2010年中国人民大学考博英语真题

Passage Three

Great emotional and intellectual resources are demanded in quarrels;stamina helps, as does a capacity for obsession. But no one is born a goodquarreller; the craft must be learned.

There are two generally recognised apprenticeships. First, anduniversally preferred, is a long childhood spent in the company of fractioussiblings. After several years of rainy afternoons, brothers and sisters developa sure feel for the tactics of attrition and the niceties of strategy sonecessary in first-rate quarrelling.

The only child, or the child of peaceful or repressed households, islikely to grow up failing to understand that quarrels, unlike arguments, arcnot about an)1hing, least of all the pursuit of truth. The apparent subject ofa quarrel is a mere pretext; the real business is the quarrel itself.

Essentially, adversaries in a quarrel are out to establish or rescuetheir dignity. I fence the elementary principle: anything may be said. Theunschooled, probably no less quarrelsome by inclination than anyone else, mayspend an hour with knocking heart, sifting the consequences of roiling this oldacquaintance a lying fraud. Too late! With a cheerful wave the old acquaintancehas left the room.

Those who miss their first apprenticeship may care to enrol in thesecond, the bad marriage. This can be perilous for the neophyte; the mutualintimacy of spouses makes them at once more vulnerable and more dangerous inattack. Once sex is involved, the stakes are higher all round. And there is anunspoken rule that those who love, or have loved, one another are granted alicence for unlimited beastliness such as is denied to mere sworn enemies. Forall that, some of our most tenacious black belt quarrellers have come to itlate in fife and mastered every throw, from the Crushing Silence to theGloating Apology, in less than ten years of marriage.

A quarrel may last years.Among brooding types Kith time on their hands, like writers, half a lifetime isnot uncommon. In its most refined form, a quarrel may consist of theparticipants not talking to each other. They will need to scheme laboriously toappear in public together to register their silence.

Brief, violent quarrels are also known as rows. In all cases the essentialingredient remains the same; the original cause must be forgotten as soon aspossible. From here on, dignity, pride, self-esteem, honour ate the crucialissues, which is why quarrelling„ like jealousy, is an all-consuming business,virtually a profession. For the quarreller's very self-hood is on the fine. To losean argument is a brief disappointment, much like losing a game of tennis; but tobe crushed in a quarrel ... rather bite off your tongue and spread it at youropponent's feet.

81. Unschooled quarrellers are said to beat a disadvantage because

A) their insults fail to offend theiropponent B) they reveal theirnervousness to their opponent

C) they suffer from remorse for whatthey've said D) they are apprehensive about speaking theirminds

82. According to the writer, quarrelsbetween married couples may be_-__

- A) physically violent B)extremely IYitter

C) essentially trivial D) sincerely regretted

83.when quarrelling both children and married couples may,according to the writer

A) be particularly brutal B) use politeness as a weapon

C) employ skillful manoeuvres D) exaggerate their feelings

84. The difference between a quarrel and anargument is said to be that

A) the former involves individual egos B) the former concerns strong points ofview

C) the latter has well-established miles D)the latter concerns trivial issues

85. In the passage as a whole, the writertreats quarrelling as if it were

A) a military campaign B) a social skill

C) a moral evil D)a natural gilt

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