【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[听力原文] All right, so let me close today's class with some thoughts to keep in mind while you are doing tonight's assignment. You will be reading one of Ralph Waldo Emerson's best-known essays Self-Reliance and comparing it with his poems and other works. Knowing something about Emerson's philosophies will help you when you read Self-Reliance. And basically, one of the main beliefs that he had was about truth. So this truth, the idea that it's in each one of us, is one of the first points that you'll see Emerson making in this essay. It's a bit abstract but he's very into...uh...into each person believing his or her own thought, believing in yourself, the thought or conviction that's true for you. So Emerson is really into each individual believing in and trusting him or herself. You'll see that he writes about, well, first, conformity. He criticizes that people of his time for abandoning their own minds and their own wills for the sake of conformity and consistency. They try to fit in with the rest of the world even though it's at odds with their beliefs and their identities. Therefore, it's best to do your own thing, not worrying about what other people think. That's an important point. He really drives this argument home throughout the essay. Now, we already said that Emerson really emphasizes non-conformity, right? As a way to sort of not lose your own self and identity in the world, to have your own truth and not be afraid to listen to it. Well, he takes this a step further. Not conforming also means, uh, not conforming with yourself or your past. What does that mean? Well, if you've always been a certain way or done a certain thing, but it's not working for you any more, or you're not content, Emerson says that it'd be foolish to be consistent even with our own past. 'Focus on the future,' he says. 'That's what matters more. Inconsistency is good.' He talks about a ship's voyage and this is one of the most famous bits of the essay—how the best voyage is made up of zigzag lines. Up close, it seems a little all over the place, but from farther away, the tree path shows and in the end it justifies all the turns along the way. So, don't worry if you are not sure where you're headed or what your long-term goals are. Stay true to yourself and it'll make sense in the end. If you rely on yourself and trust your own talents, your own interest, don't worry, your path will make sense in the end. What is the main purpose of the lecture? 本录音四道题选项中的Emerson's essays/concept/writing, universal truths, a person's present actions, path和destination表明，录音可能与某种人生哲理有关，可能涉及爱默生的一些作品和观点。 选项均为动词不定式短语，其中重复出现的Emerson's和essay(s)，以及compare和the influence表明，本题可能考查目的或建议，可能与爱默生的论文和观点有关。 录音一开始就提到，最后他要讲一点学生们晚上做作业时用得到的东西，接着又告诉学生他们今晚要读爱默生最著名的论文《自立》(Self Reliance)。由此可知，录音旨在帮助学生们读一篇爱默生的论文，故答案为B。

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[听力原文] What did Emerson criticize the people of his time? 选项均为描述they的句子，其中的refused to, did not recognize和focused too much表明，本题可能考查对they的看法或评价。 录音中提到，爱默生批判了他那个年代的人，他们为了追求一致性和一贯性(conformity and consistency)而放弃自己原本的想法和意愿。由此可知，爱默生认为他那个年代的人过于在乎一致性和一贯性，故答案为D。

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[听力原文] What does Emerson say about the past? 选项均为描述it的句子，其中的should guide, less important和lacks表明，本题可能考查it的作用或不足之处。 录音中引用了爱默生的原话——关注未来，这才是更重要的(focus on the future...that's what matters more，即爱默生认为与过去相比，未来才更重要。C是对该观点的同义转述，故为答案。

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[听力原文] What point does the professor make when he mentions a ship's path? 选项均为意义相对独立的句子，其中的true path, which path is best for them/to take, establish a goal和the destination has been reached可知，本题可能考查某种结论或看法，可能与人们如何选择人生道路有关。 录音中以远航为例阐述了对选择人生道路的看法：虽然从近处看哪条路都不好走，但从更远的地方看，真正的路便会浮现，所有沿路上经历的曲折(turns)也都将被证明是值得的……坚持自我，一切终将变得有意义(make sense)。由此可推知，教授认为人生的道路就如同船的航线，只有走到最后才能看透自己走过的路，故答案为D。