2009年考研英语阅读理解 Part A Text 1 的详细解析
Text 1
①Habits are a funny thing. ②We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. ③“Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting herd,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. ④In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative implication.
①So it seems paradoxical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation. ②But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.
①Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. ②In fact, the more new things we try—the more we step outside our comfort zone—the more inherently creative we become, both in the workplace and in our personal lives.
①But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. ②Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.
①“The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind. ②“But we are taught instead to ‘decide’, just as our president calls himself ‘the Decider.’” ③She adds, however, that “to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. ④A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”
①All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware, she says. ②Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the capacity to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, relationally （or collaboratively） and innovatively. ③At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that capacity, preserving only those modes of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.
①The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought. ②“This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,” explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will...and Ms. Markova’s business partner. ③“That’s a lie that we have perpetuated, and it fosters commonness. ④Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.” ⑤This is where developing new habits comes in.
问题 Question
In Wordsworth’s view, “habits” is characterized by being __________.
[A] casual [B] familiar
[C] mechanical [D] changeable
Brain researchers have discovered that the formation of new habits can be __________.
[A] predicted [B] regulated
[C] traced [D] guided
The word“ruts”（Para. 4） is closest in meaning to __________.
[A] tracks [B] series
[C] characteristics [D] connections
Dawna Markova would most probably agree that __________.
[A] ideas are born of a relaxing mind
[B] innovativeness could be taught
[C] decisiveness derives from fantastic ideas
[D] curiosity activates creative minds
Ryan’s comments suggest that the practice of standardized testing __________.
[A] prevents new habits from being formed
[B] no longer emphasizes commonness
[C] maintains the inherent American thinking mode
[D] complies with the American belief system
【答案速查】
- C 22. D 23. A 24. D 25. A
【试题透析】
- C
[解题思路] 根据题干的关键词Wordsworth以及habits，将本题定位于第一段句③Not choice，but habit rules the unreflecting herd，这句引文表明了华兹华斯对于习惯的看法，他指出，习惯支配着不善于思考的人们，原文中的unreflecting（不反思的，不思考的）说明了在习惯状态之下人们的行为特点：不加思考地沿用旧有模式行事，同时也说明了华兹华斯对习惯持否定态度。本段句②也指出，习惯养成之后，我们任由大脑自动导航，无意识地进入常规惯例带来的舒适的放松状态。这两句话相辅相成，都表明了习惯的特点——模式化、程式化。四个选项中与此意思相近的只有选项[C]mechanical（机械的），故选项[C]为答案。
[干扰排除] 选项[A]casual（随意的；偶然的）在文中没有类似的表述，故排除。第一段句②We reach for them...familiar routine指出，我们不知不觉地养成习惯，无意识地进入常规惯例带来的放松状态，这里的familiar是修饰routine的，表示常规惯例为我们所熟悉，而不是修饰habits的，故选项[B]排除。句④In the ever-changing 21st century中的ever-changing是修饰名词21st century的，选项[D]changeable的干扰设置即由此而来；从文中可知，习惯的特点是固定化的，与changeable的意思正相反，故排除。
- D
[解题思路] 根据关键词Brain researchers和the formation of new habits定位至第二段和第三段。第二段句②指出，大脑研究者发现当我们有意识地培养新习惯时（when we consciously develop new habits），脑中新建立的路径和新的细胞会使思路跳转到新轨道上，由此可知，新习惯的养成是一种有意识的活动，是可以通过引导完成的。接着，第三段句①指出，我们可以有意识地培养新习惯来主动作出改变（by consciously developing new habits）。四个选项中，只有选项[D]guided（可以被引导）最符合文意，故选项[D]正确。
[干扰排除] 关于新习惯的养成过程，文中并没有提到其为“可以预测的”或者“可以规范的”，故排除选项[A]和[B]。选项[C]是利用第二段句②...new, innovative tracks设置的干扰，文中的tracks为名词，意为“轨道；轨迹”，表明大脑生成的新路径，它出现在新的习惯形成之后，所以无从推出选项[C]。
- A
[解题思路] 第四段句①once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain...指出，一旦旧的ruts of procedure在脑中形成，就很难消除。接着句②the new habits...create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads指出，新的习惯会绕过旧路径形成新路线，由此可知，those old roads与前文的those ruts of procedure相对应，ruts和roads是同义关系。四个选项中，只有选项[A]tracks（路径；痕迹）与roads以及ruts的意思最接近，故选项[A]正确。
[干扰排除] 本文多次将“习惯”比喻成“道路”，比如，在第二段句②中，作者将新习惯的养成过程比喻成create parallel paths，将新习惯比喻成new, innovative tracks；在第四段句②中，再次将新习惯比喻成create parallel pathways，将旧习惯比作those old roads；由此可知，文中的“ruts”也应该具有类似的意思，而选项[B]series（系列）、[C]characteristics（特征）和选项[D]connections（联系）都与文中关于“习惯”的比喻义相差甚远，故排除。
- D
[解题思路] 根据题干中的关键词Dawna Markova定位至第五段句①。该句指出，Dawna Markova认为，创新的首要条件就是对新奇事物的迷恋，即只有好奇心才能产生创新思维，故选项[D]是最符合文意的表述。同时，该选项中的curiosity和creative minds分别对应原文中的fascination with wonder和 innovation。
[干扰排除] 选项[A]是利用第一段句②setting our brains...relaxing...设置的干扰项，而relaxing mind（放松的头脑）的相关内容在Dawna Markova的表述中没有出现，故排除。本段句②we are taught...to decide...，指出我们常被教导“作决定”，并不是选项[B]所表达的创造力可以被教导和传授，故排除该选项。选项[C]可通过第五段句③to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one 排除，该句指出作出决定意味着除了一种可能性之外的其他可能都被排除了。此处并没说决断产生于新奇想法，故排除选项[C]。
- A
[解题思路] 根据题干中的关键词Ryan’s comments和standardized testing定位至最后一段。Ryan的评论出现在本段的句②至句④；句②说标准化测试违背了美国信仰体系中人人都无所不能的原则；句③、④又说到，人们总认为一旦知道自己的擅长所在，只要不断练习即可达到优秀的境界，这种观念纯粹是谎言，它只能滋生平庸。Ryan的评论意在说明标准化测试正是基于上述的观念实施的；标准化测试过于强调分析思维模式和程式化思维模式，而忽视了对创新思维模式和协作思维模式的考查，阻碍了人们对创新的探索。可见，Ryan认为标准化测试不利于培养创新思维，而紧接Ryan的评论之后，也就是文章的结尾句说到，“这就是培养新习惯的意义所在”。由此可知，新习惯的形成可以促进创新思维的培养，由此不难推断出标准化测试阻碍了新习惯的养成。四个选项中，只有选项[A]符合这一要求，为正确选项。
[干扰排除] 选项[B]是根据末段句③中的it fosters commonness设置的干扰项，原文中说优秀在于不断强化自身的特长这一观念会滋生平庸；同时，由原文可知，标准化测试不利于人们创新思维的培养，只能令人们的思维模式越来越单一，可见选项[B]所述的“标准化测试不再强调平庸”是无从谈起的，故排除。末段句①指出，对标准化测试的推崇意味着很少有人运用自身固有的创新型和协作型思维模式；由此可知，该测试已经改变了人们固有的思维方式，故选项[C]的表述不正确。末段句②指出，标准化测试违背了美国信仰体系中的一条重要原则，选项[D]的表述与此相反，故排除。