Question

    In a classic episode (片段）of The Simpsons, Homer's class reunion ends in shame when one of Homer’s guilty secrets is exposed: he never graduated from high school. To get his diploma, he must pass a science test. As he sits down to retake the exam, he holds one of his trademark dialogues with his brain. “All right，brain. You don’t like me and I don’t like you. But let’s just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.”

Many a true word is spoken as a joke. Homer Simpson’s Everyman character really is an Everyman. For most people, engaging in the kind of effortful thinking that is required to pass a science test feels too much like hard work. It is so much easier to quit and let the brain’s autopilot take over.

And no wonder. Evolution has blessed the human brain with all kinds of mental shortcuts that make life manageable. If we had to think about every action or weigh up every decision, we would break down. As a result, certain ideas and modes of thinking come naturally to us, such as effortless thinking.

But at huge cost. Our mental shortcuts work fine at the level of individuals and small-scale societies, but in an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, they are a danger to society. Effortless thinking is at the root of many of the modern world’s most serious problems: terrorism，hatred, inequality and religious extremism. All are caused by people disengaging their critical thinking and going with their gut (非理性的）feeling.

Everybody is capable of gut feeling, but also of the critical thinking. Both thinking styles are needed to make the world go round. Unfortunately, the latter requires training that is unavailable or unappealing to many people.

One of the bright spots in 2017 was the start of a movement called the March For Science. Those who believe in the power of science need to keep on marching, or give more power to people who don’t much like their own brains — or other people’s.

1.What does the author want to convey through Homer's story?

A.Feeling is very important.

B.Drinking beer is harmful to one’s brain.

C.High school seniors should work hard.

D.Most people hate effortful thinking like Homer.

2.What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?

A.Our mental shortcuts function well.

B.Effortless thinking is expensive for people.

C.Effortless thinking is dangerous to society.

D.People prefer effortless thinking to critical thinking.

3.What does the author think of critical thinking?

A.It makes the world go round.

B.It needs necessary training.

C.It works fine at the level of personal affairs.

D.It leads to the March For Science in 2017.

4.What is the best title for the text?

A.We Need to March Towards Science

B.Thinking Contributes to Social Problems

C.Effortless Thinking Is Out of Date

D.Critical Thinking Is Urgently Needed

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章以电影《辛普森一家人》中Homer失败的同学会开始，揭露出大部分人不喜欢进行需要花费努力的批判性思维，论述了非理性思维的危害以及当代世界迫切需要批判性思维这一话题。

1.

推理判断题。由第一段中的“As he sits down to retake the exam, he holds one of his trademark dialogues with his brain. “All right，brain. You don’t like me and I don’t like you. But let’s just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.”’’（当他坐下来重考时，他与大脑进行了一次标志性的对话。“好吧，大脑。你不喜欢我，我也不喜欢你。但我们就这么做吧，我就可以用啤酒杀了你。”）和第二段中的“For most people, engaging in the kind of effortful thinking that is required to pass a science test feels too much like hard work.”（对大多数人来说，从事那种通过科学考试所需的轻松思考，感觉太像是艰苦的工作。），可推断出Homer不喜欢理性思考，而他这种性格和大部分人是一样的，多数人都把需要花费努力进行的思考看成是很辛苦的事，因此很容易就放弃而任由大脑进行随意的非理性思考。故选D项。

2.

主旨大意题。由第四段中的“But at huge cost. Our mental shortcuts work fine at the level of individuals and small-scale societies, but in an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, they are a danger to society. ”（但代价巨大。我们的思维捷径在个人和小规模社会层面上运作良好，但在一个日益相互关联和全球化的世界里，它们对社会是一种危险。）和第四段中的“Effortless thinking is at the root of many of the modern world’s most serious problems: terrorism，hatred, inequality and religious extremism. All are caused by people disengaging their critical thinking and going with their gut (非理性的）feeling.”（不费吹灰之力的思考是当今世界许多最严重问题的根源：恐怖主义、仇恨、不平等和宗教极端主义。所有这些都是由于人们脱离了他们的批判性思维，随波逐流。）可知，非理性思维的代价是很大的，C项“非理性思维对社会是危险的”符合题意。故选C项。

3.

推理判断题。由第五段最后一句话“Unfortunately, the latter requires training that is unavailable or unappealing to many people.”（不幸的是，后者需要的培训对许多人来说是不可能或没有吸引力的。），可推断出作者认为批判性思维需要进行一些必要的培训，B项正确；由第五段第二句话“Both thinking styles are needed to make the world go round. ” （这两种思维方式都需要让世界运转。）可知，批判性思维和非理性思维两种思维方式推动世界运转，A项“它推动世界的运转”属于以偏概全；由第四段第二句话“Our mental shortcuts work fine at the level of individuals and small-scale societies, but in an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, they are a danger to society. ”（我们的思维捷径在个人和小规模社会层面上运作良好，但在一个日益相互关联和全球化的世界里，它们对社会是一种危险。）可知，对于个人层面的事情很适用的是思维捷径，而不是批判性思维，C项“它对于个人层面的事情很适用”属于偷换概念；D项“它导致了2017年的科学运动”属于无中生有。故选B项。

4.

主旨大意题。由第二段中的“For most people, engaging in the kind of effortful thinking that is required to pass a science test feels too much like hard work.”（对大多数人来说，从事那种通过科学考试所需的轻松思考，感觉太像是艰苦的工作。），第四段中的“Effortless thinking is at the root of many of the modern world’s most serious problems: terrorism，hatred, inequality and religious extremism. All are caused by people disengaging their critical thinking and going with their gut (非理性的）feeling.”（不费吹灰之力的思考是当今世界许多最严重问题的根源：恐怖主义、仇恨、不平等和宗教极端主义。所有这些都是由于人们脱离了他们的批判性思维，随波逐流。），倒数第二段中的“Everybody is capable of gut feeling, but also of the critical thinking. Both thinking styles are needed to make the world go round.”（每个人都有直觉的能力，也有批判性思维的能力。这两种思维方式都需要让世界运转。）和最后一段中的“Those who believe in the power of science need to keep on marching, or give more power to people who don’t much like their own brains — or other people’s.”（那些相信科学力量的人需要继续前进，或者给那些不太喜欢自己或他人大脑的人更多的力量。），可知本文主要介绍了现在多数人不喜欢批判性思维，即理性思维，而当今世界一些严重问题的根源在于人们缺乏理性思维，所以D项“批判性思维迫切被需要”作为标题最合适；A项“我们需要向科学进军”属于以偏概全；B项“思考导致社会问题”属于断章取义，文章虽然提到了社会问题，但是这种表达是错误的；C项“非理性思维已经过时”属于无中生有。故选D项。