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发表于 2016-7-4 12:22:17
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Text 3
Americans today don't place a very high value on intellect. Our heroes are athletes, entertainers, and entrepreneurs, not scholars. Even our schools are where we send our children to get a practical education, not to pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Symptoms of pervasive anti-intellectualism in our schools aren't difficult to find。
”Schools have always been in a society where practical is more important than intellectual,“ says education writer Diane Ravitch. ”Schools could be a counterbalance。“ Ravitch's latest bock, Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms, traces the roots of anti-intellectualism in our schools, concluding they are anything but a counterbalance to the American distaste for intellectual pursuits。
But they could and should be. Encouraging kids to reject the life of the mind leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and control. Without the ability to think critically, to defend their ideas and understand the ideas of others, they cannot fully participate in our democracy. Continuing along this path, says writer Earl Shorris, ”We will become a second-rate country. We will have a less civil society。“
”Intellect is resented as a form of power or privilege,“ writes historian and Professor Richard Hofstadter in Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, a Pulitzer Prize winning book on the roots of anti-intellectualism in US politics, religion, and education. From the beginning of our history, says Hofstadter, our democratic and populist urges have driven us to reject anything that smells of elitism. Practicality, common sense, and native intelligence have been considered more noble qualities than anything you could learn from a book。
Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Transcendentalist philosophers thought schooling and rigorous book learning put unnatural restraints on children: ”We are shut up in schools and college recitation rooms for 10 or 15 years and come out at last with a bellyful of words and do not know a thing。“Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn exemplified American anti-intellectualism. Its hero avoids being civilized: going to school and learning to read; so he can preserve his innate goodness。
Intellect, according to Hofstadter, is different from native intelligence, a quality we reluctantly admire. Intellect is the critical, creative, and contemplative side of the mind. Intelligence seeks to grasp, manipulate, re-order, and adjust, while intellect examines, ponders, wonders, theorizes, criticizes and imagines。
School remains a place where intellect is mistrusted. Hofstadter says our country's educational system is in the grips of people who ”joyfully and militantly proclaim their hostility to intellect and their eagerness to identify with children who show the least intellectual promise。“
31. What do American parents expect their children to acquire in school?
[A] The habit of thinking independently。
[B] Profound knowledge of the world。
[C] Practical abilities for future career。
[D] The confidence in intellectual pursuits。
32. We can learn from the text that Americans have a history of
[A] undervaluing intellect。
[B] favoring intellectualism。
[C] supporting school reform。
[D] suppressing native intelligence。
33. The views of Ravish and Emerson on schooling are
[A] identical.
[B] similar.
[C] complementary.
[D] opposite。
34. Emerson, according to the text, is probably
[A] a pioneer of education reform.
[B] an opponent of intellectualism。
[C] a scholar in favor of intellect.
[D] an advocate of regular schooling。
35. What does the author think of intellect?
[A] It is second to intelligence.
[B] It evolves from common sense。
[C] It is to be pursued.
[D] It underlies power。
Text 4
In spite of ”endless talk of difference,“ American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. There is ”the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse, and the casualness and absence of difference“ characteristic of popular culture. People are absorbed into ”a culture of consumption“ launched by the 19th-century department stores that offered ”vast arrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere. Instead of intimate shops catering to a knowledgeable elite。“ These were stores ”anyone could enter, regardless of class or background. This turned shopping into a public and democratic act。“ The mass media, advertising and sports are other forces for homogenization。
Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. Writing for the National Immigration Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that today's immigration is neither at unprecedented level nor resistant to assimilation. In 1998 immigrants were 9.8 percent of population; in 1900, 13.6 percent .In the 10 years prior to 1990, 3.1 immigrants arrived for every 1,000 residents; in the 10years prior to 1890, 9.2 for every 1,000. Now, consider three indices of assimilation-language, home ownership and intermarriage。
The 1990 Census revealed that ”a majority of immigrants from each of the fifteen most common countries of origin spoke English 'well' or 'very well' after ten years of residence。“ The children of immigrants tend to be bilingual and proficient in English. ”By the third generation, the original language is lost in the majority of immigrant families。“ Hence the description of America as a ”graveyard“ for languages. By 1996 foreign-born immigrants who had arrived before 1970 had a home ownership rate of 75.6 percent, higher than the 69.8 percent rate among native-born Americans。
Foreign-born Asians and Hispanics ”have higher rates of intermarriage than do U.S.-born whites and blacks。“ By the third generation, one third of Hispanic women are married to non-Hispanics, and 41 percent of Asian--American women are married to non-Asians。
Rodriguez notes that children in remote villages around the world are fans of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet ”some Americans fear that immigrants living within the United States remain somehow immune to the nation's assimilative power。“
Are there divisive issues and pockets of seething anger in America? Indeed. It is big enough to have a bit of everything. But particularly when viewed against America's turbulent past, today's social indices hardly suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment。
36. The word ”homogenizing“（Line 2, Paragraph 1） most probably means
[A] identifying.
[B] associating.
[C] assimilating.
[D] monopolizing。
37. According to the author, the department stores of the 19th century
[A] played a role in the spread of popular culture。
[B] became intimate shops for common consumers。
[C] satisfied the needs of a knowledgeable elite。
[D] owed its emergence to the culture of consumption。
38. The text suggests that immigrants now in the U.S。
[A] are resistant to homogenization。
[B] exert a great influence on American culture。
[C] are hardly a threat to the common culture。
[D] constitute the majority of the population。
39. Why are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks mentioned in Paragraph 5?
[A] To prove their popularity around the world。
[B] To reveal the public's fear of immigrants。
[C] To give examples of successful immigrants。
[D] To show the powerful influence of American culture。
40. In the author's opinion, the absorption of immigrants into American society is
[A] rewarding.
[B] successful.
[C]. fruitless.
[D]. harmful。
Text 5
Of all the components of a good night's sleep, dreams seem to be least within our control. In dreams, a window opens into a world where logic is suspended and dead people speak. A century ago, Freud formulated his revolutionary theory that dreams were the disguised shadows of our unconscious desires and fears; by the late 1970s, neurologists had switched to thinking of them as just ”mental noise“？Dthe random byproducts of the neural-repair work that goes on during sleep. Now researchers suspect that dreams are part of the mind's emotional thermostat, regulating moods while the brain is ”off-line。“ And one leading authority says that, these intensely powerful mental events can be not only harnessed but actually brought under conscious control, to help us sleep and feel better. ”It's your dream,“ says Rosalind Cartwright, chair of psychology at Chicago's Medical Center. ”If you don't like it, change it。“
Evidence from brain imaging supports this view. The brain is as active during REM （rapid eye movement） sleep--when most vivid dreams occur--as it is when fully awake, says Dr. Eric Nofzinger at the University of Pittsburgh. But not all parts of the brain are equally involved; the limbic system （the ”emotional brain“） is especially active, while the prefrontal cortex （the center of intellect and reasoning） is relatively quiet. ”We wake up from dreams happy or depressed, and those feelings can stay with us all day“， says Stanford sleep researcher Dr. William Dement。
The link between dreams and emotions shows up among the patients in Cartwright's clinic. Most people seem to have more bad dreams early in the night, progressing toward happier ones before awakening, suggesting that they are working through negative feelings generated during the day. Because our conscious mind is occupied with daily life we don't always think about the emotional significance of the day's events--until, it appears, we begin to dream。
And this process need not be left to the unconscious. Cartwright believes one can exercise conscious control over recurring bad dreams. As soon as you awaken, identify what is upsetting about the dream. Visualize how you would like it to end instead; the next time it occurs, try to wake up just enough to control its course. With much practice people can learn to, literally, do it in their sleep。
At the end of the day, there's probably little reason to pay attention to our dreams at all unless they keep us from sleeping or ”we wake up in a panic,“ Cartwright says. Terrorism, economic uncertainties and general feelings of insecurity have increased people's anxiety. Those suffering from persistent nightmares should seek help from a therapist. For the rest of us, the brain has its ways of working through bad feelings. Sleep--or rather dream--on it and you'll feel better in the morning。
41. Researchers have come to believe that dreams
[A] can be modified in their courses。
[B] are susceptible to emotional changes。
[C] reflect our innermost desires and fears。
[D] are a random outcome of neural repairs。
42. By referring to the limbic system, the author intends to show
[A] its function in our dreams。
[B] the mechanism of REM sleep。
[C] the relation of dreams to emotions。
[D] its difference from the prefrontal cortex。
43. The negative feelings generated during the day tend to
[A] aggravate in our unconscious mind。
[B] develop into happy dreams。
[C] persist till the time we fall asleep。
[D] show up in dreams early at night。
44. Cartwright seems to suggest that
[A] waking up in time is essential to the ridding of bad dreams。
[B] visualizing bad dreams helps bring them under control。
[C] dreams should be left to their natural progression。
[D] dreams may not entirely belong to the unconscious。
45. What advice might Cartwright give to those who sometimes have bad dreams?
[A] Lead your life as usual。
[B] Seek professional help。
[C] Exercise conscious control。
[D] Avoid anxiety in the daytime。
III Writing （50 points）
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