题目内容
________ one's head on the back of his/her hand means“I'm tired”.
- A.Rest
- B.Resting
- C.To rest
- D.Rested
用动名词短语作主语。
We like to think our intelligence is self-made; it happens inside our heads, the product of our inner thoughts alone. But the rise of Google, Wikipedia and other online tools has made many people question the impact of these technologies on our brains. Is typing in “Who has played James Bond in the movies?” the same as our knowledge about the names like Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig? Can we say we know the answer as long as we know how to rapidly get the information on Google?
Here the question is about how we define intelligence itself. The answer appears to be interesting, because the evidence from psychological studies suggests that much of our intelligence comes from how we coordinate ourselves with other people and our environment.
An influential theory among psychologists is that we're cognitive misers(认知吝啬者). This is the idea that we are unwilling to do mental work unless we have to. We try to avoid thinking things fully when a short cut is available. If you've ever voted for the presidential candidate(总统候选人) with the most honest smile, or chosen a restaurant based on how many people are already sitting in there, then you are a cognitive miser. The theory explains why we'd much rather type a zip code into Google Maps than memorize and recall the location of a place – it's so much easier to do so.
Research shows that people don't tend to rely on their memories for things they can easily access. Buildings can somehow disappear from pictures we're looking at, or the people we're talking to can be changed with someone else, and often we won't notice – a phenomenon called “change blindness”. This isn't an example of human stupidity – far from it, in fact – this is an example of mental efficiency. The mind relies on the world as a better record than memory.
Philosophers have suggested that thinking is really happening in the environment as much as it is happening in our brains. The philosopher Andy Clark called humans "natural born cyborgs(电子人)", those naturally capable of absorbing and combining new tools, ideas and abilities. In Clark's view, the route to a solution is not the issue – having the right tools really does mean you know the answers, just as much as already knowing the answer.
Rather than being forced to rely on our own resources for everything, we can share our knowledge. Technology keeps track of things for us so we don't have to, while large systems of knowledge serve the needs of society as a whole. I don't know how a computer works, or how to grow vegetables, but that knowledge is out there and I can get to benefit. The internet provides even more potential to share this knowledge. Wikipedia is one of the best examples – an increasingly large database of knowledge from which everyone can benefit.
So as well as having a physical environment – like the rooms or buildings we live or work in – we also have a mental environment, which means that when I ask you where your mind is, you shouldn’t point toward the centre of your forehead. As research shows, our minds are made up just as much by the people and tools around us as they are by the brain cells inside our skull.
【小题1】Why did the writer raise the questions in Paragraph 1?
| A.To find out who has played James Bond in the movies. |
| B.To introduce the topic to be discussed in the passage. |
| C.To show that he knows the answer to the questions. |
| D.To attract readers’ attention by mentioning James Bond. |
| A.Supportive | B.Objective | C.Indifferent | D.Neutral |
| A.Intelligence is something that is made by one’s brain itself. |
| B.Intelligence is something that only happens inside one’s head. |
| C.Intelligence is the product of one’s inner thoughts alone. |
| D.Intelligence is a mixture of the environment, people and one’s brain cells. |
| A.are stupid not to notice the changes |
| B.are efficient in mental work |
| C.are blind to changes around them |
| D.rely on memory when dealing with things |
| A.They make us much more intelligent. |
| B.They make us lazier and more stupid. |
| C.They have little to do with our intelligence. |
| D.They have a negative effect on our intelligence. |
Time spent in a bookshop can be most enjoyable, whether you are a book-lover or only there to buy a book as a present. You may even have entered the shop just to find a shelter from a sudden shower. Whatever the reason, you can soon totally unaware of your surroundings. You soon become interested in some books or others, and usually it is only much later that you realize you have spent too much time there and have to rush off to keep some forgotten appointment.
This chance to escape the realities of everyday life is the main attraction of a bookshop. A music shop is very much like a bookshop. You can walk around such a place to your heart's content. If it is a good shop, no assistant will come up to you with the greeting "Can I help you?" You needn't buy anything you don't want. In a booksho
p an assistant should remain in the background until you have finished reading. Then, and only then, are his services necessary.
Once a medical student had to read a textbook which was far too expensive for him to buy. He couldn't borrow it from the library and the only copy h
e could find was in a certain bookshop. Every afternoon, therefore, he would go along to the shop and read a little of the book at a time. One day, however, he was disappointed to find the book missing from his usual place. He was about to leave, when he noticed the owner of the shop beckoning to him. Expecting to be told off, he went towards him. To his surprise, the owner pointed to the book which was tucked away in a corner. "I put it there in case anyone tries to buy it !"He said, and left the delighted student continuing his reading.
【小题1】According to the passage the main attraction of a bookshop is that ________.
| A.people can learn something from books |
| B.it can be a shelter from a sudden rain |
| C.it is the surrounding of new knowledge |
| D.it offers a chance to get free from realities |
| A.always greet customers pleasantly and warmly |
| B.help the readers to find what they want to read |
| C.not say a word to the customers while they read |
| D.not stand behind the bookshelf all the time |
| A.waving somebody to come up | B.laughing at a person openly |
| C.shouting at somebody angrily | D.shaking one's head to show disagreement |
| A.tell us a story that happened in a bookshop |
| B.support his idea of what a good bookshop is like |
| C.teach us how to read in a shop without buying books |
| D.advise us to help other people whenever we can |