(1) being easily influenced by public speeches.
(2) not tolerating any opposition.
(3) over-simplifying and generalizing.
(4) having faith in a leader and obeying all his orders.
2.The expression“ capacity for moral choice” means“ ability to choosebetween right and wrong”.
3.They are willing to be guided by others to a degree that they stop having anyjudgment or will of their own .
4.The main point of the first paragraph is that groups are not very differentfrom individuals, but crowds certainly are very different from them .
5.It is not likely that a writer will be a good leader of masses because hespeaks, through his writings, only to individuals .
6.As they can behave only like individuals, there can not be a crowd ofintellectuals and philosophers .
7.The expression“ their critical habit of mind” refers to their habit ofexamining everything carefully before accepting or rejecting it .
8.The expression“no greys in his picture of the world”means“everything inhis view of life is either black or white, right or wrong”.
9.Everything is either as black as hell where the devil lives or as white asheaven where the angel lives .
10.We don t have to argue with these opponents.Instead, we should attackthem, shout them down , and even kill them if they become a nuisance .
11.But the sin and stupidity that the demagogue resorts to and the virtue andintelligence at low level that he relies on when he incites his victim into action are characteristic not of men and women as individuals, but of menand women in masses .
12.In all higher religions in the world, salvation and enlightenment aredescribed for individuals .
13.The sentence“the kingdom of heaven is within the mind of a person”means “thepeace and joy of knowing God are experienced within a person s mind”.
Paragraphs 3 and 4 discuss more or less the same point.They contrastintellectuals and philosophers with propagandists.And paragraph 2 and 5each have a different point .
14.This paragraph tells us why the author discusses at such length thedifference between individuals and masses.The reason is that the problemhas become urgent in our age.The author also mentions three factorswhich are increasing the power of masses in our age: over-population ,over-organization and mass-communication .
Ⅲ.Text-Related Practice
A.Reading comprehension:
The following incomplete statements are all based on paragraphs 3 and 4 .
Complete them by choosing the best alternative ( a, b, c or d) under each .
1.The first sentence of paragraph 3 suggests that .
a.all individuals have a taste for rationality and an interest in facts.
b.groups consist of intellectuals.
c.intellectuals behave like individuals, not like members of a crowd.
d.individuals are intellectuals.
2.The majority of people .
a.resist propaganda.
b.do not possess a critical habit of mind.
c.work well with intellectuals.
d.possess a critical habit of mind.
3.Intellectuals are the kind of people who.
a.demand logical inconsistencies and fallaciesb.ignore faulty logic and wrong beliefs.
c.look for evidence in support of logical inconsistencies and fallacies.
d.accept only those things which are logically consistent and well-supported by evidence4.An“unqualified assertion”is.
a.a statement which does not allow for any conditions or exceptions.
b.a statement made by a person who does not possess any qualifications.
c.a statement which cannot be disproved.
d.a statement which is made by a propagandist or a businessman.
5.Slogans.
a.are used by individuals, just as over-simplifications are used by masses.
b.are usually over-simplifications, unqualified assertions or sweeping generalizations.
c.are of no use to the propagandist.
d.are regarded as over-simplifications by the masses.
6.Philosophy teaches us.
a.to feel certain only about those things which seem self-evident.
b.to feel certain only about those things that do not seem self-evident.
c.to question even those things that are usually taken for granted.
d.to feel uncertain about even those things that are well-supported by logically acceptable evidence.
7.Propaganda teaches us.
a.to feel doubtful about matters which are self-evident.
b.to accept as reasonable matters which are self-evident.
c.to suspend our judgement about matters which are self-evident.
d.to accept without question even those matters which are not self-evident.
8.The author mentions black, white and grey.
a.as representing bad, good and doubtful matters.
b.as representing propagandists, philosophers and the common people.
c.as being the basic colors in the world around us.
d.as representing matters that are clear and self-evident.
9.A philosopher.
a.must never admit that he might be wrong.
b.is willing to admit that he might be wrong.
c.must be prepared to admit that the propagandist might be wrong .
d.must never admit that the propagandist might be wrong.
10.The last sentence of paragraph 4 talks about arguing with opponents,attacking them, shouting them down and liquidating them.The important distinction here is.
a.between arguing and the rest.
b.between liquidating and the rest.
c.between all these methods of treating opponents and philosophy.
d.between propaganda and all these methods.
B.Vocabulary exercises:
1.Find single words or phrases in the passage which have roughly themeanings given below:
a.practical.
b.great anger.
c.destroyed.
d.signs.
e.use of reason.
f.by the time our children have grown up.
2.Word matching:
Match the words in Column A with those in Colum n B.Colum n B hassom e extra items .