Directions: Read the following text carefully and
then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be
written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)
We all believe in something or someone. We must believe, just
as we must eat, sleep, and reproduce. (46) Mankind has an insatiable need for
and an irresistible attraction to a vast array of beliefs about gods and demons,
magic and miracles, truth and falsehood, love and hate, same and
different. Implausible, even irrational ideas, have been
cherished for centuries. Saints and other martyrs suffered indescribable pain
and agony, even death, for their beliefs. Scientists have been put to death for
their belief that the earth is round, or that there is an invisible force called
gravity, or that the earth is not the center of the universe with the sun
revolving around it, or that the blood circulates throughout the body, or that
Man evolved from lower forms of life. (47) Religious leaders have attracted
millions of people with their version of how life began and how we must behave;
if people do not believe in medicine and science religion, education, government
and the social contract, chaos results ’and no society can tolerate that which
is why all societies impose order on their members. We must
believe or face unbearable ambiguity and anxiety. Is the most effective belief
system one that is composed of absolutes—unyielding, unvarying and eternal (48)
The answer is yes. because when we eliminate doubt from a situation we feel
secure, restored to balance but if the belief system is science and is based on
objective information without absolutes and requires a questioning attitude, it
unnerves people. Any system that offers definitive answers to complex human
questions and problems: this is right, this is wrong, this is true, this is
false — one question, one answer only, is very appealing. (49) All beliefs
require confirmation from an authoritative source whether that be a priest, a
rabbi, a family member, a special friend, an expert — one who commands obedience
and respect. Perhaps all belief is composed of the same elements in
approximately the same proportions for even science requires a suspension of
some disbelief, some uncertainty, however miniscule. Black Holes and the Big
Bang are metaphoric truths derived from the physics we know now.
But you have to believe, to have faith in the methods of science to gather
information, to analyse and interpret it objectively in order to accept its
conclusions. No one witnessed the Big Bang, or a Black Hole. These were inferred
from careful study and analysis by many researchers. (50) Fear of the unknown
certainly lends credence to any charismatic figure who makes great promises of a
better life now and after death, which has worked throughout the ages and still
does.