In the seventeenth century, European soldiers who came across some Indian groups in the western Great Lakes found that several native tribes (部落) were living in the area without a formal leadership system. They appeared to be "quite friendly with each other without a formal authority!" Not only did the Indians appear to lack a formal system of authority, but they also deeply hated any efforts to control their actions. All members of the tribes knew what was required of them by lifelong (一生的) familiarity with the tasks of the area. These tasks tended to be simple, since the Indians' rate of social change was slow. Thus, although subgroups such as soldiers had recognized leaders, no real authority was required. Rather than giving direct orders (which were considered rough), members of the tribes would arouse others to action by examples. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to carry out such a system in our own society. Most of us have gown up under one authority or another for as long as we can remember. Our parents, our teachers, our bosses, our government all have the recognized right under certain conditions to tell us what to do. The authority is so much a part of our culture that it is hard for us to imagine a workable society without it. We have been used to relying on authority to get things done and would probably be uncomfortable with the Indian methods of examples on a large scale. Of course, the major reason why the Indian system would not be suitable for us is that our society is too large. The number of tasks that various members of our society have to perform often under tight time and resource limitations could not be treated by the Indian system, in modern societies, the formal authority system is necessary to achieve any social objectives.
单选题
Which of the following statements about the European soldiers is correct?
单选题
According to the author, it is hard for a society to work without______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是“根据作者,一个社会没有…很难运转”。文章第三段中间提到“The authority is so much a part of our culture that it is hard for us to imagine a workable society without it”。因此选A。
单选题
After reading the passage, you may conclude that______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是“读过文章,可得出结论…”。文章前两段谈到印第安部落的制度模式,第三段提到“It would be difficult,if not impossible,to carry out such a system in our own society”,第四段解释为什么我们的社会不能执行印第安制度的原因。综上所述,选项“印第安制度很难在我们社会执行”符合题意。Implement等于carry out(执行)。
单选题
It can be inferred from the passage that many tasks in our society have to be carried out______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是“从文章可以看出,执行我们社会中的任务…”。文章最后一段说“The number of tasks that various members of our society have to perform often under tight time”。因此选项“没有任何拖延地”符合题意。