Unit 8 Knowledge and wisdom练习答案综合教程三

Unit 8 Knowledge and Wisdom

Key to the Exercises

Text comprehension

I.

II.

Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or false.

1.

F (Refer to Paragraph 2. The study of the composition of atoms, or the development

of the atom bomb, for example, has placed in the hands of powerful lunatics the means to

destroy the human race.)

2.

T (Refer to Paragraph 2. This has become more difficult than it used to be owing to

the

extent

and

complexity

of

the

specialized

knowledge

required

of

various

kinds

of

technicians.)

3.

T (Refer to Paragraph 3. Although he had a comprehensive knowledge of history, he

was still partial as the chief lesson of history which he sought to inculcate was that from

the year 400AD down to his own time Germany had been the most important nation and

the standard-bearer of progress in the world.)

4.

F (Refer to Paragraph 4. It is true that both Mr. A and Mr. B possess some vices of

their respective kinds, but the fact does not prove that they are wise or unwise.)

5.

F

(Refer

to

paragraph

5.

The

mistake

lies

in

the

extremity

of

the

statement.

According to Russell, man cannot free himself entirely from the physical and emotional

need, so one can only grow in wisdom, which itself is a matter of degree.)

III.

Answer the following questions.

1.

Refer to Paragraph 2. A sense of proportion could be seen as the ability to take into

full consideration all important factors in an issue and attach due weight to each factor.

2.

Refer to Paragraphs 1 and 2. In the first place, they are examples of the idea raised at

the

very

beginning

of

the

text:

our

age

far

surpasses

all

previous

ages

in

knowledge, there has been no correlative increase in wisdom.

the

essay,

is

partly

due

to

the

fact

that

it

is

now

more

difficult

to

acquire

a

sense

of

proportion, or the ability to assign appropriate weights to various factors, thus achieving

balance.

In

consequence,

breakthroughs

in

science

are

likely

to

bring

about

harms

if

humankind

fails

to

see

the

end

of

science

and

consider

everything

in

a

comprehensive

manner.

3.

Refer to Paragraphs 1 to 4. According to Russell, the vices of the lack of wisdom are

obvious and palpable, ranging from disturbance to public life, most notably the upset of

world

peace,

to

unpleasant

incidents

in

private

life.

Meanwhile,

there

seems

to

be

an

Decide which of the following best states the author's argument.

C

imbalance in the growth of knowledge and wisdom, which is very likely to make things

even worse. So, wisdom is necessary for both personal and cultural developments.

4.

Refer to Paragraph 5. According to Russell, the essence of wisdom is impartiality, or

emancipation from egoistic or temporal concerns. It is naturally difficult for man to attain

impartiality, as man is naturally bound up by his own physical states from his birth. As he

grows up,

however,

his

horizon

widens,

his

concerns

get

beyond

the

limits of

time

and

space,

and

his

feelings

become

more

impersonal,

hence

the

growth

of

impartiality

and

wisdom.

5.

Apart from the fact that it is one of the ingredients of wisdom, impartiality is also the

basis of rationality, for irrationality is normally based on partiality.

IV.

Explain in your own words the following sentences.

1.

It would be unwise to pursue a goal that is bound to fail, although it might be noble

to do so.

2.

I think the essence of wisdom is to get one's horizon free from the confinement of

time and space.

Structural analysis of the text

Paragraph

2:

Of

these

I

should

put

first

a

sense

of

proportion:

the

capacity

to

take

account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight.

Paragraph 3: There must be, also, a certain awareness of the ends of human life.

Paragraph 4: It is needed in the choice of ends to be pursued and in emancipation from

personal prejudice.

Paragraph 5: I think the essence of wisdom is emancipation, as far as possible, from the

tyranny of the here and now.

Four

factors

that

constitute

wisdom:

comprehensiveness

mixed

with

a

sense

of

proportion;

a

full

awareness

of

the

goals

of

human

life;

avoidance

of

blindness

and

prejudice in private life; impartiality.

Rhetorical features of the text

The

capacity

to

take

account

of

all

the

important

factors

in

a

problem

and

to

attach

to

each its due weight. (Paragraph 2)

This

has

the

entirely

unintended

result

of

making

the

food

supply

inadequate

and

lowering the standard of life in the most populous parts of the world. (Paragraph 2)

Perhaps one could stretch the comprehensiveness that constitutes wisdom to include not

only intellect but also feeling. (Paragraph 3)

It is not only in public ways, but in private life equally, that wisdom is needed. (Paragraph

4)

Vocabulary exercises

I.

Explain the underlined part in each sentence in your own words.

1.

consider

(when

judging

a

situation)/take

into

consideration,

give

proper

value

to

each/attach adequate importance to each

2.

Certainly/Very probably, brought a good and helpful effect to mankind, in reality/in

actual situations

3.

talk (disapprovingly) about something less worthy or less important, destroy or ruin

each other

4.

connected with/dependent on

5.

accordingly

II.

Fill in the blank in each sentence with a word taken from the box in its appropriate

form.

1. pursue

2. ceased

3. attainable

4. enmity

5. populous

6. surpassed

7. impartial

8. appallingly

III.

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.

1. beneficiaries

3. horizontally

5. increasingly

7. unduly

2. undesirable

4. descendants

6. philosophical

8. standardization

IV.

Fill in the blank(s) in each sentence with an appropriate phrasal verb or collocation

taken from the text.

1. required of

2. sought to

3. descended to

4. put first

5. contributed to

6. engage in

7. conferred

8. upon

9. bound up with

V.

Give a synonym or an antonym of the word underlined in each sentence in the sense

it is used.

1.

Antonym: following (subsequent, succeeding)

2.

Synonym: enhance (advance)