Question 17 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.

17. What is the speaker’s definition of a radical?

解析：D。四个选项都采用了One who...结构，推测本题涉及对某一类人的描述。录音的前半部分一直在讲人们对“激进分子”的刻板印象，随后讲话者提出了自己不同的看法。在录音中间部分，讲话者提出，在他看来，激进分子是那些反对常规、主张改变现状的人。D项与此内容相符，其中的rebels against属于原词复现，the existing social order是对录音中the existing state of affairs的同义转述，故D项为正确答案。

错项排除：录音中提到激进分子是影响变革的人（people who affect change），但并没有说他们提倡通过暴力实现变革，advocates violence属于无中生有，故A项可排除。B项中的relentless transformations在录音中出现，但这是对“威胁”（such a threat）的相关表述，并不是讲话者对“激进分子”的定义，故可排除B项。录音中提到女性会放弃她们有价值的事业，参与到对自身的压迫中（in their own oppression），但这一内容与讲话者对radicals的定义无关，C项利用oppressed进行细节拼凑，故可排除C项。