[单项选择]

Passage 5
What our society suffers from most today is the absence of consensus about what it and life in it ought to be, such consensus cannot be gained from society’s present stage, or from fantasies about what it ought to be. For that the present is too close and too diversified, and the future too uncertain, to make believable claims about it. A consensus in the present hence can be achieved only through a shared understanding of the past, as Homer’s epics informed those who lived centuries later what it meant to be Greek, and by what images and ideals they were to live their lives and organize their societies.
Most societies derive consensus from a long history, a language all their own, a common religion, common ancestry. The myths by which they live are based on all of these. But the United States is a country of immigrants, coming from a great variety of nations. Lately, it has been emphasized that an asocial, narcissistic perso
A. the present is varying too fast to be caught up easily
B. the future may be so indefinite as to be unpredictable
C. the past can help to shape a consensus in the present
D. the past determines social moralities for later generations

[单项选择]

Passage 5
What our society suffers from most today is the absence of consensus about what it and life in it ought to be, such consensus cannot be gained from society’s present stage, or from fantasies about what it ought to be. For that the present is too close and too diversified, and the future too uncertain, to make believable claims about it. A consensus in the present hence can be achieved only through a shared understanding of the past, as Homer’s epics informed those who lived centuries later what it meant to be Greek, and by what images and ideals they were to live their lives and organize their societies.
Most societies derive consensus from a long history, a language all their own, a common religion, common ancestry. The myths by which they live are based on all of these. But the United States is a country of immigrants, coming from a great variety of nations. Lately, it has been emphasized that an asocial, narcissistic perso
A. lack of serious disagreement over the organizations of social life
B. non-existence of unanimity on the forms the society should take
C. general denying of its conformity with what it was unexpected to be
D. public negation of the consensus on how to conduct social reforms

[单项选择]What our society suffers from most today is the absence of consensus about what it and life in it ought to be. Such consensus cannot be gained from society’’s present stage, or from fantasies about what it ought to be. For that the present is too close and too diversified, and the future too uncertain, to make believable claims about it. A consensus in the present hence can be achieved only through a shared understanding of the past, as Homer’’s epics (史诗) informed those who lived centuries later what it meant to be Greek, and by what images and ideals they were to live their lives and organize their societies. 　　Most societies derive consensus from a long history, a language all their own, a common religion, common ancestry. The myths by which they live are based on all of these. But the United States is a country of immigrants, coming from a great variety of nations. Lately, it has been emphasized that an asocial, narcissistic ( 自我陶醉的 ) personality has become characteristic of Ameri
A. lack of serious disagreement over the organizations of social life.
B. non-existence of unanimity on the forms the society should take.
C. general denying of its conformity with what it was unexpected to be.
D. public negation of the consensus on how to conduct social reforms.