Question

    “If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect,” the media giant Ted Turner supposedly said sometime in the 1990s. Why be modest? Aristotle said: “All men by nature desire to know.” Intellectual humility is a particular instance of humility, since you can be down-to-earth about most things but still ignore your mental limitations.

Intellectual humility means recognising that we don’t know everything. Actually, it means we should acknowledge that we're probably biased in our belief about just how much we understand and seek out the sources of wisdom that we lack.

The Internet and digital media have created the impression of limitless knowledge at our fingertips. But, by making us lazy, they have opened up a space that ignorance can fill. The psychologist Tania Lombrozo of the University of California explained how technology enhances our illusions (错觉) of wisdom. She argues that the way we access information is critical to our understanding — and the more easily we can recall an image, word or statement, the more likely we’ll think we’ve successfully learned it, and so withdraw from effortful cognitive processing. Logical puzzles presented in an unfriendly font (字体), for example, can encourage someone to make extra effort to solve them. Yet this approach runs counter to the nice designs of the apps and sites that populate our screens, where our brain processes information in a “smooth” way. What about all the information that presents online? Well, your capacity to learn from it depends on your attitudes. Intellectually humble people don’t hide or ignore their weaknesses. In fact, they see them as sources of personal development, and use arguments as an opportunity to refine their views. People who are humble by nature tend to be more open-minded and quicker to resolve disputes, since they recognise that their own opinions might not be valid.

At the other end of the scale lies intellectual arrogance. Such arrogance almost always originates from the egocentric bias – the tendency to overestimate their own virtue or importance, ignoring the role of chance or the influence of other people’s actions on their lives. This is what makes these people credit success to themselves and failure to circumstance. From an evolutionary perspective, intellectual arrogance can also be seen as a way of achieving dominance through forcing one’s view on others. Intellectually arrogant people hardly invest mental resources in discussion or working towards group consensus, thus making it hard for groups to work successfully.

The Thrive Center for Human Development in California, which seeks to help young people tum into successful adults, is funding a series of major studies about intellectual humility. Their hypothesis is that humility, curiosity and openness are key to a fulfilling life. “Without humility, you are unable to learn,” Laszlo Bock, Google’s Head of People Operations, notes.

1.The passage is mainly about ______.

A.the harm arrogance does to us

B.the key elements to a fulfilling life

C.the significance of intellectual humility

D.the way people access information online

2.Technology enhances our illusions of wisdom because it ______.

A.enables people to think critically

B.offers too much unreliable information

C.allows easy access to abundant information

D.makes it hard for people to recall information

3.According to Para.3, intellectually humble people ______.

A.value others’ opinions more than their own

B.use online information to better themselves

C.are unwilling to show their strengths

D.prefer to solve difficult problems

4.The author will probably agree that ______.

A.intellectual arrogance is the result of evolution

B.intellectually arrogant people often lack team spirits

C.successful people are often unaware of their limitations

D.circumstances don’t favor intellectually arrogant people

Answer

1.C

2.C

3.B

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章主要讲述了理智的谦逊的重要性。理智谦逊的人不会隐藏或忽视自己的弱点，他们把这视为个人发展的源泉，并把争论当作完善自己观点的机会。

1.主旨大意题。分析文章可知，文章主要讲述了理解的谦逊的重要性。理智谦逊的人不会隐藏或忽视自己的弱点，他们把这视为个人发展的源泉，并把争论当作完善自己观点的机会。结合选项，故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据文章第三段中“The Internet and digital media have created the impression of limitless knowledge at our fingertips. ”以及“the way we access information is critical to our understanding – and the more easily we can recall an image, word or statement, the more likely we’ll think we’ve successfully learned it, and so withdraw from effortful cognitive processing.”可知，技术增强了我们对智慧的幻想，因为它使我们能够容易地获得丰富的信息。结合选项，故选C。

3.细节理解题。根据文章第三段中“ Intellectually humble people don’t hide or ignore their weaknesses. In fact, they see them as sources of personal development, and use arguments as an opportunity to refine their views. ”可知，他们把网上的信息视为个人发展的源泉，是完善自我的机会。结合选项，故选B。

4.推理判断题。根据文章倒数第二段中 “Intellectually arrogant people hardly invest mental resources in discussion or working towards group consensus, thus making it hard for groups to work successfully.”可知，自大的智者缺乏合作精神。结合选项，故选B。