22 題至第 25 題為篇章結構,各題請依文意,從四個選項中選出最合適者,各題答案內容不重複
The phony culture of contemporary American is characterized by immediacy. The constant emphasis is on the
now, the new, the fashionable, the thing of the moment, what is happening right now, what is hot, and what is not,
where it is at, the immediate experience. What is current and hyped is what is real. 22 In a phony culture, not
only do people have no sense of place, they also have no sense of time. Time and the sense of temporality—memory
and projection—lose importance. The narrow focus on “now” reinforces the ascendancy of the ephemeral: what is
happening now is what is real and important. 23 Everything becomes unmemorable and quite forgettable just
because it is old and passing out of the new immediate moment. The new is always something that can be hyped: the next
experience, thing, or personage is given allure and thus desirability. One is hopelessly “out of date” if he or she does not
yearn for the newest. All things old—cars, clothes, presidents, spouses—are potential throwaways. 24 Without
either a sense of history or a coherent view of the future, people are easily lured to the phony object of the moment,
drawing attention towards the plaything of the now but diverting attention from a larger view of the temporal world
which invites self-placement. 25 News is hyped “new” information that is sold like any other hot commodity,
and there truly is nothing as old as yesterday’s news. 【題組】25 (A)If people seek the newest thing that is hyped, it is likely to be a frivolity, something of little weight or
importance.
(B)The news, for example, is hyped to draw our attention to the “hot story” of the moment, but does little to place
events in a larger context of historical process.
(C)But confidence in the new is something that has to be created, through the good offices of hype artists who
“phony up” futures of newfound pleasures and delights.
(D)People have little sense of temporal placement, of the continuity of national past and present, of the legacy of
history and the promise of posterity.