"Opinion” is a word that is used carelessly today. It is used to refer to matters of taste, belief, and judgment. This casual use would probably cause little confusion if people didn’t attach too much importance to opinion. Unfortunately, most to attach great importance to it. “I have as much right to my opinion as you to yours,” and “Everyone’s entitled to his opinion,” are common expressions. In fact, anyone who would challenge another’s opinion is likely to be branded intolerant. 
　　Is that label accurate? Is it intolerant to challenge another’s opinion? It depends on what definition of opinion you have in mind. For example, you may ask a friend “What do you think of the new Ford cars?” And he may reply, “In my opinion, they’re ugly.” In this case, it would not only be intolerant to challenge his statement, but foolish. For it’s obvious that by opinion he means his personal preference, a matter of taste. And as the old saying goes, “It’s pointless to argue about matters of taste.” 
　　But consider this very different use of the term, a newspaper reports that the Supreme Court has delivered its opinion in a controversial case. Obviously the justices did not shale their personal preferences, their mere likes and dislikes, they stated their considered judgment, painstakingly arrived at after thorough inquiry and deliberation. 
　　Most of what is referred to as opinion falls somewhere between these two extremes. It is not an expression of taste. Nor is it careful judgment. Yet it may contain elements of both. It is a view or belief more or less casually arrived at, with or without examining the evidence. 
　　Is everyone entitled to his opinion? Of course, this is not only permitted, but guaranteed. We are free to act on our opinions only so long as, in doing so, we do not harm others.
 
　　36. Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the author? 
　　A) Everyone has a right to hold his own opinion. 
　　B) Free expression of opinions often leads to confusion. 
　　C) Most people tend to be careless in forming their opinions. 
　　D) Casual use of the word “opinion” often brings about quarrels. 

　　37. According to the author, who of the following would be labored as intolerant? 
　　A) Someone who turns a deaf ear to others’ opinions. 
　　B) Someone who can’t put up with others’ tastes. 
　　C) Someone who values only their own opinions. 
　　D) Someone whose opinion harms other people.
 
　　38. The new Ford cars are cited as an example to show that ________. 
　　A) it is foolish to criticize a famous brand 
　　B) one should not always agree to others’ opinions 
　　C) personal tastes are not something to be challenged 
　　D) it is unwise to express one’s likes and dislikes in public
 
　　39. Considered judgment is different from personal preference in that ________. 
　　A) it is stated by judges in the court 
　　B) it reflects public like and dislikes 
　　C) it is a result of a lot of controversy 
　　D) it is based on careful thought
 
　　40. As indicated in the passage, being free to act on one’s opinion ________. 
　　A) means that one can ignore other people’s criticism 
　　B) means that one can impose his preferences on others 
　　C) doesn’t mean that one has the right to do things at will 
　　D) doesn’t mean that one has the right to charge others without evidence
 
　　这篇材料讲的是“观点”，虽然有五段之多，但主要论述的内容实际上只有一个：观点到底是什么。文章的结构是这样的，开头提出几个观点，如人人都有权表达自己的观点（Everyone’s entitled to his opinion），挑战别人观点的人总是被贴上偏狭的标签（anyone who would challenge another’s opinion is likely to be branded intolerant）。注意，intolerant不是无法忍受的意思，而是“不容异己、偏执”等意思，“无法忍受的”应是intolerable。而后，作者指出这些观点的对错必须根据观点的定义来判断（depends on what definition of opinion you have in mind），从而为论述观点的不同定义做好准备。 
　　第二段论述了观点的第一个定义：一种个人偏好（by opinion he means his personal preference, a matter of taste）。作者以某人对新车的评论为例，指出，挑战这类观点不但是偏狭的（intolerant），而且是愚蠢行为。 
　　接下来是另外一个例子，最高法院将其“观点”递交给一个争议不休的案子（Supreme Court has delivered its opinion in a controversial case）。这个例子中的观点体现的不再是个人的偏好（their personal preferences, their mere likes and dislikes），而是对一种经过深思熟虑之后的判断的传达（they stated their considered judgment）。这是观点的第二个定义。 
　　这两个定义回答了“挑战别人观点的人总是被贴上偏狭的标签”的对错问题。 
　　最后，作者又论述了观点的第三种定义。作者把上述两种定义视为观点的两种极端（two extremes），而大多数观点处于这二者之间，既不是个人偏好，也不是深思熟虑过的结论（It is not an expression of taste. Nor is it careful judgment），而是融合了这两方面的内容。 
　　这一定义回应了“人人都有权表达自己的观点”这一说法。作者在最后一段指出这种说法不仅是被允许的，而且是受到保护的，只要其观点不伤害到别人（so long as, in doing so, we do not harm others）。 

　　36. A 
　　本题问根据作者的说法，下列叙述中哪一项是正确的。 
　　这道题看似涉及面较广，但依照四六级阅读题的规律，还是应该首先从第一段寻找答案。 
　　第 一句首先指出观点一词在当今被人们随意地使用着，而后是对观点的大体定义。第三句指出如果人们不把观点赋予太重大的意义，那么这种随意使用的现象也不会引 起多少混乱。第四句话锋一转，称事实恰恰相反，大多数人给观点赋予了重要的意义。而后是一些人们给观点赋予重要意义的例子。 
　　A，每个人都有权持有自己的观点。这一说法来自于I have as much right to my opinion as you to yours，二者意思一样。在最后一段作者也提出持有观点的权利是受到保障的。应该选A。 
　　B，观点的自由表达经常会导致混乱。This casual use would probably cause little confusion if people didn’t attach too much importance to opinion. Unfortunately, most to attach great importance to it。 前一句是说如果人们不把观点赋予太重大的意义，那么这种随意使用的现象也不会引起多少混乱，等于如果人们把观点赋予重大意义，则随意使用现象就会引起混 乱。而后一句说大多数人给观点赋予了重要的意义，等于是说观点的随意使用会经常引起混乱。不过，要注意的是文中所说的引起混乱的是对opinion一词的随意使用，而不是B所说的观点的自由表达。 
　　C，大多数人的观点往往并非深思熟虑而成。根据上面对B的分析可知，文中的careless指的是对观点一词的使用，而不是观点的形成。 
　　D，对观点一词的随意使用往往会引发争吵。Fusion（混乱）并不是quarrel（吵架）。 

　　37. B 
　　这道题问的是根据作者的说法，下列哪一种人会被称为intolerant（不容异己的）？ 
　　A，对别人的观点置若罔闻的人。 
　　B，对别人的喜好无法容忍的人。 
　　C，只认为自己的观点有价值的人。 
　　D，自己的观点伤害到别人的人。 
　　题目中的关键词是intolerant和label，因为是第二题，所以应该去第一段后半部分（因第一段较长，出两题可能性是有的）和第二段寻找这两个关键词。 
　　第一段最后一句话anyone who would challengeanother’s opinion is likely to be branded intolerant中出现了intolerant一词，而brand的词意和label是一样的，由此判断这句话可能为我们寻找答案带来帮助。句意是：任何挑战他人观点的人都很可能被冠以intolerant。这句话说法较为空泛，暂时无法依靠这句话做出准确判断，需要继续搜索第二段的内容。 
　　可以发现第二段开头前两句出现了label和intolerant，但作者使用的是疑问句，从疑问句中是无法找出答案的，需要向后看。不过后面一句给出的说法却是一个人是否intolerant还要看观点的定义，从这句话依然无法做出判断。随后作者举出了一个例子，并做出结论：it would not only be intolerantto challenge his statement, but foolish。作者的意思是说挑战这一说法（也就是they’re ugly）不仅是intolerant，甚至是愚蠢的。原因就是这种所谓的观点仅仅是个人喜好而已，无法容忍别人的喜好偏爱，显然是心胸狭隘的表现。这与B的说法一致。
 
　　38. C 
　　题目问文章中的新福特车作为例子是要来表明什么问题。 
　　A，批评一个著名品牌是愚蠢的。 
　　B，一个人不应总是顺从他人的观点。 
　　C，不应挑战个人喜好。 
　　D，公开表达自己的喜恶是不明智的。 
　　这道题的关键信息非常明显，即福特汽车。在第二段描述完福特汽车的例子以后，作者做了简短的评述：it would not only be intolerantto challenge his statement, but foolish。这里的statement指的是前文认为福特车很丑陋的一句话：they’re ugly。这句话显然是个人喜好，评述中说挑战这一statement是愚蠢的，也就是说挑战个人喜好是愚蠢的。C的说法与此一致。
 
　　39. D 
　　题目问Considered judgment（经过深思熟虑后做出的判断）与个人偏好有所不同，是因为……
　　A，它是由法官在法庭宣布的。 
　　B，它反映了公众喜恶。 
　　C，它是大量论战后的结果。 
　　D，它基于缜密的思考。 
　　题目中的关键信息是Considered judgment，鉴于第二段在上一题已经考查过，可以直接到第三段寻找Consideredjudgment。可以看出四个题支的说法都与第三段有关，而Considered judgment也出现在了最后一句话中——they stated their considered judgment, painstakingly arrived atafter thorough inquiry and deliberation。后半句实际上是judgment的非限制性定语从句，只不过省略了which和be动词。Arrive at是作出（决定）的意思，指作出considered judgment这一判断。After thorough inquiry anddeliberation是“经过了周密细致的调查和研究之后”，说明judgement是经过了周密细致的调查和研究才得出的。这一点和D的说法一致。 
　　A和B的说法在第三段第一句中都有提到，但把细致的判断归因于法庭和法官显然是不对的。而controversial一词也仅是指案子引起了大量的争议，这些争议和法官的判决没有直接关系。因此AB都是错误的。 
　　从Obviously the justices did not sharetheir personal preferences, their mere likes and dislikes一句可以了解到，法官们的判断没有受到个人喜恶的影响（did notshare their mere likes and dislikes）。C可以排除。
 
　　40. C 
　　这道题问根据文中暗示，按照自己的观点自由行事如何如何。 
　　A，意味着可以忽视别人的批评。 
　　B，意味着可以把自己的偏好强加给别人。 
　　C，并不意味着一个人有权随意依照自己的意志行事。 
　　D，并不意味着一个人有权在毫无证据的情况下控告别人。 
　　题目给出的关键词是act on one’s opinion，而四个选项中也显现一个关键信息right。可以在文中最后两段寻找这二个关键点。 
　　倒数第二段中没有相关信息，最后一段出现了entitled和guaranteed两个词，它们都与权利有关，与right相对应。而后还直接出现了free to act on our opinions这个关键信息，可以肯定答案就在本段，无须在倒数第二段上耗费过多精力。 
　　最后一段的前两句话一问一答，澄清了一个问题，也就是我们有权利去按照自己的观点行事。最后一句话为这一权利设置了一个条件：we do not harm others，不能伤害到别人。综合起来的意思就是，我们实际上不能随意按照自己的观点行事，除非在不伤害到别人的前提下。观察四个选项，C的说法与此最为接近。 
　　D所说的控告在最后一段没有提到过，可以排除。 
　　A和D的说法都和“不能伤害到别人”这一前提相违背，也是错误的。