单选题
War may be a natural expression of biological
instincts and drives toward aggression in the human species. Natural impulses of
anger, hostility, and territoriality are expressed through acts of violence.
These are all qualities that humans share with animals. Aggression is a kind of
innate survival mechanism, an instinct for self-preservation, that allows
animals to defend themselves from threats to their existence. But, on the other
hand, human violence shows evidence of being a learned behavior. In the case of
human aggression, violence cannot be simply reduced to an instinct. The many
expressions of human violence are always conditioned by social conventions that
give shape to aggressive behavior. In human societies violence has a social
function: It is a strategy for creating or destroying forms of social order.
Religious traditions have taken a leading role in directing the powers of
violence. We will look at the ritual and ethical patterns within which human
violence has been directed. The violence within a society is
controlled through institutions of law. The more developed a legal system
becomes, the more society takes responsibility for the discovery, control, and
punishment of violent acts. In most tribal societies the only means to deal with
an act of violence is revenge. Each family group may have the responsibility for
personally carrying out judgment and punishment upon the person who committed
the offense. {{U}}But in legal systems, the responsibility for revenge becomes
depersonalized and diffused.{{/U}} The society assumes the responsibility for
protecting individuals from violence. In cases where they cannot be protected,
the society is responsible for imposing punishment. In a state controlled legal
system, individuals are removed from the cycle of revenge motivated by acts of
violence, and the state assumes responsibility for their protection.
The other side of a state legal apparatus is a state military apparatus.
While the one protects the individual from violence, the other, sacrifices the
individual to violence in the interests of the state. In war the state affirms
its supreme power over the individuals within its own borders. War is not simply
a trial by combat to settle disputes between states; it is the moment when the
state makes its most powerful demands upon its people for their commitment,
allegiance, and supreme, sacrifice. Times of war test a community's deepest
religious and ethical commitments.
单选题
Human violence shows evidence of being a learned behavior in that
______.
单选题
The function of legal systems, according to the passage, is ______.
A. to control violence within a society
B. to protect the world from chaos
C. to free society from the idea of revenge
D. to give the government absolute power
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 根据第二段主旨句(第一句)，社会存在的暴力行为由司法机构加以控制，故A项正确。B、D两项与本文内容无关。C项的观点与本段原意不一致。司法体制的建立旨在消除个人的报复行为，即individuals are removed from the cycle of revenge。
单选题
What does the author mean by, saying "... in legal systems, the
responsibility for revenge becomes depersonalized and diffused" in the second
paragraph?
A. Legal systems greatly reduce the possibilities of physical
violence.
B. Offenses against individuals are no longer judged on a personal
basis.
C. Victims of violence find it more difficult to take revenge.
D. Punishment is not carried out directly by the individuals
involved.