Is it possible to persuade
mankind to live without war? War is an ancient institution which has existed for
at least six thousand years. It was always bad and usually foolish, but in the
past the human race managed to hive with it. Modern ingenuity has changed this.
Either Man will abolish war, or war will abolish Man. For the present, it is
nuclear weapons that cause the most serious danger, but bacteriological or
chemical weapons may, before long, offer an even greater threat. If we succeed
in abolishing nuclear weapons, our work will not be done. It will never be done
until we have succeeded in abolishing war. To do {{U}}this{{/U}}, we need to
persuade mankind to look upon international questions in a new way, not as
contests of force, in which the victory goes to side which is most skillful in
killing people, but by arbitration in accordance with agreed principles of law.
It is not easy to change very old mental habits, but this is what must be
attempted. There are those who say that the adoption of this or
that ideology would prevent war. I believe this to be a big error. All
ideologies are based upon dogmatic statements which are, at best, doubtful, and
at worst, totally false. Their adherents believe in them so fanatically that
they are willing to go to war in support of them. The movement
of world opinion during the past few years has been vary largely such as we can
welcome. It has become a commonplace that nuclear war must be avoided. Of course
very difficult problems remain in the world, but the spirit in which they are
being approached is a better one than it was some years ago. It has begun to be
thought, even by the powerful men who decide whether we shall live or die, that
negotiations should reach agreements even if both sides do not find these
agreements wholly satisfactory. It has begun to be understood that the important
conflict nowadays is not between different countries, but between Man and the
atom bomb.
单选题
This passage implies that war is now ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】主旨推理题。综观全文，尤其从第一段第三、四、五句，“Modern ingenuity has changed this，For the present，it is nuclear weapons that cause the most serious danger，but…，offer an even greater threat．”可知作者认为战争作为一种古老的社会产物，在现代只是被人们作了更精巧的改变，但威胁性更强。因此，A选项为正确答案。而B和C选项都与文意不符。D选项本身不合常理。
单选题
In the sentence "To do this, we need to persuade mankind." (Para. 1), "this" refers to ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】细节推理题。从文章第一段"To do this"前面一句可以知道"this"的内容指的是“…succeeded in abolishing war．”。
单选题
From paragraph 2 we learn that the writer of the passage ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】细节理解题。从文章第二段第二句中“a big error…doubtful，and at worst，totally false．”可以推出作者对战争的态度就是B选项的内容。C和D选项正与此相反。
单选题
According to dm writer, ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】作者态度题。从第一段中"Either Man will abolish war，or war will abolish Man．It will never be done until we have succeeded in abolishing war．”可知作者认为现代社会应彻底取消战争的存在。A和B选项不符合文意。C选项与正确答案都相反。因此，D选项为正确答案。
单选题
The last paragraph suggests that ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】细节推理题。文章最后一段中"that negotiations should reach agreements even if both sides do not find these agreements wholly satisfactory．”可知人们已经意识到战争与人类社会之间存在着互相排斥的关系。所以B选项为正确答案。A选项不符合文意，C选项未在文中被提及。D选项不符合文章大意。