Question

According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, we might all be braggarts(大话王) in this competitive society addicted to social networking.

Take a close look at your social­networking sites. Do you like to post photos of yourself in restaurants to show others what an exciting life you have? Or do you like to write about how happily in love you are? Or perhaps you are of the subtle type who constantly complain about jobs but really just want to impress others with your important position.

According to the results of a series of experiments conducted by Harvard University neuroscientists(神经科学家), the reward areas of our brain——the same areas that respond to “primary rewards” such as food ——are activated when we talk about ourselves. We devote between 30 to 40 percent of our conversation time to doing just that. Unfortunately, Bernstein says, some people can't tell the difference between sharing positive information that others might actually want to know and direct bragging. She suggests that bragging involves comparison, whether stated or implied.

“We are expected to be perfect all the time. The result is that more and more people are carefully managing their online images”. says Elizabeth Bernstein, a columnist with the Wall Street Journal.

But the issue is not limited to the Internet. In a fiercely competitive job market we must sell ourselves on multiple platforms and show that we are better than others. In fact, we have become so accustomed to bragging that we don't even realize we are doing it, says Bernstein. This is harmful to our relationships and puts people off.

Bernstein talked to some experts who said that people brag for all sorts of reasons: to appear worthy of attention; to prove to ourselves we are doing fine and that people who said we would fail are wrong; or simply because we're excited when good things happen to us.

“Feel sorry for them, because they're doing this unconscious, destructive thing that won't help them in the long run，” said Professor Simian Valier, a research psychologist at Washington University.

1.The underlined word “subtle” in Para.2 is closest in meaning to “________”．

A．hidden B．apparent

C．outstanding D．simple

2.Which of the following is one of the features of braggarts?

A．They control conversation and only talk about themselves.

B．They know well how to share positive information.

C．They self­promote to stand out in their career.

D．They don't pay much attention to their online image.

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A．Braggarts make a good first impression but the effect decreases over time.

B．People who like bragging know what they are doing.

C．Braggarts always adopt comparison directly to show they are excellent.

D．They care much about the feelings of others when talking.

 

Answer 1

1.A

2.C

3.A

【解析】

文章大意：这是一篇议论文。生活中，大话王(braggart)最讨人嫌，可是不知不觉间，我们竟然开始用夸张的语言打造自己的形象。在疯狂吹嘘的背后，其实是一种自我营销的手段。但是这种方式并不能使自己持久发展。

1.A　考查词义猜测。根据划线词后的 “who constantly complain about jobs but really just want to impress others with your important position.” 可知，也许有时你会有些低调，只是不断抱怨自己的工作，吹嘘的并不明显，但实际上这只是为了反过来显示自己身居要职，给人留下深刻印象罢了。故与选项中的hidden意思最相近。

2.2】C　细节理解题。根据第五段“In a fiercely competitive job market we must sell ourselves on multiple platforms and show that we are better than others”可知，在激烈的职场中，我们必须在多个平台推销自己来证明我们比别人更优秀，故C项正确。A项only错误。根据第三段“...when we talk about ourselves. We devote between 30 to 40 percent of our conversation time to doing just that.”可知并非仅仅只谈论自己。根据第三段“some people can't tell the difference between sharing positive information that others might actually want to know and downright bragging.”他们并不能分辨分享别人想知道的积极的信息与自吹自大的区别。可知B项错误。

根据第四段“The result is that more and more people are carefully managing their online images”，可知D项错误。

3.3】A　推理判断题。尽管大话王可能短时间给别人留下很深的印象，根据最后一段Professor Simian Valier所说，从长远的角度看，随着时间推移，这种做法不会有好处，好印象会逐渐消退。A正确。B项错误。根据第五段“we have become so accustomed to bragging that we don't even realize we are doing it” C项错误。根据第三段最后一句“She suggests that bragging involves comparison, whether stated or implied.”可知adopt comparison directly错误。D项错误。根据全文，以及第五段最后一句“This is harmful to our relationships and puts people off.”可推断，大话王说话并未多加考虑别人感受，只是注重自我展示，长期会使关系受损，受人厌恶。