Question

“Heaven is where the police are English,the cooks are French the mechanics are German,the lovers are Italian and everything is organized by the Swiss.Hell is where the.police are German,the cooks are English,the mechanics are French,the lovers are Swiss,and everything is organized by the Italians.”

Obviously the national stereotypes（模式化的思想）in this,old joke are generalizations,but such stereotypes are often said to "exist for a reason".Is there actually a sliver of truth in them?Not likely,an international research team now says.

"National and cultural stereotypes do play an important role in how people see themselves and others,and being aware that these are not dependable is a useful thing,"said study author Robert McCrae of the National Institute on Aging."These are in fact unfounded stereotypes.They don't come from looking around you,"McCrae said.

If national stereotypes aren't rooted in real experiences,then where do they come from?One possibility is that they reflect national values,which may become known from historical events.For example,many historians have argued that the spirit of American individualism has its origins in the experiences of the pioneers on the Old West.

Social scientists such as psychologist Richard Robins have given several other possible explanations for stereotypes and why they may be incorrect.Robins notes that some stereotypes may have been correct at one point in history and then remained unchanged while the culture changed.

We may be "hard-wired",to some degree,to keep incorrect stereotypes,since we are less likely to notice and remember information that is different from our stereotypes.Generally,according to Robins,when we meet people who are different from our stereotypes,we see them as unique individuals rather than typical national or cultural groups.

1.What is the function of the first paragraph?

A. To introduce the topic of national stereotypes.

B. To make a comparison between the characters of different countries.

C. To exemplify the argument against stereotyping.

D. To analyze the strengths and weaknesses of people in different countries.

2.Which of the following best describes McCrae's attitude towards national stereotypes?

A. Supportive.    B. Indifferent.

C. Critical.    D. Uncertain.

3.According to social scientists,why aren’t national stereotypes always correct?

A. Because they are formed by individual historians.

B. Because people tend to have false idea about other cultures.

C. Because generalizations are made through personal experience.

D. Because what was true in the past may not be true at present.

4.What does the underlined word "hard-wired" in the last paragraph probably mean?

A. Forgetful.    B. Fixed.

C. Anxious.    D. Helpless.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】本文主要讨论的是国家的模式化的思想现象。

1.推理判断题。第一段用笑话的方式引出本文的话题：国家的模式化的思想，故答案为A。

2.推理判断题。根据他所说的话"National and cultural stereotypes do play an important role in how people see themselves and others,and being aware that these are not dependable is a useful thing,"以及"These are in fact unfounded stereotypes.They don't come from looking around you,"可知他对待模式化的思想既认为是重要的，又觉得不能完全依赖，所以他的态度是批判性的，故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段Robins notes that some stereotypes may have been correct at one point in history and then remained unchanged while the culture changed.可知在历史上模式化思想在某种程度上是对的，但是当文化发生变化了，模式化思想却没有发生变化，因此就会出现错误，故选D。

4.词义猜测题。根据句意：在某种程度上，我们可能在（）来记住或保持那些不正确的模式化思想，既然是不愿意改变，也就是说比较固定的，不变的，因此就是fixed的意思，答案为B。