B
Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.
I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy—ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of my life for a few hours for this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness—that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what—at last—I have found.
With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean (毕达哥拉斯) power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.
Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery (嘲弄) of what human life should be. I long to alleviate (减少) the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.
This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.
24. Which would be the best title of the essay?
A. The suffering of life. B. The truth about love.
C. The forces driving me. D. The power of knowledge.
25. What does the author compare his life’s passion to?
A. The shining stars. B. Great winds.
C. A bottomless abyss. D. A boundless ocean.
26. Which is NOT a reason why the author has sought love?
A. It relieves loneliness. B. It brings ecstasy.
C. It provides a glimpse of heaven. D. It leads to a marriage.
27. What would the author most probably agree with?
A. He regrets that he could not free himself of pity.
B. Human love is ultimately disappointing.
C. Heaven is merely a poetic invention.
D. A loving person naturally wants to relieve the suffering of others.
【答案】24. C 25. B 26. D 27. D
【解析】
本文是散文，主要介绍了三种简单却极其强烈的情感主宰着罗素的生活：对爱的渴望、对知识的追求、对人类痛苦的难以承受的怜悯之心。
【24题详解】
主旨大意题。根据第一段“These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.”这三种激情像狂风一样，把我吹得东飘西荡，在痛苦的深海上恣意妄为，迫使我濒临绝望的边缘。文章一开始提到了我追求的三种激情，后文说这三种激情迫使着我，它们是驱使我的力量，所以最佳标题是C项“驱使我的力量”，ABD只提到了激情的一方面，比较片面。故选C项。
【25题详解】
细节理解题。根据第一段“These passions, like great winds,”这些激情，像狂风一样。可知作者把激情比作狂风，故选B项。
【26题详解】
细节理解题。根据第二段“first, because it brings ecstasy…next, because it relieves loneliness…
finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. ” 首先，因为它能让你欣喜若狂，其次，它能减轻你的孤独。最后，是因为在爱情的结合中，我看到圣徒和诗人们所想象的天空景象的神秘缩影。第二段提到了三个原因，分别对应ABC选项，D选项没有提及，故选D项。
【27题详解】
推理判断题。根据倒数第二段“But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery (嘲弄) of what human life should be. I long to alleviate (减少) the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.”但同情心总把我带回尘世。痛苦的呼号的回声在我心中回荡，饥饿的儿童，被压迫者折磨的受害者，被儿女视为可厌负担的无助的老人，以及充满孤寂、贫穷和痛苦的整个世界，都是对人类应有生活的嘲讽。我渴望减轻这些不幸，但是我无能为力，而且我自己也深受其害。由此判断出作者同意一个有爱心的人自然想要减轻别人的痛苦。故选D项。
