Schlesinger addresses the questions: What holds a nation together? And what does it mean to be an American? Describing the emerging cult of ethnicity, Schlsinger praises its healthy effect on the campaign of multicultural advocates to divide the nation into separate ethnic and racial communities. From the start, he observes, the United States has been a multicultural nation, rich in its diversity but held together a shared commitment to the democratic process and by the freedom of intermarriage. It was this national talent for assimilation that impressed foreign visitors like Alexis de Tocqueville and James Bryce, and it is this historic goal that Schelsinger champions as the best hope for the future. Schlesinger analyses what he sees as grim consequences of identity politics: the widening of differences. Attacks on the First Amendment, he argues, threaten intellectual freedom and, ultimately, the future of the ethnic groups. His criticisms are not limited to the left. As a former target of McCarthyism, he understands that the radical right is even more willing than the radical left to restrict and weaken the Bill of Rights.

　　The author does not minimize the injustices concealed by the “melting pot” dream. The Disuniting Of America is both academic and personal, forceful in argument, balanced in judgment. It is a book that will no doubt anger some readers, but it will surely make all of them think again. The winner of Pulitzer prizes for history and for biography, an authoritative voice of American liberalism, Schlesinger is uniquely positioned to bring bold answers and healing wisdom to this passionate debate over who we are and what we should become.

　　57. According to Schlesinger, the United States is .

　　A) a melting pot B) a nation with diverse cultures held together by the democratic process

　　C) a federation of ethnic and racial communities D) a nation with one culture despite its various ethnic and racial groups

　　58. We can infer from the passage that Schlesinger .

　　A) advocates the assimilation of different cultures into one nationhood

　　B) holds that each racial group should keep its distinct identity

　　C) gives full support to the emerging cult of ethnicity D) prefers multiculturalism to monoculturalism

　　59. We can infer form this passage that America .

　　A) is experiencing a crisis of nationhood B) has ended its history of racial prejudice

　　C) is trying to restrict the Bill of Rights D) has tried to obstruct intellectual freedom

　　60. According to the author, Schlesinger’s book will .

　　A) put an end to the culture wars in America. B) cause anger among the radical right

　　C) cause anger among the radical left D) provoke thinking among all readers

　　61. This passage is most probably taken from .

　　A) a history book B) a new report C) a book review D) a journal of literary criticism.

　　答案 BAADC

　　Computer science and technology is developing so fast that no one can predict exactly what new technology might be developed in the near future, and the development of computer law can hardly keep up with the developing computer technology. The wide spread application of computers in business has created new situations that no existing laws are adequate to cope with. In the following cases, computer generated information was used as evidence but was not all accepted by the court.

　　A man received some treatment at a hospital but refused to pay the hospital bill because he claimed the figures were not correct. The hospital sued the man. As proof of the amount owed to it, the hospital offered in evidence a computer printout of the services rendered to the defendant and the amounts owed for them. Hospital employees testified that information as to amounts owed by patients in the hospital were stored in a computer as part of a regular business routine. The man objected to the admission of the computer printout as evidence on the ground that there was not a proper comparison checking of original slips showing services rendered against the computer printout.

　　The court decided that the computer printout was admissible as evidence when it was shown that the entries were made with proper equipment in a regular courses of business. The objection that there was not a sufficient checking of the printout did not make the printout inadmissible. It was up to the jury to decide how much weight or importance should be attached to computer printout.

　　In order to make it possible to admit evidence protected by computer, the law of evidence of the United States has changed greatly. According to the new rule, computer printouts of business records stored on electronic computing equipment are admissible in evidence if relevant to the material, without the necessity of identifying, locating, and producing as witnesses the individuals who made the entries in the regular course of business, if it is shown that the electronic computing equipment is recognized as standard equipment, the entries are made in the regular course of business at or reasonably near the time of the happening of the event recorded, and the foundation testimony satisfies the court the sources of information, method and time of preparation were such as to indicate its trustworthiness and justify its admission.

　　52. The man refused to pay the hospital bill because he claimed .

　　A) the hospital overcharged him B) he couldn’t afford the money

　　C) the computer printout offered by the hospital was not consistent with original slips

　　D) the hospital couldn’t show any proof for the amount of money he should pay

　　53. The court’s final decision is .

　　A) the man must pay the bill B) the computer printout was not admissible

　　C) the hospital failed for lack of evidence D) not mentioned in the passage

　　54. According to the passage, which of the following is true?

　　A) The computer printout was not in keeping with the service rendered.

　　B) The computer printout was in keeping with the service rendered

　　C) The computer printout was checked to compare it with the service rendered

　　D) The computer printout was not checked to compare it with the service rendered

　　55. In order to make the computer evidence admissible, the United States .

　　A) has completely changed the law of evidence B) has begun to draw up the law of evidence

　　C) has abolished the law of evidence D) has revised the law of evidence

　　56. The best title for this passage is .

　　A) The Computer Evidence B) The Law of Evidence

　　C) The Computer and the Law of Evidence D) A Case on Computer

　　答案ADDDC