Scotland： A Land of Wisdom

In the 1740s， the famous French philosopher Voltaire said "We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilization." That's not a bad advertisement for any country when it comes to attracting people to search for a first-class education.

According to the American author Arthur Herman， the Scots invented the modern world itself. He argues that Scottish thinkers and intellectuals worked out many of the most important ideas on which modern life depends-everything from the scientific method to market economics. Their ideas did not just spread among intellectuals， but to those people in business， government and the sciences who actually shaped the Western world.

It all started during the period that historians call the Scottish Enlightenment（啟蒙運(yùn)動(dòng)），which is usually seen as taking place between the years 1740 and 1800. Before that， philosophy was mainly concerned with religion. For the thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment， the proper study of humanity was mankind itself.

Their reasoning was practical. For the philosopher David Hume， humanity was the right subject for philosophy because we can examine human behavior and so find real evidence of how people think and feel. And from that we can make judgments about the societies we live in and make concrete suggestions about how they can be improved， for universal benefit.

Hume's enquiry into the nature of knowledge laid the foundations for the scientific method-the pursuit of truth through experiment. His friend and fellow resident of Edinburgh， Adam Smith， famously applied the study of mankind to the ways in which mankind does business. Trade， he argued， was a form of information. In pursuing our own interests through trading in markets， we all come to benefit each other.

Smith's idea has dominated modern views of economics. It also has wide applications. He was one of the philosophers to point out that nations can become rich， free and powerful through peace， trade and invention.

Although the Scottish Enlightenment ended a long time ago， the ideas which evolved at that time still underpin（構(gòu)成……的基礎(chǔ)）our theories of human exchange and enquiry. It also exists in Scotland itself in an educational tradition that combines academic excellence with orientation（方向）。

1. Scotland is the right place to receive a first-class education.

A. Right 　　B. Wrong 　　C. Not mentioned

2. According to Arthur Herman， the Scots developed many important ideas which modern life depends on.

A. Right 　　B. Wrong 　　C. Not mentioned

3. Philosophers had come to know the importance of studying humanity even before the Scottish Enlightenment took place.

A. Right 　　B. Wrong 　　C. Not mentioned

4. David Hume was the first philosopher to study mankind.

A. Right 　　B. Wrong 　　C. Not mentioned

5. Smith's idea has extensive applications.

A. Right 　　B. Wrong 　　C. Not mentioned

6. Our current theories of human exchange and enquiry have nothing to do with the ideas developed during the Scottish Enlightenment.

A. Right 　　B. Wrong 　　C. Not mentioned

7. Smith died in 1800.

A. Right 　　B. Wrong 　　C. Not mentioned

參考答案： A A B C A B C

答案解析：

1. 第一題的關(guān)鍵詞是"a first-class education"，所以答案在第一段中找。在第一段中，作者提到蘇格蘭是文明的發(fā)源地，所以也吸引了各國(guó)的人們來(lái)這里尋找一流的教育。所以蘇格蘭是獲得一流教育的地方，這句話是正確的。故答案選擇A.

2. Arthur Herman的觀點(diǎn)是在第二段中提出來(lái)的，所以本題的答案在第二段中尋找。第二段的第一句話就已經(jīng)指出，"According to the American author Arthur Herman， the Scots invented the modern world itself. He argues that Scottish thinkers and intellectuals worked out many of the most important ideas on which modern life depends-everything from the scientific method to market economics."從這句話中的關(guān)鍵詞中可以看出，本題的陳述是正確的，故答案選A.

3. 在第三段中，"Before that， philosophy was mainly concerned with religion. For the thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment， the proper study of humanity was mankind itself. "，這句話指出，在這之前，哲學(xué)家主要關(guān)注的是宗教，蘇格蘭的啟蒙運(yùn)動(dòng)思想家們才正確研究了（proper study）人文。所以說(shuō)對(duì)于人文的研究不是在蘇格蘭啟蒙運(yùn)動(dòng)之前，故答案選擇B.

4. David Hume出現(xiàn)在文章的第四段。整個(gè)第四段的內(nèi)容都沒(méi)有提到他是研究人文的第一個(gè)哲學(xué)家（first philosopher）。

5. 根據(jù)第五段中，"Adam Smith， famously applied the study of mankind to the ways in which mankind does business."這句話，可以推斷出Smith擴(kuò)大了人文研究的應(yīng)用領(lǐng)域，故答案選擇A.

6. 在本文的最后一段中，"Although the Scottish Enlightenment ended a long time ago， the ideas which evolved at that time still underpin（構(gòu)成……的基礎(chǔ)）our theories of human exchange and enquiry."說(shuō)明蘇格蘭啟蒙運(yùn)動(dòng)時(shí)期的思想是構(gòu)成現(xiàn)代人文理論的基礎(chǔ)，并非一點(diǎn)關(guān)系也沒(méi)有（nothing to do with）。

7. 縱觀整篇文章，都沒(méi)有提到Smith的去世時(shí)間，所以本題選擇C.

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（責(zé)任編輯：vstara）

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