Passage 8

　　The conflict between good and evil is a common theme running through the great literatureand drama of the world, from the time of the ancient Greeks to all the present. The principle that conflict is the heart of dramatic action when illustrated by concrete examples, almost always turns up some aspect of the struggle between good and evil.

　　The idea that there is neither good nor evil--in any absolute moral or religious sense—is widespread in our times. There are various relativistic and behavioristic standards of ethics. If these standards even admit the distinction between good and evil, it is as a relative matter and not as whirlwind of choices that lies at the center of living. In any such state of mind, conflict can at best, be only a petty matter, lacking true universality. The acts of the evildoer and of the virtuous man alike become dramatically neutralized. Imagine the reduced effect of Crime and Punishment or The Brothers Karamazoc, had Dostoevsky thought that good and evil, as portrayed in those books, were wholly relative, and if he had had no conviction about them.

　　You can't have a vital literature if you ignore or shun evil. What you get then is the world of Pollyanna, goody-goody in place of the good. Cry, The Beloved Country is a great and dramatic novel because Alan Paton, in addition to being a skilled workman, sees with clear eyes both good and evil, differentiates them, pitches them into conflict with each other, and takes sides. He sees that the native boy Absalom Kumalo, who has murdered, cannot be judged justly without taking into account the environment that has had part in shaping him. But Paton sees, too, that Absalom the individual, not society the abstraction, committed the act and is responsible for it. Mr. Paton understands mercy. He knows that this precious thing is not evoked by sentimental impulse, but by a searching examination of the realities of human action. Mercy follows a judgment; it does not precede it.

　　One of the novels by the talented Paul Bowles, Let It Come Down, is full of motion, full of sensational depravities, and is a crashing bore. The book recognizes no evil, and is coldly indifferent to the moral behavior of its characters. It is a long shrug. Such a view of life is non- dramatic and negates the vital essence of drama.

　　41. In our age, according to the author, a standpoint often taken in the area of ethics is the _____.

　　A) relativistic view of morals

　　B) greater concern with religion

　　C) emphasis on evil

　　D) greater concern with universals

　　42. The author believes that in great literature, as in life, good and evil are ____

　　A) relative

　　B) unimportant

　　C) constantly in conflict

　　D) dramatically neutralized

　　43. When the author uses the expression "it is a long shrug" in referring to Bowles's book, he　is commenting on the ___

　　A) length of the novel

　　B) indifference to the moral behavior of the characters

　　C) monotony of the story

　　D) sensational depravities of the book.

　　44. In the opinion of the author, Cry, The Beloved Country is a great and dramatic novel be-cause of Paton's ____.

　　A) insight into human behavior

　　B) behavioristic beliefs

　　C) treatment of good and evil as abstractions

　　D) willingness to make moral judgments

　　45. The word "shun" in the 1st sentence in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.

　　A) shut

　　B) attend

　　C) show

　　D) avoid

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　　Passage 8

　　文章大意：

　　从古希腊时代一直到现在，善与恶的冲突一直是贯穿文学和戏剧的一个普遍主题(第一段)。然而，今天我们这个时代却蔓延着这样一种观点，即在任何道德或宗教意义上是没有绝对的善与恶的。这种观点认为既使承认善与恶的区别，那也是一个相对的问题。作者认为如果用这种观点去写作，那么伟大的文学作品将会失去魅力。在第三段，作者又举例说明想要创作出优秀的文学作品，就不能忽视或回避邪恶。Paton的伟大之处就在于他不仅文笔流畅，而且能够洞悉善与恶的区别，并且表明自己的立场。在第四段中作者举了一个反面例子说明是非不分、善恶不辨的作品只能是失败的(bore，a shrug)。得出结论：善、恶的冲突永远是文学和戏剧创作的重要要素。

　　答案解析：

　　[41)A第二段第一句说明在我们这个时代，从任何纯粹的道德和宗教意义上讲，是没有绝对的善良和邪恶的。

　　[42]C由第一段可知，作者认为善与恶的冲突长期存在于生活和文学作品中。

　　[43]B由前一句话可知这本书不承认善与恶的区别，而且对道德行为漠不关心。

　　[44]D第二段第三句说明这本书之所以伟大是因为作者明确善恶之间的区别，使他们之间产生冲突，并且表明了自己的立场。而C中abstractions意为抽象的东西，小说中形象得区别了善恶。

　　[45]D由or可知，ignore是其近义词，并且全句是表明如果作者忽略或回避邪恶，是不可能写出一部伟大的作品的。