In one way, paranoia is one of Americas great strengths--part of its long-standing suspicion of government．America was born in a revolution against George IIIs tyranny．Hostility towards central government has been a constant of American history．Most periods of heightened executive power during wartime have been followed by sharp reactions．Abraham Lincoln, who suspended habeas corpus, was accused of dictatorship and his Republican Party lost seats in 1862; Richard Nixons abuses of power spawned a host of reforms, including the wiretapping-oversight system that Mr Bush has tangled with．
　　But there is something less healthy at work on both the left and the right．Hofstadter argued that the politics of paranoia is fuelled by a sense of dispossession--by fury at your loss of relative power to rising groups, In the 1960s, the right was driven by a sense that it was being eclipsed by cosmopolitans and intellectuals．Now the left thinks it is losing power to businessmen and suburbanites．It cannot believe that the north-east--the vortex of civilised America---is losing influence to the South and the West, to people who believe in God and guns, to Mr Bush．
　　That does not let the president off the hook．Put simply, a man who claimed he would unite the country has given his enemies far too much to be paranoid about．There may well be a case for wire- tapping people in contact with al-Qaeda;but what about refusing to reveal who is on the energy task- force, let alone the (possibly legal but ghastly) treatment of inmates at Guantdnamo? There may be a case for asking people to rally around the flag at a time of war,but how does that square with Mr Bush using terrorism to divide his opponents and advance his partys political interests, as he did in 2002 and 2004?
　　Hofstadter argued that the paranoid style has more to do with the way in which ideas are believed than with the truth or falsity of their content．The problem for America’s left is not the lack of justified complaints about Mr Bush．It is that their paranoid style--with its propensity to exaggeration and conspiracy-mongering and its inability to distinguish between justified complaints and hysteria-- means that their cries are seldom listened to except by people who suffer from the same affliction．Which is sometimes a pity．[392 words]
　　1．Americas constant suspicion of government can be illustrated by______
　　A．George IIUs tyranny
　　B．heightened executive power during wartime
　　C．the suspension of habeas corpus by Abraham Lincoln
　　D．a host of reforms following Richard Nixons abuses of power
　　2．Hofstadter believes that______
　　A．the anger at the loss of relative power may cause mania
　　B．the north-east is losing influence to the South and the West
　　C．the government has lost its relative power to rising groups
　　D．the government is losing power to businessmen and suburbanites
　　3．Which of the following can prove Mr Bush’s paranoia?
　　A．Mr Bush using terrorism to divide his opponents．
　　B．A case for wire-tapping people in contact with al-Qaeda．
　　C．A case for asking people to rally around the flag at a time of war．
　　D．The claim that he would unite the country to fight against the enemy．
　　4．According to Hofstadter, ______
　　A．Mr Bush tends to exaggerate and monger conspiracy
　　B．Normal people are not interested in Mr Bushes cries at all
　　C．Americas left is not short of justified complaints about Mr Bush
　　D．Mr Bush has no ability to distinguish between justified complaints and hysteria
　　5．The author believes that______
　　A．paranoia is healthy
　　B．paranoia is less healthy
　　C．the left is more paranoid than the right
　　D．both the left and the right manifest paranoid