Question 16 is based on the recording you have just heard.

Recording One

听力原文

    What is a radical? It seems today that people are terrified of the term, particularly of having the label attached to them. (16) [Accusing individuals or groups of being radical often serves to silence them into submission,] thereby maintaining the existing state of affairs, and more important, preserving the power of a select minority who are mostly wealthy white males in Western society. Feminism is a perfect example of this phenomenon. The women’s movement has been plagued by stereotypes, misrepresentations by the media, and accusations of man-hating and radicalism. When the basic foundation of feminism is simply that women deserve equal rights in all facets of life, when faced with a threat of being labeled “radical”, women back down from their worthy cause and consequently participate in their own oppression. It has gotten to the point that many women are afraid to call themselves feminists because of the stigma attached to the word. If people refused to be controlled and intimidated by stigmas, the stigmas lose all their power. Without fear on which to feed, such stigmas can only die.

    To me, (17) [a radical is simply someone who rebels against the norm, what advocates a change in the existing state of affairs.] On closer inspection, it becomes clear that the norm is constantly evolving and therefore is not a constant entity. So why, then, is deviation from the present situation such a threat when this state of affairs itself is unstable and subject to relentless transformation? It all goes back to maintaining the power of those who have it, and preventing the rise of those who don’t.

    In fact, when we look at the word “radical” in a historical context, nearly every figure we now hold up as a hero was considered a radical in his or her time. Radicals are people who affect change. They are the people about whom history is written. Abolitionists were radicals. Civil rights activists were radicals. Even the founders of our country, in the fight to win independence from England, were radicals. Their presence in history has changed the way our society functions, mainly by shifting the balance of power that previously existed. Of course, there are some radicals who have made a negative impact on humanity, but undeniably, (18) [there would simply be no progress without radicals.] That being said, next time someone calls me a radical, I will accept that label with pride.

16. What usually happens when people are accused of being radical?

解析：A。结合选项中的tend to、find it hard和will feel，推测本题可能与某些人/物对某事的反应有关。录音开头指出，人们都很怕被贴上“激进”的标签，并说到当个人或群体被指责为“激进”时，通常会噤声屈服（often serves to silence them into submission），A项是对此内容的同义转述，故为正确答案。

错项排除：录音中在提到女性被贴上“激进分子”的标签时，说到她们会放弃自己有价值的事业，甚至不敢称自己为女权主义者（afraid to call themselves feminists），并没有提到要为自己辩护，故B项可排除。录音结尾虽然提到了pride，但说的是作者自己在被定义为“激进”时的态度，而不是大多数人的想法，故排除C项。录音中虽然数次提到“激进”的积极作用，但并没有鼓励人们“激进”，也没有提到过人们会因为被指责“激进”而觉得受到鼓励，故排除D项。