单选题 A strange thing about humans is their capacity for blind rage. Rage is presumably an emotion resulting from survival instinct, but the surprising thing about it is that we do not deploy it against other animals. If we encounter a dangerous wild animal--a poisonous snake or a wild cat--we do not fly into a temper. If we are unarmed, we show fear and attempt to back away; if we are suitably armed, we attack, but in a rational manner not in a rage. We reserve rage for our own species. ①It is hard to see any survival value in attacking one's own, but if we take account of the long competition which must have existed between our own subspecies and other like Neanderthal(穴居人的) man--indeed others still more remote from us than Neanderthal man--human rage becomes more comprehensible.
In our everyday language and behavior there are many reminders of those early struggles. We are always using the words "us and them". "Our" side is perpetually Wing to do down the "other" side. In games we artificially create other subspecies we can attack. The opposition of "us" and "them" is the touchstone of the two-party system of "democratic" politics. ②Although there are no very serious consequences to many of these modern psychological representations of the "us and them" emotion, it is as well to remember that the original aim was not to beat the other subspecies in a game but to exterminate it.
③The readiness with which humans allow themselves to be regimented has permitted large armies to be formed, which taken together with the "us and them" blind rage, has led to destructive clashes within our subspecies itself. The First World War is an example in which Europe divided itself into two imaginary subspecies. And there is a similar extermination battle now in Northern Ireland. The idea that there is a religious basis for this clash is illusory, for not even the Pope has been able to control it. The clash is much more primitive than the Christian religion, much older in its emotional origin. The conflict in Ireland is unlikely to stop until a greater primitive fear is imposed from outside the community, or until the combatants become exhausted.

单选题 A suitable title for this passage would be ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】主旨题。文章第一段指出，人类有产生无名之火的能力，人们只对自己的同类感到愤怒；第二段指出，人类总是将自身分为“我们”和“他们”的对立团体；第三段指出，人类愿意把自身归入某一团体之中，这使大规模军队的形成成为可能，再加上“我们和他们”这种无名之火，就会引发破坏性冲 突。综合可知，文章主要在论述人类产生无名之火的能力，所以C正确。
单选题 According to the author, the surprising aspect of human anger is ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】推断题。文章第一段第二句指出，愤怒大概是源于求生本能的一种情感，但令人吃惊的是我们不会对其他动物感到愤怒；第五句指出，我们只将愤怒留给同类。由此推断，人类愤怒令人吃惊的一面是我们只对人感到愤怒，所以D正确。
单选题 From the passage we can infer that ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】推断题。第一段最后一句指出，很难明白用来攻击自身的愤怒有什么存在价值，但我们如果考虑到我们自己的亚种和其他人类群体之间必然存在的长期竞争，就更容易理解人类的愤怒，由此推断，人类活动中总是存在着真实的或想像的与我们对立的亚种，所以D正确。
单选题 The passage suggests that ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】推断题。文章第二段提到，有许多日常语言和行为提醒着我们那些早期的斗争，我们总是用“我们”和“他们”的字眼，我们这方总是试图战胜另一方。由此推断，在历史上我们创建出了与“他们”相对立的“我们”的社会， 所以A正确。
单选题 The author believes that a religious explanation for the war in Northern Ireland is ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】推断题。文章最后一段第四句指出，认为此次冲突(北爱尔兰战争)有着宗教基础的观点是不可靠的，因为即使是罗马教皇也无法控制战争。由此推断，作者认为从宗教角度来解释北爱尔兰战争是具有欺骗性的，所以B正确，其中deceptive是对原文中illusory的同义转述。A(建立在史实基础上)、 C(明显的)、D(或许正确)均不正确。