Question

    Why Wisdom （智慧）Doesn't Work as Well as We Think It Does

We relate wisdom to age. Most of us believe that gaining wisdom is like picking up stones on a path: the longer you're on the path, the more stones you'll collect.

It seems a reasonable inference, then, the older you are, the more wisdom you have. Older people usually make fewer careless mistakes, and they often know the best course of action in a given situation. But I think there's another explanation at play here, which we might consider in the light of what we know about human decision-making.

There are two different ways of decision-making: plans and habits. Here's an example of how these ways differ. If you^’re driving somewhere for the first time, you'll need a plan. You will need to know whether to turn left or right, because you don’t already have that information stored away in your head. On the other hand, you don't need a plan when you're going somewhere familiar （熟悉的） because the order of steps that will take you there is stored as a habit. But if you find that the road is blocked by fallen trees, you’ll have to think about another way. Such a plan allows you to more easily deal with new situations, but they require a lot more attention.

The use of plans and habits changes over the course of our lives. A baby can't use habits to make decisions, because any situation she^’s in will be a new one. As we build up a store of familiar situations, the more we can depend on habits. The older you are, the more likely your behavior is based on tried- and-true habits rather than fresh planning.

But what does this tell us about wisdom? Well, it suggests that wisdom is interactive, not static: it is a relationship between a person and their surroundings （环境），The reason that wisdom seems to come out so effortlessly from well-seasoned minds is that they have a store of habitual information about how to act in a given situation.

But it also makes a worrying prediction: if older people were put in a new situation, with which they had no familiarity, they wouldn't make better decisions than someone who is young. It is the same with mistakes. Older, seemingly wiser people make fewer mistakes because they're familiar with surroundings they often deal with. If you controlled for the familiarity of the situation, then people in different age groups would probably make the same number of mistakes. Younger people might even make fewer mistakes, because they are better at coming up with fresh plans.

While wisdom gives you expertise within a particular environment, it doesn't mean that you'll be able to generalize that to new experiences. It's not that we necessarily get wiser as we get older, but we put ourselves in fewer situations where we are likely to make mistakes.

1.What do we know about the two ways of decision-making according to the passage?

A.Using plans or habits to make decisions is an ever-changing process.

B.The use of plans and habits requires lots of attention and effort.

C.When going somewhere familiar, we need to work out a plan.

D.Younger people depend more on habits to make decisions,

2.What can we learn from the passage?

A.Younger people have a great advantage in becoming wiser.

B.Older people are better at making careful plans before action.

C.Older people seem wiser because they^’ve stored more habitual information.

D.Younger people make more mistakes when they're in unfamiliar surroundings.

3.What does the underlined word “static” probably mean in Paragraph 5?

A.Uncontrolled. B.Unchanged. C.Increasing. D.Surprising.

4.What is the writer's main purpose in writing this passage?

A.To stress the importance of gaining wisdom.

B.To compare the two different ways of decision-making.

C.To call on younger people to learn more from older people.

D.To remind us to view the wisdom of older people reasonably.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】

本文阐述了智慧与年龄的关系，看似越老越有智慧，实则是因为他们有经验积累，熟悉经常处理的环境。年轻人甚至可能犯更少的错误，因为他们更善于想出新的计划。因此作者提醒我们合理看待老年人的智慧。

1.推理判断题。A.利用计划或习惯做出决定是一个不断变化的过程。根据上文“The use of plans and habits changes over the course of our lives. ”在我们的生活过程中，计划和习惯的使用发生了变化。由此可知“利用计划或习惯做出决定是一个不断变化的过程。”所以此选项说法正确。B. 计划和习惯的使用需要大量的关注和努力。根据上文“On the other hand, you don't need a plan when you're going somewhere familiar （熟悉的） because the order of steps that will take you there is stored as a habit. ”另一方面，当你去熟悉的地方时，你不需要一个计划，因为你去那里的步骤的顺序被存储为一个习惯。可知在熟悉的环境不需要大量的关注和努力，除非有新状况的发生，所以此项说法错误。C.当我们去熟悉的地方时，我们需要制定一个计划。根据上文“On the other hand, you don't need a plan when you're going somewhere familiar （熟悉的） because the order of steps that will take you there is stored as a habit. ”另一方面，当你去熟悉的地方时，你不需要一个计划，所以此项说法错误。D.年轻人更依赖习惯来做决定，根据上文“Younger people might even make fewer mistakes, because they are better at coming up with fresh plans. ”年轻人甚至可能犯更少的错误，因为他们更善于想出新的计划。可知因为年轻人经验少，他们更善于想出新的计划，而不是依赖习惯，所以此项说法错误。故选A。

2.推理判断题。A. 年轻人在变得更聪明方面有很大的优势。根据上文“the older you are, the more wisdom you have. Older people usually make fewer careless mistakes, and they often know the best course of action in a given situation. ”你越老，你就越有智慧。老年人通常会犯较少的粗心错误，他们总是知道在给定的情况下用最好的行动方法。所以此项说法错误。B.老年人在行动前更善于制定周密的计划。根据上文“Younger people might even make fewer mistakes, because they are better at coming up with fresh plans.”可知年轻人甚至可能犯更少的错误，因为他们更善于想出新的计划。所以此项说法错误。C.老年人似乎更聪明，因为他们储存了更多的习惯性信息。根据上文the older you are, the more wisdom you have. The reason that wisdom seems to come out so effortlessly from well-seasoned minds is that they have a store of habitual information about how to act in a given situation. 你越老，你就越有智慧。智慧似乎是从经验丰富的头脑中毫不费力地冒出来的，原因是他们有一堆关于在特定情况下如何行动的习惯性信息。由此可知此项说法正确。D.年轻人在不熟悉的环境中会犯更多的错误。据上文Younger people might even make fewer mistakes, because they are better at coming up with fresh plans. 可知年轻人甚至可能犯更少的错误，因为他们更善于想出新的计划。故选C。

3.词句猜测题。A.失控的；B. 不变的；C.增加；D.令人惊讶的。根据上文wisdom is interactive, not static: it is a relationship between a person and their surroundings （环境），智慧是互动的，而不是 的 ：它是人们与他们周围环境之间的关系，可知智慧随着周围环境变化而互动，不是一成不变的，所以not static的意思为“不是不变的”，故选B。

4.推理判断题。本文阐述了智慧与年龄的关系，看似越老越有智慧，实则是因为他们有经验积累，熟悉经常处理的环境。年轻人甚至可能犯更少的错误，因为他们更善于想出新的计划。因此作者提醒我们合理看待老年人的智慧。故选D。