首页
在线考试
章节闯关
谁正在考试
学习应用
听写训练
背单词
情景会话
口语模仿
擂台赛
每日英语
资料下载
作文批改
注册
您的位置：
在线考试首页
>
章节闯关
>
英语四级
>
仔细阅读
>
科普知识类
>
第8关
00:00:00
已做
0
项(正确
0
项，错误做
0
项)/共25项，剩余
25
项未作答
结束作答
答案解析
上一题
下一题
返回
阅读理解
收藏
纠错
Imagine being a slave in ancient Rome. Now remember being one. The second task, unlike the first, is crazy. If, as I'm guessing, you never were a slave in ancient Rome, it follows that you can't remember being one-but you can still let your imagination go around freely. With a bit of effort one can even imagine the impossible, such as discovering that Dick Cheney and Madonna are really the same person. It sounds like a platitude (陈词滥调)that fiction is the realm of imagination, fact the realm of knowledge.
Why did humans evolve the capacity to imagine alternatives to reality? Was story-telling in prehistoric times like the peacock's tail，of no direct practical use but a good way of attracting a mate? It kept Scheherazade alive through those one thousand and one nights-in the story. On further reflection, imagining turns out to be much more reality-directed than the stereotype implies. If a child imagines the life of a slave in ancient Rome as mainly spent watching sports on TV, with occasional household chores, he is imagining it wrong. That is not what it was like to be a slave. The imagination is not just a random idea generator. The test is how close you can come to imagining the life of a slave as it really was, not how far you can deviate from reality.
A reality-directed faculty of imagination has clear survival value. By enabling you to imagine all sorts of scenarios, it alerts you to dangers and opportunities. You come across a cave. You imagine wintering there with a warm fire-opportunity. You imagine a bear waking up inside-danger. Having imagined possibilities, you can take account of them in contingency (偶然）planning. If a bear is in the cave，how do you deal with it? If you winter there，what do you do for food and drink? Answering those questions involves more imagining, which must be reality-directed.
1
What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A.
Being a slave in ancient Rome is crazy.
B.
Humans' memory is limitless.
C.
Humans' imagination is powerful.
D.
The impossible is beyond imagination.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
C
系统解析：
由题干中的the first paragraph定位到首段。推理判断题。由定位段可知，人们可以自由发挥想象力，甚至能运用想象力去想象一些不可能的事情，由此可推知，想象力十分强大，因此C)为正确答案。
2
Why does the author mention the peacock's tail?
A.
To tell us some knowledge about peacocks.
B.
To tell us it has no direct practical use.
C.
To tell us story-telling is just like the peacock's tail.
D.
To explore the impacts of imagination.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
D
系统解析：
由题干中的peacock's tail定位到第二段第二句。推理判断题。根据定位句内容可知，作者将在史前时代讲故事这种发挥想象力的事情和孔雀尾巴作比较，思考它们发挥的作用到底相似与否，故正确答案为D)。
3
According to the passage，what is the stereotype about imagination?
A.
It has little to do with reality.
B.
It has much to do with reality.
C.
It is fully reality-directed.
D.
It is not a random idea generator.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
A
系统解析：
由题干中的stereotype about imagination定位到第二段第四句。推理判断题。由定位句可知，与惯常认识不同，想象力其实在很大程度上都以事实为导向。由此可推知,惯常认识对想象力所下的定义应与之相反，即基本上与事实无关，因此A)为正确答案。
4
What is the value of the reality-directed faculty of imagination?
A.
It tells people how to survive.
B.
It warns people of risks and chances.
C.
It shows people how to escape from a cave.
D.
It tells people how to be away from bears.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
B
系统解析：
由题干中的reality-directed faculty of imagination定位到第三段前两句。细节辨认题。由定位句可知，以事实为导向的想象力是有其价值的，通过想象可以警示人们危险和机遇，因此B)为正确选项。
5
What is the author's attitude towards reality-directed imagination?
A.
Positive.
B.
Negative.
C.
Neutral.
D.
Indifferent.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
A
系统解析：
由题干中的the author's attitude定位到整篇文章。观点态度题。原文在提及以事实为导向的想象力时说，它能警示人们危险与机遇。由此可知作者对以事实为导向的想象力是持肯定态度的，故A)为正确答案。
Improving hearing, especially in a loud environment, is just like any other skill-it takes practice.
The din (喧闹声）of a loud restaurant or party can make conversation difficult for anyone~but for the elderly, these settings can make it nearly impossible. The mechanics of hearing decline with age, but the latest research focuses on another part of the problem-the slower processing speed of aging brains, which have to work harder to translate sound into intelligible language.
Research shows that musicians are better able to pick out speech from surrounding noise as they age compared to non-musicians. And a new study of auditory training with a commercially available brain training program suggests that most people who are hard of hearing can develop the same skills. In a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences，scientists showed that people trained for 40 hours over 8 weeks with Posit Science's "Brain Fitness" were able to pick out 41% more words from background noise compared to those who watched educational DVDs and were quizzed on their contents after the same amount of time. The authors received no funding from the makers of the program； the study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The auditory training came in the form of computerized hearing tasks that primed the participants to hear better by requiring them to identify various speech sounds and distinguish between similar sounding syllables, for example, as well as repeating words and remembering stories.
Both those who received the training and those who watched the DVDs were tested on shortterm memory, brain processing speed and the ability to hear speech in noisy settings. All of the participants showed improvement in these measures, but for the first time, the scientists also documented that the sharper hearing was accompanied by earlier signaling in the brainstem. EEG electrodes on the head picked up this activity, which was related to how quickly the brain was distinguishing between sounds, such as language vs. background chatter. As the authors write in their paper, the training not only improved the ability to decipher (辨认)speech in noisy situations, it also sped up the brain's ability to respond to it-bringing it to more "youthful" levels.
6
What can we learn from the third paragraph?
A.
Musicians have the best hearing ability.
B.
Musicians can filter out all noises.
C.
Auditory training can help all people.
D.
Auditory training can improve the hearing ability.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
D
系统解析：
由题干中the third paragraph定位到第三段。细节辨认题。由定位段可知，随着年龄的增大，音乐家比非音乐家更能从嘈杂的环境中听到别人说的话，大部分听力有困难的人通过训练能够学到相同的技能，故D)为答案。
7
What can we learn from the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences?
A.
"Brain Fitness" is a kind of noisy settings.
B.
"Brain Fitness" is a kind of auditory training program.
C.
"Brain Fitness" is an educational DV
D.
"Brain Fitness" is the name of a magazine.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
B
系统解析：
由题干中的 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 定位到第三段第三句。推理判断题。由定位句可知,科学家在《美国国家科学院院刊》中的一篇报告指出，人们在经过"健脑计划"训练后,能够从嘈杂的背景中听到更多的词语,根据定位句，再结合上下文意,可以推测出Brain Fitness应该是一项提高听力的训练，所以选择B}。
8
How was the auditory training carried out?
A.
By requiring participants to recite similar sounds.
B.
By comparing participants in the training to those who watched educational DVDs.
C.
By identifying various speech sounds and distinguishing similar sounding syllables.
D.
By telling stories and distinguishing different syllables.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
C
系统解析：
由题干中的the auditory training和carried out定位到第四段。推理判断题。由定位段可知，听力训练是以计算机化的听力任务为形式，通过比如要求参与者辨认各种不同的语音及分辨类似的发音音节,或者复述词语和记忆故事，使他们有所准备从而听得更好，故C)为正确答案。
9
What does "these measures" mean in Paragraph 5?
A.
Receiving the training and watching educational DVDs.
B.
Hearing speech in noisy settings and collecting data.
C.
Speeding up the brain's ability and selecting data.
D.
Showing improvement and documenting data.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
A
系统解析：
由题干中的these measures和Paragraph 5定位到第五段第二句。语义理解题。由定位句可知，这些措施使参与者都有所改善，再由本段第一句可知,这些措施指的是接受了训练和看了教育类DVD，故A)为答案。
10
What is the main idea of this passage?
A.
Hearing can be improved by the auditory training.
B.
Hearing can be improved by using the hearing aid.
C.
All sounds can be recognized by the auditory training.
D.
All sounds can be recognized by making practice.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
A
系统解析：
由题干中的main idea of this passage定位到整篇文章。主旨大意题。作者主要叙述了听力可以通过练习得到改善。这一主题也在文章的开篇重点提出，故选A)。
Our tale begins two decades ago, when a group of Dutch women set out to find an explanation for the antisocial behavior of the males in their family. As well as having learning difficulties, these men and boys were prone to outbursts of aggression and were racking up a list of serious offences, including attempted rape and murder. Suspecting that the behavior might be hereditary, the women approached geneticist Hans Brunner at the University Hospital in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Eventually, in 1993，he tracked down the crime: a dead variant of a gene called monoamine oxidase A (单胺氧化酶 A) (MAOA), located on the X chromosome.
Understandably, the announcement created a sensation. It was the first time a gene had been linked to human aggression—and MAOA seemed to be responsible for a history of violence stretching back five generations.
In the following years, evidence poured in to bolster the connection between MAOA and aggression. Then, in 2004, journalist Ann Gibbons sealed the link by giving MAOA the headline-friendly label "warrior gene". The nickname stuck, raising the profile of MAOA, and at the same time making misconceptions about how our behavior is affected by our genetic make-up.
Explaining the interaction between genes and behavior is one of the toughest tasks in biology. The publication of the entire human genetic code, a decade ago, dispelled any illusions that having the genetic blueprint of our species would give a clear insight into our nature. Instead, what became clear is that we have far fewer genes than anyone imagined, and that understanding how these shape us as individuals is going to be a huge task.
Genes simply make proteins. So for behavioral geneticists the question is how, when and why they influence our behavior. Clearly, this involves a complex tango (探戈舞) between genes and environments. Working out the exact steps is extremely difficult, and conveying the findings to those without a scientific background is just as problematic.
11
The main purpose of Hans Brunner's study was to_____.
A.
help a group of Dutch women improve their rights
B.
prove men are more aggressive than women
C.
find the reasons of aggressive behavior
D.
prove how important monoamine oxidase A is
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
C
系统解析：
由题干中的purpose, Hans Brunner's study定位到第一段第三、四句。细节辨认题。由定位句可知，一群荷兰女性对家族中男性的攻击性行为产生疑问，一直在找寻答案，便向Hans Brunner寻求帮助，而后他追查到攻击性行为和基因有关，故C)为正确答案。
12
From MAOA, s nickname "warrior gene" given by Ann Gibbons, we can see_____.
A.
people are born with aggressive characteristics
B.
the nickname makes us pay less attention to MAOA
C.
previous ideas about our behavior are incorrect
D.
there are some connections between MAOA and aggression
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
D
系统解析：
由题干中的MAOA's, "warrior gene"和Ann Gibbons定位到第三段第二句。细节辨认题。由定位句可知，Ann Gibbons给单胺氧化酶A命名为"武士基因"以揭示二者之间的关系，故D)为正确答案。
13
The publication of the entire human genetic code_____.
A.
proved human nature completely
B.
proved the interaction between genes and behavior
C.
could not explain clearly the way how genes shape us as individuals
D.
showed a genetic blueprint of our society
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
C
系统解析：
由题干中的the entire human genetic code定位到第四段第二、三句。细节辨认题。由定位句可知，我们以前认为人类基因的蓝图会把人的本质洞察得很清晰。然而实际，清楚了解这些基因如何塑造人类个体将是一个巨大的任务，故C)为正确答案。
14
According to the last paragraph, we can infer that_____.
A.
it is difficult to find the rough interplay between genes and behavior
B.
genes can make proteins to provide some energy for our body
C.
MAOA has made the genes in our body out of order
D.
there are complicated links between genes and environments
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
D
系统解析：
由题干中的the last paragraph定位到最后一段。推理判断题。由定位段可知，行为基因学家质疑基因是以何种方式、何时以及为什么影响我们的行为。显然，这涉及基因与环境之间复杂的相互作用，故D)为正确答案。
15
What is the main idea of this passage_____?
A.
Men are more likely to break laws than women.
B.
There may be some links between our behavior and genes.
C.
MAOA is in charge of our characteristics.
D.
The entire human genetic code can deal with all the genetic problems.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
B
系统解析：
由题干中的the main idea定位到整篇文章。主旨大意题。本文以一群荷兰女性寻找家族中男性攻击性行为的原因开篇，随后又列举遗传学家的观点，主要简述了基因和行为之间的联系，故B)为正确答案。
American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a special "language protein" in the brain. The study, compiled by neuroscientists and psychologist from the University of Maryland, concluded that women talked more because they had more of the Foxp2 protein. Their findings come after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20 000 words a day—more than 13 000 more than men.
"This study is one of the first to report a sex difference in the expression of a language- associated protein in humans or animals," said Prof. Margaret McCarthy, who led the study. "The findings raise the possibility that sex differences in brain and behavior are more pervasive (普遍的) and established earlier than previously appreciated. "
The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that higher levels were found among humans that were women but in rats they were males.
In the experiment, the researchers attempted to determine what might make male rats more vocal (有声的) than their female friends. They separated four-day-old rats from their mothers and then counted the number of times they cried out over five minutes. While both sexes emitted hundreds of cries, the males called out twice as often, they found. According to tests compiled on the parts of the brain known to be involved in vocal calls, the male pups (幼崽) have up to twice as much Foxp2 protein as the females. The researchers then increased the production in the brains of female pups and reduced it in males. This led to the female rats crying out more often. In contrast, males became less "talkative".
The researchers then tested samples from ten children, aged between three and five, which showed that females had up to a 30 percent more of the Foxp2 protein than males, in a brain area key to language in humans.
"Based on our observations, the assumption of higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex," said Prof. McCarthy."Our results implicate Foxp2 as a component of the neurobiological basis of sex differences in vocal communication in mammals. "
16
The study conducted by American researchers is mainly to reveal _____.
A.
the achievement in the field of sex difference
B.
the undesirable effects of the Foxp2 protein
C.
the differences and similarities between men and women
D.
the reason why females are more talkative than males
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
D
系统解析：
由题干中的The study，American researchers和reveal定位到第一段首句。推理判断题。由定位句可知，大脑中一种特殊的"语言蛋白"女性比男性爱说话的原因。而全文围绕该原因展开详细说明，故正确答案为D)。
17
According to Prof. Margaret McCarthy, the findings of the study seem to believe
A.
sex differences exist among humans but not animals
B.
the Foxp2 protein determines sex differences in body communication
C.
sex differences in brain and behavior are formed earlier than expected
D.
this research is one of the first to study sex differences
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
C
系统解析：
由题干中的Prof. Margaret McCarthy和the findings定位到第二段。推理判断题。由定位段可知，McCarthy教授认为，本次研究结果提出了两种情况的可能性：大脑和行为上的性别差异更普遍；这种性别差异形成的时间比先前认识的要早。故C)为正确答案。
18
Rats are used in the experiment in order to indicate that _____.
A.
sex differences determine different vocal abilities
B.
communicative differences exist in male and female rats
C.
the Foxp2 protein functions differently in humans and animals
D.
the Foxp2 protein affects animals' vocal
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
D
系统解析：
由题干中的Rats和in the experiment定位到第四段第一句。推理判断题。由定位句可知，研究人员做这次实验的目的是试图确定雄性老鼠比雌性同伴更能发声的因素。而根据下文可知，实验最终的结果是Foxp2蛋白也影响动物的发声，故正确答案为D)。
19
What does "the production" (Line 6, Para. 4) refer to?
A.
The vocal call.
B.
The Foxp2 protein.
C.
Rat's tears.
D.
A chemical.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
B
系统解析：
由题干中的"the production"和Line 6, Para. 4定位到第四段最后三句。推理判断题。由定位句可知，研究人员在小雌鼠大脑里增加该种物质，小雌鼠发声就会增多；在小雄鼠的大脑里减少这种物质，小雄鼠就"不爱说话"。根据上下文，具有这种功能的物质是Foxp2蛋白。故B)为正确答案。
20
Which is the best title of this passage?
A.
Why Are Women the Talkative Sex?
B.
What Makes Us So Communicative?
C.
How Can We Determine a Rat's Sex?
D.
Sex Differences Decide Our Communicative
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
A
系统解析：
由题干中的the best title of this passage定位到整篇文章。主旨大意题。由本文可知，文章开头指出了研究主题：女性爱说话的原因。在下文的两项实验中，无论是女性Foxp2蛋白含量较高，还是雄性鼠类的Foxp2 蛋白含量较高，研究最终要确定为什么女性爱说话，故正确答案为A)。
The two economists call their paper "Mental Retirement", and their argument has aroused the interest of behavioral researchers. Data from the United States, England and 11 other European countries suggests that the earlier people retire, the more quickly their memories decline.
The implication, the economists and others say, is that there really seems to be something to the "use it or lose it" notion—if people want to preserve their memories and reasoning abilities, they may have to keep active.
"It's incredibly interesting and exciting," said Laura L. Carstensen, director of the Centre on Longevity (寿命) at Stanford University. "It suggests that work actually provides an important component of the environment that keeps people functioning optimally (最佳地)."
While not everyone is convinced by the new analysis, published recently in The Journal of Economic Perspectives, a number of leading researchers say the study is, at least, an evidence for a possibility that is widely believed but surprisingly difficult to demonstrate.
Researchers repeatedly find that retired people as a group tend to do less well on cognitive tests than people who are still working. But, they note, that could be because people whose memories and thinking skills are declining may be more likely to retire than people whose cognitive skills remain sharp.
And research has failed to support the premise that mastering things like memory exercises, crossword puzzles (纵横字谜）and games like Sudoku carry over into real life, improving overall functioning.
"If you do crossword puzzles, you get better at crossword puzzles," said Lisa Berkman, director of the Centre for Population and Development Studies at Harvard. "If you do Sudoku, you get better at Sudoku. You get better at one narrow task. But you don't get better at cognitive behavior in life." The study was possible, explains one of its authors, Robert Willis, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan, because the National Institute on Aging began a large study in the United States nearly 20 years ago. Called the Health and Retirement Study, it surveys more than 22 000 Americans over age 50 every two years, and administers memory tests.
21
According to the data from America and some European countries, retired people_____.
A.
have aroused the interest of many psychologists
B.
are more forgetful than they were at work
C.
don't have a functioning mind any more
D.
can have much better cognitive skills
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
B
系统解析：
由题干中的data和European countries定位到首段第二句。推理判断题。定位句表明，来自美国、英国和其他11个欧洲国家的数据表明，人们退休越早，记忆力衰退得越快。由此可推知，B)与之符合，故为正确答案。
22
In Laura L. Carstensen's opinion, what is the relationship between work and mental functions?
A.
Work has nothing to do with people's mental functions.
B.
Work has a positive effect on people's mental functions.
C.
People's mental functions decrease gradually after work.
D.
People's mental functions have no influence on people's work.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
B
系统解析：
由题干中的 Laura L. Carstensen's opinion，work 和 mental functions 定位到第三段第二句。推理判断题。由定位句可知，工作可以提供一个让人们处于最佳机能状态的环境因素。由此可以推断，工作与大脑功能之间存在积极的关联，B)与文意相符， 为正确答案。
23
Lisa Berkman claimed that Sudoku could_____.
A.
improve people's overall functioning greatly
B.
make people get better at this narrow task
C.
help develop people's cognitive skills
D.
help people live much longer
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
B
系统解析：
由题干中的Lisa Berkman定位到第七段。细节辨认题。由定位段可知，通过对某一项任务，如纵横字谜、数独游戏的训练，你会把一项有限的任务做得更好，但这并不意味着你在生活中的认知行为上表现得更好。B)与文意相符，为正确答案。
24
What can we learn about the Health and Retirement Study?
A.
It has been carried out for about 20 years.
B.
It surveys Americans under the age of 50.
C.
It is led by Robert Willis from the National Institute.
D.
It gets support from the University of Michigan.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
A
系统解析：
由题干中的the Health and Retirement Study定位到末段。细节辨认题。由定位段可知，美国国家老龄化研究所从大约20年前就开始了一项叫作健康与退休研究的大规模研究。它每两年就会针对22 000多名50岁以上的美国人进行调查，进行记忆力测试。A)与文意相符，为正确答案。
25
According to the passage, what is true about "Mental Retirement"？
A.
People are reluctant to retire at an early age.
B.
People have to retire earlier than expected.
C.
People's mental functions will decline even though they are still working.
D.
People's memories and reasoning abilities decline if they are not working.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
D
系统解析：
由题干中的passage和Mental Retirement定位到全文。综合理解题。综合全文来看，"脑力退休"主要关注工作与大脑活跃程度的关联，退休使大脑思维处于欠活跃状态，人的推理能力、记忆力等都会随之衰退。D)与文意相符，为正确答案。
我的笔记
最大支持140字
收藏
0
好题
0
烂题
0
提交纠错
请输入您发现的错误详情
用户：
