英语写作资料：自由

 　　Freedom

　　A man living absolutely alone in a desert or forest is free from other people; but he is not absolutely free. His freedom is limited in several ways. Firstly, by the things around him, such as wild animals or cliffs¹ too steep to climb. Secondly², by his own needs: he must have sleep, water, food and shelter from extreme heat or cold. Lastly, by his own nature as a man: disease³ may attack him, and death will certainly come to him sooner or later.

　　When men live together, on the other hand, protection against wild animals is easier and they can work together to get food and build shelters; but each man has to give up some of his freedom so that he can live happily with the others.

　　When men become organized into very large groups, and civilization develops, it is possible to get freedom from hunger, thirst, cold, heat and many diseases⁴, so that each person can live a happier life than he could if he were living alone; but such a society can not work successfully unless the freedom of each human being is to some extent⁵ limited so that he is kept from hurting others. I am not free to kill others, nor to steal someone else's property, nor to behave in a way that offends⁶ against the moral⁷ sense of the society in which I live. I have to limit my own freedom myself so that others will not limit it too much: I agree to respect the rights of others, and in return they agree to respect mine.

　　The advantages of such an agreement are great : one man can become a doctor, knowing that others will grow food, make clothes and build a house for him, in return for the work he does to keep them healthy. If each man had to grow his own food, make his own clothes, build his own house and learn to be his own doctor, he would find it impossible to do any one of these jobs really well. By working together, we make it possible for society to provide us all with food, clothes, shelter and medical care, while leaving each of us with as much freedom as it can.

1 cliffs   

n.悬崖，峭壁（cliff的复数形式）

参考例句：

• the chalk cliffs of southern England 英格兰南部的白垩质峭壁
• Local folklore has it that prehistoric men drove cattle over these cliffs. 当地民间传说中称，史前人类把野牛从这些悬崖上驱赶下去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

3 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

4 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

5 extent   

n.程度，范围，限度；广度，宽度，大小

参考例句：

• The new race track is nearly six miles in extent. 这条新跑道将近六英里长。
• What's the extent of the damage? 损坏的程度如何?

6 offends   

v.触怒( offend的第三人称单数 )；得罪；冒犯；使反感令人不适

参考例句：

• His behaviour offends against the canons of good manners. 他的行为违背了礼法的准则。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His English offends against the rules of grammar. 他的英语不符合语法规则。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 moral   

adj.道德(上)的，有道德的；n.品行，寓意，道德

参考例句：

• Moral beauty ought to be ranked above all other beauty.品德之美应列于其他美之上。
• He deceived us into believing that he could give us moral support.他骗得我们相信他能给我们道义上的支持。