单选题 The liberal view of democratic citizenship that developed in the 17th and 18th centuries was fundamentally different from that of the classical Greeks. The pursuit of private interests with as little interference as possible from government was seen as the road to human happiness and progress rather than the public obligations and involvement in the collective community that were emphasized by the Greeks. Freedom was to be realized by limiting the scope of governmental activity and political obligation and not through immersion in the collective life of the polis. The basic role of the citizen was to select governmental leaders and keep the powers and scope of public authority in check. On the liberal view, the rights of citizens against the state were the focus of special emphasis.
Over time, the liberal democratic notion of citizenship developed in two directions. First, there was a movement to increase the proportion of members of society who were eligible to participate as citizens especially through extending the right of suffrage—and to ensure the basic political equality of all. Second, there was a broadening of the legitimate activities of government and a use of governmental power to redress imbalances in social and economic life. Political citizenship became an instrument through which groups and classes with sufficient numbers of votes could use the state power to enhance their social and economic well-being.
Within the general liberal view of democratic citizenship, tensions have developed over the degree to which government can and should be used as an instrument for promoting happiness and well-being. Political philosopher Martin Diamond has categorized two views of democracy as follows. On the one hand, there is the "libertarian" perspective that stresses the private pursuit of happiness and emphasizes the necessity for restraint on government and protection of individual liberties. On the other hand, there is the "majoritarian" view that emphasizes the "task of the government to uplift and aid the common man against the malefactors of great wealth." The tensions between these two views are very evident today. Taxpayer revolts and calls for smaller government and less government regulation clash with demands for greater government involvement in economic marketplace and the social sphere.

单选题 The author"s primary purpose is to ______

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 本文主要提到两种公民权利观，一种是产生于17、18世纪的自由主义的民主公民权利观，一种是产生于古希腊时代经典的公民权利观。在作者看来，二者的根本区别是个人利益和集体利益孰先孰后的问题。第二段提到自由主义的公民观进一步分化为两种思潮，二者的区别主要在于对政府角色的认识。第三段提到民主的两个含义，目的在于说明作为公民的个体与政府之间的关系。

单选题 It can be inferred from the text that the Greek word polis means ______

单选题 The author cites Martin Diamond because he ______

单选题 All of the following are characteristics of the liberal idea of government as distinct from the Greek idea of government EXCEPT ______

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 第一段提到，在自由主义者看来，对个人利益的追求应该尽量少地受到政府的干预，这——而不是古希腊人所强调的公共义务和对集体社会的参与——是通往幸福和进步的道路。自由是通过限制政府活动的范围和政治责任实现的，而不是通过淹没于政治社会的集体生活。公民的基本角色是选择政府领导，限制政府的权力及其范同。另外，第二、三段对以上内容还有更具体的说明。