No man ever looks at the world with pristine(未受外界影響的)eyes.He sees it edited by a definite set of customs and institutions and ways of thinking.Even in his philosophical probings he cannot go behind these stereotypes; his very concepts of the true and the false will still have reference to his particular traditional customs. John Dewey has said in all seriousness that the part played by custom in shaping the behavior of the individual as over against any way in which he can affect traditional custom, is as the proportion of che total vocabulary of his mother tongue over against those words of his own baby talk that are taken up into the language of his family. When one seriously studies social orders that have had the opportunity to develop independently, the figure (比喻)becomes no more than an exact and matter-of-fact observation. The life history of the individual is first and foremost an adjustment to the patterns and standards traditionally handed down in his community. From the moment of his birth t

　　he customs into which he is born shape his experience and behavior. By the time he can talk, he is the little creature of his culture, and by the time he is grown and able to take part in its activities, its habits are his habits,its beliefs his beliefs, its impossibilities his impossibilities.

　　練習題

　　1.What is the author's attiude towards custom as behavior at its most commonplace?

　　2.The great varieties of custom are taken by the author as the_________aspect of the issue.

　　3.According to John Dewey, we can impose______________influence on our cultural tradition.

　　4.The author tends to regard John Dewey's idea as___________________.

　　5.An individual's experience and behavior are influenced by the customs since he_____________.

　　答案詳解

　　1.[Negative./Disapproving.]

　　[定位]根據a its most commonplace查找到首段第2句。

　　解析：首段第2句提到，對于習俗，我們通常的看法是，那只是一種最平常的行為方式而已。下一句用As a matter of fact轉折，表示“事實上卻是另外一種情況”，由此可見，作者對人們關于習俗的那種通常的看法是不贊成的、否定的，因此本題答案為Negative./Disapproving.

　　2.[most/first-rate important]

　　[定位]根據the great varieties查找到首段末句。

　　解析：首段末句表明作者認為最重要的事實是風俗也可能有多種表現方式。也就是說，風俗的多種表現方式被作者當成問題最重要的一個方面，由于題目空白處后面是名詞aspect，所以應把原文中的first-rate importance換成其形容詞形式，故本題答案為most/first-rate important。

　　3.[very little]

　　[定位]根據John Dewey和cultural tradition查找到第2段第4句。

　　解析：本題關鍵要弄懂John Dewey的話，他用了一個關于幼兒學母語的比喻來說明一個人對傳統習俗的反作用。John Dewey認為“一個人咿呀學語時所創造出來并被自己家人接受的詞匯肯定比他母語的所有詞匯少得多”，也就是說，我們對傳統習俗所施加的影響是極其微小的，所以空白處應填人very little。

　　4.[an exact and matter-of-fact observation]

　　[定位]根據regard John Dewey's idea查找到第2段第4、5句。

　　解析：第2段第4句提到John Dewey的觀點時用了一個比喻，下一句就表明了作者對這個比喻的看法，題目問作者對John Dewey的觀點的看法也就等同于問作者對這個比喻的看法，故no more than后的an exact and matter-of-fact observation就是本題答案。

　　5.[is born]

　　[定位]根據experience and behavior查找到第2段倒數第2句。

　　解析：題目與原文該句的內容相同，原文中講到，從一個人誕生之日起，他所處環境的習俗就制約著他的體驗和行為方式。空白處缺少謂語，而根據原文中的from the moment of his birth可知，此題since he后應填is born。

　　參考譯文

　　迄今為止，人們通常并不把習俗當成一門重要的學科。我們會覺得研究自己大腦的內部活動具有獨特意義[l]然而對于習俗，我們通常的看法是，那只是一種最平常的行為方式而已。然而，事實剛好相反。從世界范圍來看，傳統習俗是各種具體舉止的匯總，它比任何個人在個體行為方面的進步都更出人意料。然而這不過是問題微不足道的一個方面。[2]最重要的事實是風俗對人們的體驗和信仰具有突出的影響，以及風俗也可能有多種表現方式。

　　沒有人能做到用客觀的眼睛看世界而不受外界影響。個人的看法受固定的習俗、制度和思維方式所制約。即使在哲學探求中也擺脫不了這種固定的模式。個人的是非觀念還受到特定的傳統習俗的影響。[3]約翰·杜威非常嚴肅地說，習俗在塑造一個人的行為方式方面所起的作用同這個人對傳統習俗的反作用形成鮮明的對比，正如某個人母語中所有詞匯同他自己咿呀學語時創造出來而被自己家人接受的詞匯所形成的對比一樣。如果認真觀察那些有機會獨立發展的社會習俗，[4]你會發現這個比喻恰如其分而且實事求是。人類個體的生活史首先開始于其對所在群體沿襲下來的生活方式和準則的調整和適應。[5]從他誕生之日起，他所處環境的習俗就制約著他的感受和行為方式。到他能夠說話的時候，他已經成為其文化的小產物;當他長大成人，能夠參與社會活動的時候，社會習慣已成為他的習慣，社會信仰成為他的信仰，社會禁忌成為他的禁忌。