Noonecanbeagreatthinkerwhodoesnotrealizethatasathinkeritisherfirstdutytofollowherintellecttowhateverconclusionsitmaylead.Truthgainsmoreevenbytheerrorsofonewhowithduestudyandpreparation,thinksforhimself,thanbythetrueopinionsofthosewhoonlyholdthembecausetheydonotsufferthemselvestothink.Nothatitissolely,ofchiefly,toformgreatthinkersthatfreedomofthinkingisrequired.Onethecontrary,itisasmuchorevenmoreindispensabletoenableaveragehumanbeingstoattainthementalstaturewhichtheyarecapableof.Therehavebeenandmanyagainbegreatindividualthinkersinageneralatmosphereofmentalslavery.Butthereneverhasbeen,noreverwillbe,inthatatmosphereanintellectuallyactivepeople.Whereanyofheterodoxspeculationwasforatimesuspended,wherethereisatacitconventionthatprinciplesarenottobedisputed:wherethediscussionofthegreatestquestionswhichcanoccupyhumanityisconsideredtobeclosed,wecannothopetofindthatgenerallyhighscaleofmentalactivitywhichhasmadesomeperiodsofhistorysoremarkable.Neverwhencontroversyavoidedthesubjectswhicharelargeandimportantenoughtokindleenthusiasmwasthemindofapeoplestirredupfromitsfoundationandtheimpulsegivenwhichraisedevenpersonsofthemostordinaryintellecttosomethingofthedignityofthinkingbeings.
Shewhoknowsonlyherownsideofthecaseknowslittleofthat.Herreasonsmaybefood,andnoonemayhavebeenabletorefutethem.Butifshesequallyunabletorefutethereasonsoftheoppositeside;ifshedoesnotsomuchasknowwhattheyare,shehasnogroundforpreferringeitheropinion.Therationalpositionforherwouldbesuspensionofjudgment,andunlessshecontentsherselfwiththat,sheiseitherledbyauthority,oradopts,likethegeneralityoftheworldthesidetowhichshefeelsthemostinclination.Norisitenoughthatsheshouldheattheargumentsofadversariesfromherownteachers,presentedastheystatethem,andaccompaniedbywhattheyofferasrefutations,Thatisnotthewaytodojusticetothearguments,orbringthemintorealcontactwithherownmind.Shemustbeabletohearthemformpersonswhoactuallybelievethem;whodefendtheminearnest,anddotheirveryutmostforthem.Shemustknowthemintheirmostplausibleandpersuasiveform;shemustfeelthewholeforceofthedifficultywhichthetrueviewofthesubjecthastoencounteranddisposeof;elseshewillneverreallypossessherselfoftheportionoftruthwhichmeetsandremovesthatdifficulty.Ninety-nineinahundredofwhatarecallededucatedpersonsareinthiscondition;evenofthosewhocanarguefluentlyfortheiropinions.Theirconclusionmaybetrue,butitmightbefalseforanythingtheyknow;theyhaveneverthrownthemselvesintothementalpositionofthosewhothinkdifferentlyformthemandconsideredwhatsuchpersonsmayhavetosay;andconsequentlytheydonot,inanypropersenseoftheword,knowthedoctrineswhichtheythemselvesprofess.
1.Thebesttitleforthispassageis
[A]TheAgeofReason[B]TheneedforIndependentThinking
[C]TheValueofReason[D]StirringPeople'sMinds
2.Accordingtotheauthor,itisalwaysadvisableto
[A]haveopinionswhichcannotberefuted.
[B]adoptthepointofviewtowhichonefeelsthemostinclination.
[C]beacquaintedwiththeargumentsfavoringthepointofviewwithwhichonedisagrees,
[D]suspendheterodoxspeculationinfavorofdoctrinaireapproaches.
3.Accordingtotheauthor,inagreatperiodsuchastheRenaissancewemayexpecttofind
[A]acceptanceoftruth[B]controversyoverprinciples
[C]inordinateenthusiasm[D]adreadofheterodoxspeculation
4.Accordingtotheauthor,thepersonwhoholdsorthodoxbeliefswithoutexaminationmaybedescribedinallofthefollowingwaysEXCEPTas
[A]enslavedbytradition[B]lessthanfullyrational
[C]determindedoncontroversy[D]havingaclosedmind
5.Itcanbeinferredfromthepassagethattheauthorwouldbemostlikelytoagreewithwhichofthefollowingstatements
[A]Atrulygreatthinkermakesnomistakes.
[B]Periodsofintellectualachievementareperiodsofunorthodoxreflection,
[C]Therefutationofacceptedideascanbestbeprovidedbyone'sownteachers.
[D]excessivecontroversypreventsclearthinking.
1.B.独立思考的必要性。见难句译注1。这里说明进行独立思考的人即使犯错误，真理也能从中获得东西，而那些懒于思考人，即使持有正确的观点，真理也难以获得东西。第一段还点明思想禁锢时期，即不能进行独立思考时期，难以讨论重大议题，产生不了活跃的人民，绝不会出现像辉煌的文艺复兴那种时期(见第二题注)。第二段也是围绕独立思考而写，只是从具体点着眼：人只知自己，不知对方无法获得真理，只有独立思考两方，才能不为权威所左右，不会跟着自己感觉走，最终知道自己的真正主张。A.理性时代。C.驳斥的价值。D.激发人民的思想。
2.C.熟悉有利于自己不同意/反对观点的论点。这是作者在第二段讲述的重要论点。他认为一个人只知自己一方，推理极好，无人能反驳，却不知对方的推理，也不能够予以反驳的话，他就无权选择两方的任一论点，其理智位置是停止判断。否则她就会(像世界上芸芸众生那样)不是为权威所“引导”，就是跟着感觉(的倾向)走。其二，作者提出：光听自己的老师讲述对立面的论点，以及他们所提出的反驳论点。只是不够的，必须倾听那些人(他们真正相信对立的观点)的论点，并为此积极热情，竭尽全力辩护，才能使自己的思想和独立论点接触，公正的作出公正的判断。A.具有不能驳斥的观点。B.采取个人感觉最倾向的观点。D.停止有利于教条主义研究的异端思考。
3.B.辩论原则问题。答案在第一段：在思想禁锢的气氛中，过去，现在可能会产生个别的思想家，但绝不会有思想活跃的人民，在那里有一种心照不宣的惯律：原则决不能讨论——认为占据人类心灵的最重大问题的讨论应封闭，我们不能期望看到一般高级的思想活动。这种思想活动曾使历史上某些时期光辉灿烂。而文艺复兴就是思想活动的顶峰时期，必然会讨论原则问题，所以选B。A.接受真理，周经过讨论才能接受真理。C.过度的热情。D.害怕异端思考。
4.C.在辩论上，坚定不移。这是一道推断题，一般讲：持有未经检验的正统信仰的人不会独立思考，更不会怀疑他所信仰的东西。A.为传统所奴役。B.不怎么理智。D.头脑闭塞。这种人必然受传统思想控制，不理智更不愿接受外界新鲜事物。
5.B.在思想方面取得成就的时期就是进行非正统反思的时期。见3题注释。A.一个真正的思想家不犯错误。C.一个人的老师最能提供所接受思想观点的反驳。D.过度的辩论会制止清晰的思考。
