1、Comment 焘焘1: Islamic lawIslamic law is a particularly instructive example of “sacred law”. Islamic law is a phenomenon so different from all other forms of law, notwithstanding, of course, a considerable and inevitable number of coincidences with one or the other of them as far as subject matter and
2、 positive enactments are concerned that its study is indispensable in order to appreciate adequately the full range of possible legal phenomena. Even the two other representatives of sacred law that are historically and geographically nearest to it, Jewish law and Roman Catholic canon law, are perce
3、ptibly different. Both Jewish law and canon law are more uniform than Islamic law. Though historically there is a discernible break between Jewish law of the sovereign state of ancient Israel and of the Diaspora (the dispersion of Jewish people after the conquest of Israel), the spirit of the legal
4、matter in later parts of the Old Testament is very close to that of the Talmud, one of the primary codifications of Jewish law in the Diaspora. Islam, on the other hand, represented a radical breakaway from the Arab paganism that preceded it; Islamic law is the result of an examination, from a relig
5、ious angle, of legal subject matter that was far from uniform, comprising as it did the various components of the laws of pre-Islamic Arabia and numerous legal elements taken over from the non Arab peoples of the conquered territories. All this was unified by being subjected to the same kind of reli
6、gious scrutiny, the impact of which varied greatly, being almost nonexistent in some fields, and in others originating novel institutions. This central duality of legal subject matter and religious norm is additional to the variety of legal ethical and ritual rules that is typical of sacred law. In
7、its relation to the secular state, Islamic law differed from both Jewish and canon law. Jewish law was buttressed by the cohesion of the community, reinforced by pressure from outside: its rules are the direct expression of this feeling of cohesion, tending toward the accommodation of dissent. Canon
8、 and Islamic law, on the contrary, were dominated by the dualism of religion and state， where the state was not, in contrast with Judaism, an alien power but the political expression of the same religion. But the conflict between state and religion took different forms; in Christianity it appeared a
9、s the struggle for political power on the part of a tightly organized ecclesiastical hierarchy, and canon law was one of its political weapons. Islamic law, on the other hand， was never supported by and organized institution; consequently there never developed an overt trial of strength. There merel
10、y existed discordance between application of the sacred law and many of the regulations framed by Islamic states; this antagonism varied according to place and time. (NO7-1-B-L)1. The authors purpose in comparing Islamic law to Jewish law and canon law is most probably to:(A) contend that traditiona
11、l legal subject matter does not play a large role in Islamic law.(B) Support his argument that Islamic law is a unique kind of legal phenomenon.(C) Emphasize the variety of forms that can all be considered sacred law.(D)Provide an example of how he believes comparative institutional study should be
12、undertaken.(E) Argue that geographical and historical proximity does not necessarily lead to parallel institutional development.2. The passage provides information to answer which of the following questions?(A) Does Islamic law depend on sources other than Arab legal principles?(B) What secular prac
13、tices of Islamic states conflicted with Islamic law?(C) Are Jewish law and canon law the most typical examples of sacred law?(D)Is Jewish law more uniform than canon law?(E) What characterized Arab law of the pre-Islamic era?3. According to the passage, which of the following statements about sacred
14、 law is correct?(A) The various systems of sacred law originated in a limited geographical area.(B) The various systems of sacred law have had marked influence on one another.(C) Systems of sacred law usually rely on a wide variety of precedents.(D)Systems of sacred law generally contain prescriptio
15、ns governing diverse aspects of human activity.(E) Systems of sacred law function most effectively in communities with relatively small populations.4. It can be inferred from the passage that the application of Islamic law in Islamic states has(A) Systematically been opposed by groups who believe it
16、 is contrary to their interest(B) Suffered irreparably from the lack of firm institutional backing(C) Frequently been at odds with the legal activity of government institutions.(D) Remain unaffected by the political forces operating alongside it.(E) Benefited from the fact that it never experienced
17、a direct confrontation with the state.5. Which of the following most accurately describes the organization of the passage?(A) A universal principle is advanced and then discussed in relation to a particular historical phenomenon(B) A methodological innovation is suggested and then examples of its ef
18、ficacy are provided.(C) A traditional interpretation is questioned and then modified to include new data.(D) A general opinion is expressed and then supportive illustrations are advanced.(E) A controversial viewpoint is presented and then both supportive evidence and contradictory evidence are cited
19、.6. The passage implies that the relationship of Islamic, Jewish, and canon law is correctly described by which of the following statements?I. Because each constitutes an example of sacred law, they necessarily share some features.II. They each developed in reaction to the interference of secular po
20、litical institutions.III. The differences among them result partly from their differing emphasis on purely ethical rules.(A) I only(B) III only(C) I and II only(D) II and III only(E) I, II, and III7. The passage suggests that canon law differs from Islamic law in that only canon law(A) contains pres
21、criptions that nonsacred legal systems might regard as properly legal(B) concerns itself with the duties of a person in regard to the community as a whole(C) was affected by the tension of the conflict between religion and state(D) developed in a political environment that did not challenge its fund
22、amental existence(E) played a role in the direct confrontation between institutions vying for power8. All of the following statements about the development of Islamic law are implied in the passage EXCEPT:(A) Pre-Islamic legal principles were incorporated into Islamic law with widely differing degre
23、es of change.(B) Diverse legal elements were joined together through the application of a purely religious criterion.(C) Although some of the sources of Islamic law were pagan, its integrity as a sacred law was not compromised by their incorporation.(D) There was a fundamental shared characteristic
24、in all pre-Islamic legal matter taken over by Islamic law.(E) Although Islam emerged among the Arabs, Islamic law was influenced by ethnically diverse elements.Nitrogen FixationTwo relatively recent independent developments stand behind the current major research effort on nitrogen fixation, the pro
25、cess by which bacteria symbiotically render leguminous plants independent of nitrogen fertilizer. The one development has been the rapid, sustained increase in the price of nitrogen fertilizer. The other development has been the rapid growth of knowledge of and technical sophistication in genetic en
26、gineering. Fertilizer prices, largely tied to the price of natural gas, huge amounts of which go into the manufacture of fertilizer, will continue to represent an enormous and escalating economic burden on modern agriculture, spurring the search for alternatives to synthetic fertilizers. And genetic
27、 engineering is just the sort of fundamental breakthrough that opens up prospects of wholly novel alternatives. One such novel idea is that of inserting into the chromosomes of plants discrete genes that are not a part of the plants natural constitution: specifically, the idea of inserting into nonl
28、eguminous plants the genes, if they can be identified and isolated, that fit the leguminous plants to be hosts for nitrogenfixing bacteria. Hence, the intensified research on legumes.Nitrogen fixation is a process in which certain bacteria use atmospheric nitrogen gas, which green plants cannot dire
29、ctly utilize, to produce ammonia, a nitrogen compound plants can use. It is one of natures great ironies that the availability of nitrogen in the soil frequently sets an upper limit on plant growth even though the plants leaves are bathed in a sea of nitrogen gas. The leguminous plants-among them cr
30、op plants such as soybeans, peas, alfalfa, and clover-have solved the nitrogen supply problem by entering into a symbiotic relationship with the bacterial genus Rhizobium; as a matter of fact, there is a specific strain of Rhizobium for each species of legume. The host plant supplies the bacteria wi
31、th food and a protected habitat and receives surplus ammonia in exchange. Hence, legumes can thrive in nitrogen-depleted soil.Unfortunately, most of the major food cropsincluding maize, wheat, rice, and potatoes-cannot. On the contrary, many of the highyielding hybrid varieties of these food crops b
32、red during the Green Revolution of the 1960s were selected specifically to give high yields in response to generous applications of nitrogen fertilizer. This poses an additional, formidable challenge to plant geneticists: they must work on enhancing fixation within the existing symbioses. Unless the
33、y succeed, the yield gains of the Green Revolution will be largely lost even if the genes in legumes that equip those plants to enter into a symbiosis with nitrogen fixers are identified and isolated, and even if the transfer of those gene complexes, once they are found, becomes possible. The overal
34、l task looks forbidding, but the stakes are too high not to undertake it. (NO-7-2-B-L)20. The primary purpose of the passage is to(A) expose the fragile nature of the foundations on which the high yields of modern agriculture rest(B) argue that genetic engineering promises to lead to even higher yie
35、lds than are achievable with synthetic fertilizers(C) argue that the capacity for nitrogen-fixing symbioses is transferable to nonleguminous plants(D) explain the reasons for and the objectives of current research on nitrogen-fixing symbioses (E) describe the nature of the genes that regulate the sy
36、mbiosis between legumes and certain bacteria21. According to the passage, there is currently no strain of Rhizobium that can enter into a symbiosis with(A) alfalfa (B) clover (C) maize(D) peas (E) soybeans22. The passage implies that which of the following is true of the bacterial genus Rhizobium?(A
37、) Rhizobium bacteria are found primarily in nitrogen-depleted soils.(B) Some strains of Rhizobium are not capable of entering into a symbiosis with any plant.(C) Newly bred varieties of legumes cannot be hosts to any strain of Rhizobium.(D) Rhizobium bacteria cannot survive outside the protected hab
38、itat provided by host plants.(E) Rhizobium bacteria produce some ammonia for their own purposes.23. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following was the most influential factor in bringing about intensified research on nitrogen fixation?(A) The high yields of the Green Revolution(
39、B) The persistent upward surge in natural gas prices(C) The variety of Rhizobium strains(D) The mechanization of modern agriculture(E) The environmental ill effects of synthetic fertilizers24. Which of the following situations is most closely analogous to the situation described by the author as one
40、 of natures great ironies (lines 28-32)?(A) That of a farmer whose crops have failed because the normal midseason rains did not materialize and no preparations for irrigation had been made(B) That of a long-distance runner who loses a marathon race because of a wrong turn that cost him twenty second
41、s(C) That of shipwrecked sailors at sea in a lifeboat, with one flask of drinking water to share among them(A) That of a motorist who runs out of gas a mere five miles from the nearest gas station(E) That of travelers who want to reach their destination as fast and as cheaply as possible, but find t
42、hat cost increases as travel speed increases25. According to the passage, the ultimate goal of the current research on nitrogen fixation is to develop(A) strains of Rhizobium that can enter into symbioses with existing varieties of wheat, rice, and other nonlegnumes(B) strains of Rhizobium that prod
43、uce more ammonia for leguminous host plants than do any of the strains presently known(C) varieties of wheat, rice, and other nonlegumes that yield as much as do existing varieties, but require less nitrogen(D) varieties of wheat, rice, and other nonlegumes that maintain an adequate symbiotic relati
44、onship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria and produce high yields(E) high-yielding varieties of wheat, rice, and other nonlegumes that are genetically equipped to fix nitrogen from the air without the aid of bacteria26. The author regards the research program under discussion as(A) original and extensive
45、 but ill-defined as to method(B) necessary and ambitious but vulnerable to failure(C) cogent and worthwhile but severely under-funded(D) prohibitively expensive but conceptually elegant(E) theoretically fascinating but practically useless27. Most nearly parallel, in its fundamental approach, to the
46、research program described in the passage would be a program designed to(A) achieve greater frost resistance in frost tender food plants by means of selective breeding, thereby expanding those plants area of cultivation(B) achieve greater yields from food plants by interplanting crop plants that are
47、 mutually beneficial(C) find inexpensive and abundant natural substances that could, without reducing yields, be substituted for expensive synthetic fertilizers(D) change the genetic makeup of food plants that cannot live in water with high salinity, using genes from plants adapted to salt water(E)
48、develop, through genetic engineering, a genetic configuration for the major food plants that improves the storage characteristics of the edible portion of the plantsRemembrance of Things PastMany literary detectives have pored over a great puzzle concerning the writer Marcel Proust: what happened in
49、 1909? How did Contre Saint-Beuve, an essay attacking the methods of the critic Saint-Beuve, turn into the start of the novel Remembrance of Things Past? A recently published letter from Proust to the editor Vallette confirms that Fallois, the editor of the 1954 edition of Contre Saint-Beuve, made an essentially correct guess about the relationship of the essay to the novel. Fallois proposed that Proust had tried to begin a novel in 1908, abandoned it for what was to be a long demonstration of Saint-Beuves blindness to the real nature of great writing, found the essay giving rise to
