题目内容
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项中,选出一个最佳答案.
What Wasn't Obvious to the Audience?Early in this century, a horse named Hans amazed the people of Berlin by his extraordinary ability to perform rapid calculations in mathematics. After a problem written on a blackboard placed in front of him, he promptly counted out the answer by tapping the low numbers with his right forefoot and multiples of ten with his left. Trickery was ruled out because Hans's owner, unlike other owners of other Performing animals, did not profit financially and Hans even performed his feats whether or not the owner was present. The psychologist O. Pfungst witnessed one of these performances and became convinced that there had to be a more logical explanation than the uncanny intelligence of a horse.
Because Hans performed only in the presence of an audience that could see the blackboard and therefore knew the correct answer, Pfungst reasoned that the secret lay in observation of the audience rather than the horse. He finally discovered that as soon as the problem was written on the blackboard, the audience bent forward very slightly in anticipation to watch Hans's forefeet. As slight as that movement was, Hans perceived it and took it as his signal to begin tapping. As his taps approached the correct number, the audience became tense with excitement and made almost imperceptible movements of the head which signaled Hans to stop counting. The audience, simply by expecting Hans to stop when the correct number was reached, had actually told the animal when to stop. Pfungst clearly demonstrated that Hans's intelligence was nothing but a mechanical response to his audience, which unwittingly communicated the answer by its body language.
(1)Why was Hans's performance considered amazing by his audience?
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A. Horses usually can't do math problems.
B. Hans was faster than the average horse.
C. Hans's owner didn't make a profit.
D. Hans obviously enjoyed his unusual work.
(2)Which of the following statements is the most important about what Pfungst concluded regarding Hans's performance?
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A. The performance had to be in front of an audience.
B. The audience already knew the answer.
C. Hans's response was mechanical.
D. Body language can communicate expectations.
(3)If Hans were a man instead of a horse, he could have enhanced his act by ________.
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A. adding a few magic tricks
B. doing calculus problems
C. removing the blackboard
D. paying even closer attention to the audience
(4)Why does the author use the words logical and reasoned in connection with psychologist Pfungst?
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A. To make him seem more intelligent than the audience.
B. To emphasize the scientific validity of the discovery.
C. Because they contrast with body language.
D. Because they are the basis of spoken language.
解析:
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(1) A 这是一道常识题、动物不会思维和交际,马是不会做数学题的,所以Hans能准确计算数学题的表演使观众感到甚为惊奇. (2) D 这是一道考查是否准确掌握文中提供信息的题目.根据短文尾段中Pfungst观察和推理的情况,Hans的数学计算是按照舞台下边一个特定的观众的身势语进行的.这说明用身势语达到交际的预期目的,是Pfungst对于Hans的数学计算表演下结论的最重要的依据. (3) D 这是一道推理判断题.短文尾段叙述了Pfungst清楚地观察到Hans的智力只不过是对某一特定观众身势语的机械反应,这种反应是通过身势语无意识地交流答案.由此可以推断出,如果Hans是人而不是马的话,他就会更加密切注意观众而不泄露诡计. (4) B 这是一道事实询问题.通读全文可知.心理学家Pfungst发现了马 Hans能够进行数学计算的奥秘是根据逻辑和推理发现的.因此,作者关于心理学家使用了logical和reasoned,其目的就是为了强调发现的科学效能,B是最佳选项. |