2010年考研英语模拟题 (第四套)

Text 3
Scholastic thinkers held a wide variety of doctrines in both philosophy and theology, the study of religion. What gives unity to the whole Scholastic movement, the academic practice in Europe from the 9th to the 17th centuries, are the common aims, attitudes, and methods generally accepted by all its members. The chief concern of the Scholastics was not to discover new facts but to integrate the knowledge already acquired separately by Greek reasoning and Christian revelation. This concern is one of the most characteristic differences between Scholasticism and modern thought since the Renaissance.

The basic aim of the Scholastics determined certain common attitudes, the most important of which was their conviction of the fundamental harmony between reason and revelation. The Scholastics maintained that because the same God was the source of both types of knowledge and truth was one of his chief attributes, he could not contradict himself in these two ways of speaking. Any apparent opposition between revelation and reason could be traced either to an incorrect use of reason or to an inaccurate interpretation of the words of revelation. Because the Scholastics believed that revelation was the direct teaching of God, it possessed for them a higher degree of truth and certainty than did natural reason. In apparent conflicts between religious faith and philosophic reasoning, faith was thus always the supreme arbiter; the theologians decision overruled that of the philosopher. After the early 13th century, Scholastic thought emphasized more the independence of philosophy within its own domain. Nonetheless, throughout the Scholastic period, philosophy was called the servant of theology, not only because the truth of philosophy was subordinated to that of theology, but also because the theologian used philosophy to understand and explain revelation.

This attitude of Scholasticism stands in sharp contrast to the so-called double-truth theory of the Spanish-Arab philosopher and physician Averroёs. His theory assumed that truth was accessible to both philosophy and Islamic theology but that only philosophy could attain it perfectly. The so-called truths of theology served, hence, as imperfect imaginative expressions for the common people of the authentic truth accessible only to philosophy. Averroёs maintained that philosophic truth could even contradict, at least verbally, the teachings of Islamic theology.

As a result of their belief in the harmony between faith and reason, the Scholastics attempted to determine the precise scope and competence of each of these faculties. Many early Scholastics, such as the Italian ecclesiastic and philosopher St. Anselm, did not clearly distinguish the two and were overconfident that reason could prove certain doctrines of revelation. Later, at the height of the mature period of Scholasticism, the Italian theologian and philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas worked out a balance between reason and revelation.

1. With the Scholastics, the search for new knowledge _____.
〔A〕 stopped completely
〔B〕 slowed down
〔C〕 advanced rapidly
〔D〕 awaked gradually

2. Which of the following best illustrates the relation between reason and revelation?
〔A〕 They are simply identical.
〔B〕 Revelation guides reason.
〔C〕 They are occasionally contradictory.
〔D〕 Reason is used to perfect revelation.

3. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 of the text that _____.
〔A〕 the position of philosophy as a humble servant was accepted
〔B〕 religion had turned into a hamper to the functioning of philosophy
〔C〕 philosophers often quoted revelation to support themselves
〔D〕 philosophers were sometimes referred to in religious practice

4. Averroёs held that _____.
〔A〕 Islamic theology was often subordinate to philosophy
〔B〕 religious truth was nothing but imaginative fantasy
〔C〕 real truth was inaccessible to many common people
〔D〕 imperfect expressions were result of flawed religion

5. Which of the following is most likely to be discussed in the part succeeding this text?
〔A〕 Relations of St. T. Aquinas' achievements to previous efforts.
〔B〕 How St. T. Aquinas worked out in the balance in discussion.
〔C〕 Other endeavors on the relationship of reason and revelation.
〔D〕 Outstanding features of the mature period of Scholasticism.

答案
1. A 2.B 3.D 4.C 5.C