题目内容
14．The gift of being able to describe a face accurately is a rare one，as every experienced police officer knows to his cost．As the Lancet put it recently，"When we try to describe faces precisely，words fail us，and we resort to identikit （拼脸型图） procedures．"Yet，according to one authority on the subject，we can each probably recognize more than 1，000faces，the majority of which differ in fine details．This，when one comes to think of it，is a tremendous feat，though，curiously enough，relatively little attention has been devoted to the fundamental problems of how and why we acquire this gift for recognizing and remembering faces．Is it an inborn property of our brains，or an acquired one？As so often happens，the experts tend to differ．
Thus，some argue that it is inborn，and that there are"special characteristics about the brain's ability to distinguish faces"．In support of this，they note how much better we are at recognizing a face after a single encounter than we are，for example，in recognizing an individual horse．On the other hand，there are those，and they are probably in the majority，who claim that the gift is an acquired one．
The arguments in favor of this latter view，it must be confessed，are impressive．It is a habit that is acquired soon after birth．Watch，for instance，how a quite young baby recognizes his mother by sight．Granted that his other senses help-the sound，his sense of smell，the distinctive way she handles him．But of all these，sight is predominant．Formed at the very beginning of life，the ability to recognize faces quickly becomes an established habit，and one that is，essential for daily living，if not necessarily for survival．How essential and valuable it is we probably do not appreciate until we encounter people who have been deprived of the faculty．
This unfortunate inability to recognize familiar faces is known to all，but such people can often recognize individuals by their voices，their walking manners or their spectacles．With typical human ingenuity，many of these unfortunate people overcome their handicap by recognizing other characteristic features．
72．It is stated in the passage thatD．
A．it is unusual for a person to be able to identify a face satisfactorily
B．the ability to recognize faces unhesitatingly is an unusual gift
C．quite a few people can visualize faces they have seen
D．few people can give exact details of the appearance of a face
73．What the author feels strange about is thatB．
A．people have the tremendous ability to recognize more than 1，000 faces
B．people don't think much of the problem of how and why we acquire the ability to recognize and remember faces
C．people don't realize how essential and valuable it is for them to have the ability to recognize faces
D．people have been arguing much over the way people recognize and remember faces
74．What is the first suggested explanation of the origin of the ability？C
A．It is one of the characteristics peculiar to human beings．
B．It is acquired soon after birth．
C．It is something we can do from the very moment we are born．
D．It is learned from our environment and experiences．
75．This passage seems to emphasize thatA．
A．the ability to recognize individuals is dependent on other senses as well as sight
B．sight is indispensable （必需的） to recognizing individuals
C．the ability to recognize faces is a special inborn ability of the brain
D．the importance of the ability of recognizing faces is fully appreciated by people．
分析 本文属于说明文阅读，作者通过这篇文章主要向我们描述了很少人能够描述出脸的细节，识别个体的能力主要依赖于视力等重要感官．
解答 72．D．推理判断题．根据第一段The gift of being able to describe a face accurately is a rare one，as every experienced police officer knows to his cost可知很少人能够描述出脸的细节；故选D．
73．B．细节理解题．根据第二段This，when one comes to think of it，is a tremendous feat，though，curiously enough，relatively little attention has been devoted to the fundamental problems of how and why we acquire this gift for recognizing and remembering faces可知作者对人不重视如何以及为什么我们获得能力去识别和记住别人的面孔感到奇怪；故选B．
74．C．细节理解题．根据第三段Thus，some argue that it is inborn，and that there are"special characteristics about the brain's ability to distinguish faces可知第一种解释认为能力的起源是我们从出生就拥有的可以做的事情；故选C．
75．A．推理判断题．根据第三段But of all these，sight is predominant．Formed at the very beginning of life，the ability to recognize faces quickly becomes an established habit，and one that is，essential for daily living，if not necessarily for survival可知文章主要强调识别个体的能力主要依赖于视力等重要感官；故选A．
点评 考察学生的细节理解和推理判断能力，做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句，和题干进行比较，再做出正确的选择．在做推理判断题不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．
