請依下文回答第 12 題至第 15 題
The word tolerance is an ambiguous term worth thinking about. To tolerate others, according to The American
Heritage Dictionary, means, on the one hand, to recognize and respect them, their beliefs or practices, without
necessarily agreeing or sympathizing with them. On the other hand, the word can mean to put up with or bear with
others, though you may 12 them, because some force, such as the law, requires that you do so. It seems to me that
people often pretend to use the first meaning of the word when they really have in mind the second meaning. In such
cases, people are 13 when they use the word, and I do not admire them. They pretend respect for others, but in
reality they are merely putting up with them. It is 14 they were saying, “Behave yourself and I will be gracious
enough to permit you to exist.” Does anyone have the right to be that gracious, I wonder? The idea can be
expressed 15 , “If you will accept my superiority, I will tolerate you.” With such an attitude, the word tolerance
implies a sense of inequality that is unacceptable to me. Because the word is ambiguous and often used in an insulting
manner, I often wonder what people mean when they use it, and I sometimes think we would be better off without the
word.
【題組】14 (A) only when (B) only if (C) as well (D) as though
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