There are rare instances when justice almost ceases to be an abstract concept.

there are rare instances when ... = occasionally ^有时候

• There are rare instances when love turns to hatred. 

there are instances when ... = there are times when ... = sometimes ^有时

• There are times when we would willingly give everything we possess to save our lives,...

there was a time when ... = once ^{曾经（想当初）}

• There was a time when the owners of shops and businesses in Chicago had to pay large sums of money to gangsters in return for 'protection'.

cease to do / doing ^{stop doing 停止做某事}

• That department has ceased to exist.
• The factory has ceased making bicycles.

abstract ^{adj.抽象的}

• Beauty itself is abstract.
• Abstract art is an acquired taste. ^{要慢慢培养才会欣赏抽象艺术。}
• It's not a question of some abstract concept of justice. ^{这不是一个有关正义的某一抽象概念的问题。}
• A modern abstract painting takes over one complete wall. ^{一幅现代抽象画占了整整一面墙。}
• We may talk of beautiful things but beauty itself is abstract. ^{我们尽可谈论美的事物，但美本身却是抽象的。}
• It is easier to think in concrete terms rather than in the abstract. ^{结合具体的事物来思考要比抽象思考容易些。}

concrete / solid ^{adj.具体的}

• a concrete / solid example
• I had no concrete evidence. ^{我当时没有明确而具体的证据。}
• We don't have good solid information on where the people are. ^{我们并不掌握有关这些人在哪儿的确切消息。}

造句：There are instances when patriotism ceases to be an empty slogan. ^{在有些情况下爱国主义不再是一个空洞的口号。}

Reward or punishment are meted out quite independent of human interference.

Reward or punishment ^{不可数(谓语就近原则)}

• A man or a woman is waiting in the room.
• Reward or punishment are ... ^{强调两者同时存在}

mete sth. → out (to sb.) ^{give or administer (punishment,rewards, etc.）给予，加以（奖、惩等）}

• He felt he had a right to mete out physical punishment to the children.
• Judges are meting out increasingly harsh sentences for car theft.

be independent of ... ^{不依赖…；不受…支配；独立于…之外}

• We need a central bank that is independent of the government.

quite independent of ... ^{在完全没有⋯的情况下（独自）⋯}

造句：Computers can find out potential problems and solve them quite independent of human interference. ^{计算机可以在完全没有人干预的情况下发现潜在的问题并将其解决。}
造句：The little boy finished the jigsaw puzzle quite independent of his parents' assistance. ^{这个小男孩在完全没有父母帮助的情况下独立完成了这个拼图游戏。}

• Supporters of a third candidate tend to be quite independent. ^{第三候选人的支持者们往往都很有主见。}

At such times, justice acts like a living force.

• He is living proof of the wonders of modern medicine. ^{他是现代医学奇迹的活生生的证明。}

When we use a phrase like 'it serves him right', we are, in part, admitting that a certain set of circumstances has enabled justice to act of its own accord.

It serves you right. ^{你罪有应得}

• You deserve it. ^{你活该、你值得}
• You got what you deserve. ^{你罪有应得}
• You're asking for it. ^求锤得锤
• As you've made your bed, now you have to lie on it.  ^自做自受

in part = partly = to some degree ^{部分地、在某种程度上}

• The accident was due in part to the bad weather.

Public distrust of scientists stems in part from the blurring of boundaries between science and technology, between discovery and manufacture. ^阅读真题

• Blacks have significantly shorter life spans, in part due to racism in the health establishment.

for one's part ^{对于某人而言（不可数）}

• For my part, I prefer to live in the city.
• Napoleon's army was weakened and the British, for their part, were eager to attack.

on the part of ... / on one's part ^{就…而言 / 就某人而言、由…所作出的}

• It was a mistake on my part. ^{这是我的错误。}
• It was a mistake on the part of the authorities. ^{这是当局的一个错误。}

It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didn't take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would.And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation.

enable sb. to do ^{使某人能够做某事}

• The new software enables users to edit videos more easily.^{这款新软件使用户更轻松地编辑视频。}

of one's own accord ^自愿地

• She apologized of her own accord.^{她主动道歉。}
• He joined the army of his own accord.