118. After World War Ⅱ, the academic world turned with new enthusiasm to humanistic studies, which seemed to many scholars the best way to ensure the survival of democracy.

译文　

第二次世界大战后，学术界将新的热情投入到人文研究中，这在许多学者看来也许是确保民主生存的最佳方式。

点睛　

本句的主干是...the academic world turned...to humanistic studies...。with new enthusiasm为伴随状语。which引导一个非限制性定语从句，After World War Ⅱ为时间状语。
humanistic意为“人文主义的”，humanistic studies就是“人文研究”。
the best way to意为“……的最好方法/方式/途径”。如：
The best way to get a promotion is to hurl yourself into your work. 获得升迁的最好的办法是投入到工作中去。

考点归纳　

ensure、assure、insure与reassure的用法比较：
ensure指确保某事的发生，后面可以直接跟that引导的宾语从句。如：
The role of the police is to ensure (that) the law is obeyed. 警察的任务就是确保法律能够被遵守。
assure意为“向……保证，使确信”，常和of连用，强调用劝导或承诺等方式向对方保证并使之相信。如：
He was proud of being chosen to participate in the game and he assured us that he would try as hard as possible. 他很骄傲自己被选去参加运动会并且向我们保证他将尽最大努力。
insure意为“给……保险；确保”，常和against一起用，多用于保险方面。如：
As one of the world's highest paid models, she had her face insured for five million dollars. 作为世界上收入最高的模特之一，她为她的脸买了500万美金的保险。
reassure意为“再次保证，使……安心”，常用在reassure sb. ＋that从句中。如：
Teachers reassured anxious students. 老师让那些焦虑的孩子们放心。