
A.Excessive controversy prevents clear thinking.
B.Periods of intellectual achievement are periods of heterodox speculation.
C.The refutation of accepted ideas can best be provided by one’s own teachers.
D.In a period of mental slavery, no true intellectual thought is possible.
第1题:
【选项释义】
The best title for this passage is ( ). 这篇文章的最佳标题是（ ）。
A. The Age of Reason A. 理性时代
B. The Need for Independent Thinking B. 独立思考的必要性
C. The Value of Refutation C. 反驳的价值
D. How People Think D. 人们是怎样思考的
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】根据文章第一段第二句Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think.（一个经过适当的研究和准备，独立思考的人所犯的错误，比那些因为不让自己思考而持有正确观点的人所持有的正确观点，更能获得真理）可知作者强调的是独立思考的重要性，因此B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、D选项均未在文中体现，属于无中生有；
C选项“反驳的价值”，文章第二段虽然提到了反驳一词，但文章第二段主要强调的是争论与思想之间的关系，而不是反驳的价值，属于曲解原文。
第2题:
【选项释义】
According to the author, it is always advisable to ( ). 根据作者的观点，（ ）总是明智的。
A. have opinions which cannot be refuted A. 有无法反驳的观点
B. adopt the point of view to which he feels the most inclination B. 采纳他最喜欢的观点
C. be acquainted with the arguments favoring the point of view with which he disagrees C. 熟悉能够支持他不同意的观点
D. ignore the accepted opinions of the vast majority D. 忽略绝大多数人接受的意见
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据文章第二段第六句That is not the way to do justice to the arguments or bring them into real contact with his own mind. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them; who defend them in earnest and do their very utmost for them. He must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form: he must feel the whole force of the difficulty which the true view of the subject has to encounter and dispose of; else he will never really possess himself of the portion of truth which meets and removes that difficulty.（这不是公正对待争论的方式，也不是让争论与自己的思想真正接触的方式。他必须能够从真正相信它们的人那里听到它们；他们认真地保护他们，为他们尽最大的努力。他必须以最似是而非、最具说服力的形式去了解它们；他必须感受到问题的真实观点所必须面对和解决的困难的全部力量；否则，他将永远无法真正掌握那真理的那部分，从而克服并消除那个困难），可知作者用了三个must来表明正确的做法是什么，从中我们了解到正确的做法是“熟悉能够支持他不同意的观点”，因此C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“有无法反驳的观点”，根据文章第二段第二、三句His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side; if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion.（他的理由也许很充分，也许没有人能够反驳。但是，如果他同样不能反驳对方的理由；如果他连它们是什么都不知道，他就没有理由偏爱任何一种观点）可知作者并没有认为一个人有无法反驳的理由是明智的，属于过度判断；
B选项“采纳他最喜欢的观点”，根据文章第二段内容可知，作者对该做法是持批判态度的，作者认为一个人需要设身处地地站在那些与他们想法不同的人的立场上，这样才会对一件事有全面的了解，属于曲解原文；
D选项“忽略绝大多数人接受的意见”未在文中体现，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
According to the author, which of the following statements is true? 根据作者的观点，下列哪项表述是正确的？
A. Most educated people study both sides of a question. A. 大多数受过教育的人研究一个问题的正反两面。
B. Heterodox speculation will lead to many errors in thinking. B. 非正统的猜测会导致很多思维上的错误。
C. The vast majority of people who argue fluently are acquainted with only one side of an issue. C. 绝大多数能流利地辩论的人只了解问题的一面。
D. It is wise to get both sides of a debatable issue from one’s teachers. D. 从老师那里了解一个有争议的问题的正反两面是明智的。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据文章最后一段倒数第二、三句Ninety-nine in a hundred of what are called educated men are in this condition; even of those who can argue fluently for their opinions. Their conclusion may be true, but it might be false for anything they know: they have never thrown themselves into the mental position of those who think differently from them and considered what such persons may have to say; and consequently they do not, in any proper sense of the word, know the doctrines which they themselves profess.（在所谓受过教育的人中，百分之九十九处于这种状况；即使是那些能流利地为自己的观点辩护的人。他们的结论可能是对的，但就他们所知道的一切而言，也可能是错的。他们从来没有设身处地地站在那些与他们想法不同的人的立场上，也从来没有考虑过这些人可能会说些什么；因此，从任何正确的意义上说，他们并不知道他们自己所信奉的教义），可推知C选项“绝大多数能流利地辩论的人只了解问题的一面”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“大多数受过教育的人研究一个问题的正反两面”，根据文章最后一段可知，大多数受过教育的人也只会倾向于自己所认同的观点，而不会注意到事物的两面性，属于曲解原文；
B、D选项均未在文中体现，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements? 从文章中可以推断出作者最可能同意以下哪一种说法？
A. Excessive controversy prevents clear thinking. A. 过多的争论阻碍了清晰的思考。
B. Periods of intellectual achievement are periods of heterodox speculation. B. 智力成就的时期是非正统思考的时期。
C. The refutation of accepted ideas can best be provided by one’s own teachers. C. 对公认观点的反驳最好是由自己的老师提供的。
D. In a period of mental slavery, no true intellectual thought is possible. D. 在精神被奴役的时期，不可能有真正的思想。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】该题可采用排除法。文章强调的是大多数人在争论中都只能看到事物的其中一面，但并没有提到过多的争论会阻碍清晰的思考，故排除A选项；C选项未在文中体现，故排除；根据文章第一段第五句There have been, and may again be, great individual thinkers in a general atmosphere of mental slavery.（在精神奴役的普遍氛围中，曾经有过，而且可能还会有伟大的个人思想家）可知D选项不符合原文表述，故也排除。因此B选项“智力成就的时期是非正统思考的时期”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“过多的争论阻碍了清晰的思考”属于过度判断；
C选项“对公认观点的反驳最好是由自己的老师提供的”均未在文中体现，属于无中生有；
D选项“在精神被奴役的时期，不可能有真正的思想”不符合原文表述，属于曲解原文。
