Question

    What is it about kids these days that makes older generations so easily angry? In some way or another, older generations have been disappointed at the youth's decline since the earliest days of civilization. Even Aristotle talked smack about how young folks thought they knew everything back in the 4th century BC.

So why do people throw all the shade on the next generation? A study out last month in Science Advances shows that negative opinions about kids aren't always based on their actions; it's more about how adults praise their past and current selves.

In the study, researchers looked at a trio of characteristics in three groups of US adults: respect for elders or authoritarianism（权威主义），intelligence, and enjoyment of reading. The team, led by John Protzko, a cognitive scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, asked the participants whether they thought kids in the modern age shared the same qualities. They found that adults who tested especially strong in one of the categories tended to see children today as weak in il. For example, if an adult got tagged or self-identified as intelligent, they were more likely to see "kids these days" as less intelligent than they used to be. This, Protzko thinks, is because they remembered their younger selves to be smarter, whether true or not. What's more, they only reserved their strong opinion for characteristics they related to.

In another stage of the study, the authors assigned random scores to participants to trick      them into thinking how well-read they were. Many of the adults changed their opinions on kid's reading ability as a result, Protzko speculates that there are two reasons for the shift: How memories can go wrong and the lack of objective knowledge of what childhood is really like.      "People who are high in     a trail arc imposing（迫使）their current high standing in that trait back in time, thinking 'Oh this must have been what all kids were like,' " he says. Over the years, the same memory bias（偏见）keeps occurring, making it seem like kids arc somehow failing more and more. In fact, （he older a participant was, the more heavily this bias came into play, Protzko says.

While there's still a lot to learn about why adults might see younger generations as mediocre, this research can hint that an age-old phrase can boil down to one classic human trail： vanity（自负）.

―From Popular Science

1.What does the underlined phrase in the first paragraph mean?

A.Expressed his a flection for . B.Talked positively about.

C.Spoke ill of. D.Thought highly of.

2.What does a study published last month in Science Advances indicate?

A.Negative opinions about kids come from their ill behavior.

B.Adults always keeps their previous and present glories in mind.

C.Adults hold positive opinions about kids for their actions.

D.Kids are always blamed by adults who are more outstanding.

3.According to the study, why were adults more likely to consider "kids these days" as less intelligent?

A.Because adults got tagged or self-indentified as intelligent.

B.Because adults thought they themselves much smarter.

C.Because adults hold the view that kids were weaker than them.

D.Because adults only remembered their own strengths subjectively.

4.Which of the following statements may Protzko agree with?

A.Adults hold the bias that kids these days are failing.

B.Adults probably forgot all kids have the same characteristics.

C.That the same memory bias keeps occurring led to kid's failure.

D.The participants ignored the bias as they grew older.

5.What is the structure of the passage?

A.①②--③④⑤ B.①--②③④---⑤

C.①②③--④---⑤ D.①---②---③---④⑤

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.A

5.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。本文主要讲述了老一辈人对现在的年轻人有很多负面看法，加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的认知科学家约翰·普罗茨科(John Protzko)对此进行了研究，他认为虽然关于为什么成年人可能会认为年轻一代平庸还有很多需要研究的地方，但这项研究可以暗示，一个古老的短语可以归结为一条经典的人类轨迹：自负。

1.词义猜测题。根据第一段中In some way or another, older generations have been disappointed at the youth's decline since the earliest days of civilization. 从文明早期开始，老一辈人就对年轻人的衰落感到失望。根据句中的even可知，此句中的talked smack about应与上句中的disappointed表达的意思相近，故可知亚里士多德对年轻人的评价也不高。结合选项，故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据文章第二段中A study out last month in Science Advances shows that negative opinions about kids aren't always based on their actions; It’s more about how adults praise their past and current selves. 上个月发表在《科学进展》(Science Advances)上的一项研究表明，对孩子的负面看法并不总是基于他们的行为;更多的是成年人如何赞扬他们的过去和现在的自己。由此可知，成年人总是把自己过去和现在的辉煌记在心里。故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据文章第三段中For example, if an adult got tagged or self-identified as intelligent, they were more likely to see "kids these days" as less intelligent than they used to be. This, Protzko thinks, is because they remembered their younger selves to be smarter, whether true or not. What's more, they only reserved their strong opinion for characteristics they related to. 例如，如果一个成年人被贴上标签或自我认定为聪明，他们更有可能认为“现在的孩子”比过去更不聪明。普罗茨科认为，这是因为他们记得年轻时的自己更聪明，不管是真是假。更重要的是，他们只对与他们相关的特征保留了强烈的意见。由此判断出为什么成年人更倾向于认为“现在的孩子”不那么聪明是因为因为成年人只是在主观上记住了自己的长处。故选D。

4.推理判断题。根据文章第三段This, Protzko thinks, is because they remembered their younger selves to be smarter, whether true or not. What's more, they only reserved their strong opinion for characteristics they related to. 普罗茨科认为，这是因为他们记得年轻时的自己更聪明，不管是真是假。更重要的是，他们只对与他们相关的特征保留了强烈的意见。以及文章最后一段中While there's still a lot to learn about why adults might see younger generations as mediocre虽然关于为什么成年人可能会认为年轻一代平庸还有很多需要研究的地方。由此判断出，成年人有一种偏见，认为现在的孩子们都很失败。故选A。

5.推理判断题。分析文章可知，本文主要讲述了老一辈人对现在的年轻人有很多负面看法，加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的认知科学家约翰·普罗茨科(John Protzko)对此进行了研究，他认为虽然关于为什么成年人可能会认为年轻一代平庸还有很多需要研究的地方，但这项研究可以暗示，一个古老的短语可以归结为一条经典的人类轨迹：自负。由此可知，第一段是引出话题，第二三四段是研究过程，第五段是研究结果。故本文的结构应是总-分-总。结合选项，故选B。