单选题 Freedom is one of the most difficult things to define, yet wars are fought to secure it. Pres. George W. Bush wants freedom for the entire world, but the question remains whether some might not want it and, if they do, cannot handle it. Many desire to be "free of their freedom," for the latter requires assuming responsibility for one's actions. It is easier to have others choose for us.
Freedom has many meanings arid applications. There is political freedom, involving the ability to choose one's own form of government, hold elections, etc. Professors are concerned with academic freedom, namely to teach and publish in accord with their scholarly findings. These, though, are secondary meanings and presumably are grounded in something fundamental to the nature of humans. This is called moral freedom—but there's the rub of it. Is such freedom an illusion? One cannot ignore Sigmund Freud's massive unconscious as a factor in why we act the way we do. Moreover, psychological literature suggests" obsessive-compulsive" acts as more commonplace than we realize. Alcoholics and drug addicts are told they cannot help themselves; instead, they need others to help them break their habit. Let's face it, we seem to be evolving into a "no fault" society in which freedom is an empty term.
It certainly is easy to rationalize that this or that action really was not free, as one can say we are the product of our genes, passions, and culture. But Jean-Paul Sartre disagreed that freedom is an illusion, claiming instead that it is the very essence of man. Freedom is a human's distinguishing mark. Essentially, a human is no-thing, and therein lies his freedom.
Although freedom may not be an illusion, in many cases it is illusory. Is it true to say piously (虔诚地) that the cure for any ills in democracy is more democracy, i.e. freedom? The Patriot Act certainly raises many hackles as an infringement (侵犯) on freedom; trading civil liberties for security—part of a seemingly continuing trend in society. How strong is the argument that if we are not free, then laws and prohibitions make no sense? Does knowledge, a seemingly necessary component involved in free acts, restrict or enlarge our freedom? The Socratic position is that, if one really knew what was right, one would do what was right.
Moslems maintain that it is the "will of Allah" that governs all things and we only can hope to conform to it. This is not entirely foreign to Christian theology. The problem of predestination is a formidable one challenging freedom, maintaining as it does that, even before creation.
Like most dilemmas posed by philosophy, perhaps it should be taken with reserve: "All arguments," concluded 19th-century philosopher and psychologist William James, "are against freedom; all experience is for it./

单选题 The phrase" free of their freedom" (Line 3, Paragraph1) can be paraphrased as ______
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】本题为语义理解题。“free of their freedom”的前面提到一些国家并不想要自由,后面又讲到自由意味着承担责任,这样可以判断出这里的意思是“摆脱自由”,应选B。
单选题 Which of the following statement best illustrates moral freedom?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】本题为推理判断题。第2段中间作者问:“精神自由是虚幻的吗?”后面几句话是对精神自由是虚幻的具体例证:集体无意识、强迫症、自己戒不掉毒瘾等都是自己不能控制意识的表现。选项中A描述的现象是自己能戒烟,即能控制自己的意识,体现了意识自由的真谛,与问题意识相反,应选择。其他3项都是自己不能控制自己意识的表现,符合题意。
单选题 It can be inferred from the text that the primary freedom is ______
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】本题为推理判断题。第2段列举了一些“自由”:“政治自由”,“学术自由”等等,接着说这里的自由都是“自由”的次要含义,更为根本的是“精神自由”。A、B、C都是属于“政治自由”,“学术自由”这一大类。倒数第2段最后一句话应用苏格拉底学派的名言来证明人类的精神自由,即知道什么是对的就做什么。这样n符合题意。
单选题 It is suggested by the author that freedom doesn't face the challenges from ______
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】本题为推理判断题。倒数第2段讲到freedom面临的挑战:“真主阿拉”统治万物,宿命论,基督教神学等等,可以判断出A、B、C符合题意。最后一段作者引用William James的话时提到“All arguments are against freedom”这不是为了说明freedom面临的挑战,而是为了和后面半句“all experience is for it”形成对比,因此排除D。
单选题 which of the following is the best title for this text?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】本题为推理判断题。本题主要考查对主旨大意的理解。纵观全文,作者用大量例证论证自由与限制自由这对哲学悖论的辩证关系,选项中只有B、C能表示一种悖论关系。而B项中的绝对自由不符合文意应排除,所以选C。