考研英语完形填空文档.docx

考研英语完形填空文档.docx

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考研英语完形填空文档

2011

AncientGreekphilosopherAristotleviewedlaughteras“abodilyexerciseprecioustohealth.”Butdespitesomeclaimstothecontrary,laughingprobablyhaslittleinfluenceonphysicalfitness.Laughterdoesproduceshort-termchangesinthefunctionoftheheartanditsbloodvessels,boostingheartrateandoxygenconsumption.Butbecausehardlaughterisdifficultsustain,agoodlaughisunlikelytohavemeasurablebenefitstheway,say,walkingorjoggingdoes.

Infact,insteadofstrainingmusclestobuildthem,asexercisedoes,laughterapparentlyaccomplishestheopposite.Studiesdatingbacktothe1930’sindicatethatlaughterrelaxesmuscles,decreasingmuscletoneforupto45minutesafterthelaughdiesdown.

Suchbodilyreactionmightconceivablyhelpmoderatetheeffectsofpsychologicalstress.Anyway,theactoflaughingprobablydoesproduceothertypesofphysicalfeedback,thatimproveanindividual’semotionalstate.Accordingtooneclassicaltheoryofemotion,ourfeelingsarepartiallyrootedinphysicalreactions.Itwasarguedattheendofthe19thcenturythathumansdonotcrybecausetheyaresadbuttheybecomesadwhenthetearsbegintoflow.

Althoughsadnessalsoprecedestears,evidencesuggeststhatemotionscanflowfrommuscularresponses.Inanexperimentpublishedin1988,socialpsychologistFirzStrackoftheUniversityofWürzburginGermanyaskedvolunteerstoholdapeneitherwiththeirteeth—therebycreatinganartificialsmile—orwiththeirlips,whichwouldproducea（an）disappointedexpression,Thoseforcedtoexercisetheirsmilingmusclesreactedmoreenthusiasticallytofunnycartoonsthandidthosewhosemouthswerecontractedinafrown,suggestingthatexpressionsmayinfluenceemotionsratherthanjusttheotherwayaround.Similarly,thephysicalactoflaughtercouldimprovemood.

2010

In1924America’sNationalResearchCouncilsenttwoengineerstosuperviseaseriesofexperimentsatatelephone-partsfactorycalledtheHawthornePlantnearChicago.Ithopedtheywouldlearnhowshop-floorlightingaffectworkers’productivity.Instead,thestudiesendedupgivingtheirnamestothe“Hawthorneeffect”,theextremelyinfluentialideathattheveryactofbeingexperimenteduponchangessubjects’behavior.

Theideaarosebecauseoftheperplexingbehaviorofthewomenintheplant.Accordingtobehavioroftheexperiments,theirhourlyoutputrosewhenlightingwasincreased,butalsowhenitwasdimmed.Itdidnotmatterwhatwasdoneintheexperiment;solongassomethingwaschanged,productivityrose.A（n）awarenessthattheywerebeingexperimenteduponseemedtobeenoughtoalterworkers’behaviorbyitself.

Afterseveraldecades,thesamedataweresubjectedtoeconometricanalysis.TheHawthorneexperimentshadanothersurpriseinstore.Contrarytothedescriptionsonrecord,nosystematicevidencewasfoundthatlevelsofprodudulyctivitywererelatedtochangesinlighting.

Itturnsoutthatthepeculiarwayofconductingtheexperimentsmayhaveledtomisleadinginterpretationsofwhathappened.Forexample,lightingwasalwayschangedonaSunday.WhenworkstartedagainonMonday,outputrosecomparedwiththepreviousSaturdayandcontinuedtoroseforthenextcoupleofdays.However,acomparisonwithdataforweekswhentherewasnoexperimentationshowedthatoutputalwayswentuponMondays.Workerstendedtobediligentforthefirstfewdaysoftheweekinanycase,beforehittingaplateauandthenslackeningoff.Thissuggeststhatthealleged“Hawthorneeffect”ishardtopindown.

2009

Researchonanimalintelligencealwaysmakesuswonderjusthowsmarthumansare.Considerthefruit-flyexperimentsdescribedbyCarlZimmerintheScienceTimes.Fruitflieswhoweretaughttobesmarterthantheaveragefruitflytendedtoliveshorterlivers.Thissuggeststhatdimmerbulbsburnlonger,thatthereisa（n）advantageinnotbeingtoobright.

Intelligence,itturnsout,isahigh-pricedoption.Ittakesmoreupkeep,burnsmorefuelandslowoffthestartinglinebecauseitdependsonlearning—a（n）gradualprocess—insteadofinstinct.Plentyofotherspeciesareabletolearn,andoneofthethingsthey’reapparentlylearnediswhentostop.

Isthereanadaptivevaluetolimitedintelligence?

That’sthequestionbehindthisnewresearch.Insteadofcastingawistfulglancebackwardatallthespecieswe’veleftinthedustI.Q.-wise,itimplicitlyaskswhattherealcostsofourownintelligencemightbe.Thisisonthemindofeveryanimalwe’veevermet.

Researchonanimalintelligencealsomakesuswonderwhatexperimentsanimalswouldperformonhumansiftheyhadthechance.Everycatwithanowner,forinstance,isrunningasmall-scalestudyinoperantconditioning.Webelievethatifranthelabs,theywouldtestustodeterminethelimitsofourpatience,ourfaithfulness,ourmemoryforlocations.Theywouldtrytodecidewhatintelligenceinhumansisreallyfor,notmerelyhowmuchofitthereis.Aboveall,theywouldhopetostudya（n）fundamentalquestion：

Arehumansactuallyawareoftheworldtheylivein?

Sofartheresultsareinconclusive.

2008

Theideathatsomegroupsofpeoplemaybemoreintelligentthanothersisoneofthosehypothesesthatdarenotspeakitsname.ButGregoryCochranispreparedtosayitanyway.Heisthatrarebird,ascientistwhoworksindependentlyofanyinstitution.Hehelpedpopularizetheideathatsomediseasesnotpreviouslythoughttohaveabacterialcausewereactuallyinfections,whicharousedmuchcontroversywhenitwasfirstsuggested.

Evenhe,however,mighttrembleatthethoughtofwhatheisabouttodo.Togetherwithanothertwoscientists,heispublishingapaperwhichnotonlysuggeststhatonegroupofhumanityismoreintelligentthantheothers,butexplainstheprocessthathasbroughtthisabout.ThegroupinquestionareaparticularpeopleoriginatedfromcentralEurope.Theprocessisnaturalselection.

ThisgroupgenerallydowellinIQtest,scoring12-15pointsabovethemeanvalueof100,andhavecontributeddisproportionatelytotheintellectualandculturallifeoftheWest,asthecareersoftheirelites,includingseveralworld-renownedscientists,affirm.Theyalsosuffermoreoftenthanmostpeoplefromanumberofnastygeneticdiseases,suchasbreastcancer.Thesefacts,however,havepreviouslybeenthoughtunrelated.Theformerhasbeenputdowntosocialeffects,suchasastrongtraditionofvaluingeducation.Thelatterwasseenasa（an）consequenceofgeneticisolation.Dr.Cochransuggeststhattheintelligenceanddiseasesareintimatelylinked.Hisargumentisthattheunusualhistoryofthesepeoplehassubjectedthemtouniqueevolutionarypressuresthathaveresultedinthisparadoxicalstateofaffairs.

2007

By1830theformerSpanishandPortuguesecolonieshadbecomeindependentnations.Theroughly20millioninhabitantsofthesenationslookedhopefullytothefuture.BorninthecrisisoftheoldregimeandIberianColonialism,manyoftheleadersofindependencesharedtheidealsofrepresentativegovernment,careersopentotalent,freedomofcommerceandtrade,therighttoprivateproperty,andabeliefintheindividualasthebasisofsociety.Generallytherewasabeliefthatthenewnationsshouldbesovereignandindependentstates,largeenoughtobeeconomicallyviableandintegratedbyacommonsetoflaws.

Ontheissueoffreedomofreligionandthepositionofthechurch,however,therewaslessagreementamongtheleadership.RomanCatholicismhadbeenthestatereligionandtheonlyoneallowedbytheSpanishcrown.WhilemostleaderssoughttomaintainCatholicismastheofficialreligionofthenewstates,somesoughttoendtheexclusionofotherfaiths.ThedefenseoftheChurchbecamearallyingcryfortheconservativeforces.

Theidealsoftheearlyleadersofindependencewereoftenegalitarian,valuingequalityofeverything.BolivarhadreceivedaidfromHaitiandhadpromisedinreturntoabolishslaveryintheareasheliberated.By1854slaveryhadbeenabolishedeverywhereexceptSpain’sremainingcolonies.EarlypromisestoendIndiantributeandtaxesonpeopleofmixedorigincamemuchslowerbecausethenewnationsstillneededtherevenuesuchpoliciesproduced.Egalitariansentimentswereoftentemperedbyfearsthatthemassofthepopulationwasunpreparedforself-ruleanddemocracy.

2006

ThehomelessmakeupagrowingpercentageofAmerica’spopulation.Indeedhomelessnesshasreachedsuchproportionsthatlocalgovernmentscan’tpossiblycope.Tohelphomelesspeopletowardindependence,thefederalgovernmentmustsupportjobtrainingprograms,raisetheminimumwage,andfundmorelow-costhousing.

NoteveryoneagreesonthenumberofAmericanswhoarehomeless.Estimatesrangeanywherefrom600,000to3million.Althoughthefiguremayvary,analystsdoagreeonanothermatter:

thatthenumberofthehomelessisincreasing.Oneofthefederalgovernment’sstudiespredictsthatthenumberofthehomelesswillreachnearly19millionbytheendofthisdecade.

Findingwaystoassistthisgrowinghomelesspopulationhasbecomeincreasinglydifficult.Butwhenhomelessindividualsmanagetofindashelterthatwillgivethemthreemealsadayandaplacetosleepatnight,agoodnumberstillspendthebulkofeachdaywanderingthestreet.Partoftheproblemisthatmanyhomelessadultsareaddictedtoalcoholordrugs.Andasignificantnumberofthehomelesshaveseriousmentaldisorders.Manyothers,whilenotaddictedormentallyill,simplylacktheeverydaysurvivalskillsneededtoturntheirlivesaround.BostonGlobereporterChrisReidynotesthatthesituationwillimproveonlywhentherearecomprehe