完形填空

Why do people read negative Internet comments and do other things that will obviously be painful? Because humans have an inherent need to _____ (1) uncertainty, according to a recent study in Psychological Science. The new research reveals that the need to know is so strong that people will _____ (2) to satisfy their curiosity even when it is clear the answer will_____ (3).

In a series of four experiments, behavioral scientists at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the Wisconsin School of Business tested students' willingness to _____ (4) themselves to unpleasant stimuli in an effort to satisfy curiosity. For one _____ (5), each participant was shown a pile of pens that the researcher claimed were from a previous experiment. The twist? Half of the pens would _____ (6) an electric shock when clicked.

Twenty-seven students were told which pens were rigged; another twenty-seven were told only that some were electrified. _____ (7) left alone in the room, the students who did not know which ones would shock them clicked more pens and incurred more jolts than the students who knew what would _____ (8). Subsequent experiments replicated this effect with other stimuli, _____ (9) the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard and photographs of disgusting insects.

The drive to _____ (10) is deeply ingrained in humans, much the same as the basic drives for _____ (11) or shelter, says Christopher Hsee of the University of Chicago, a co-author of the paper. Curiosity is often considered a good instinct-it can _____ (12) new scientific advances, for instance-but sometimes such _____ (13) can backfire. The insight that curiosity can drive you to do _____ (14) things is a profound one.

Unhealthy curiosity is possible to _____ (15), however. In a final experiment, participants who were encouraged to _____ (16) how they would feel after viewing an unpleasant picture were less likely to _____ (17) to see such an image. These results suggest that imagining the _____ (18) of following through on one's curiosity ahead of time can help determine _____ (19) it is worth the endeavor. "Thinking about long-term _____ (20) is key to mitigating the possible negative effects of curiosity," Hsee says. In other words, don't read online comments.

1【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.resolve

B.protect

C.discuss

D.ignore

【答案】A

【解析】句首作者提出疑问，“为什么人们会读互联网的负面评论和明显很让人伤心的其它事情呢?”随后作者给出答案，“因为人们都有_____不确定性的内在需求”。[A]解决[B]保护[C]讨论[D]忽视，根据动宾搭配关系，解决不确定性搭配合理。



2【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.refuse

B.wait

C.seek

D.regret

【答案】C

【解析】本题考查动介词搭配。根据原文语境，需要选择一个动词和后面的“to”连用。[A]拒绝做...[B]等待做...[C]寻求，力求做...[D]后悔做...结合文意“人们要_____ 满足他们的好奇心”来判断，正选为[C]寻求，力求做。



3【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.rise

B.last

C.mislead

D.hurt

【答案】D

【解析】根据原文语境，“painful, uncertainty”均为消极词汇。



4【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.alter

B.tie

C.expose

D.treat

【答案】C

【解析】固定搭配考查。根据原文语境，考查短语_____ sb to sth 意为“让某人承受某事”。因此，C选项为正选。



5【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.message

B.trial

C.review

D.concept

【答案】B

【解析】根据上文，第二段句首提到in a series of four experiments,说明是在“实验”的语境。结合四个选项，[A]信息[B]实验[C]复习[D]观念，只有B选项和段落语境相符合。因此为正选。



6【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.remove

B.weaken

C.deliver

D.interrupt

【答案】C

【解析】动宾搭配。结合语境，“当点击的时候，一半的钢笔会_____电流。”根据动宾搭配，本题需要一个动词来搭配电流，考查四个选项，[A]移除[B]削弱[C]传递[D]打扰 A选项更符合语境。



7【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.Unless

B.If

C.Though

D.When

【答案】D

【解析】时间状语的考查。结合语境，“_____被独自留在房间，学生会……”，因此，这是一个非常明显的时间状语从句。正选为D.



8【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.happen

B.continue

C.disappear

D.change

【答案】A

【解析】动词辨析。结合原文语境，由who 引导的定语从句修饰前面的学生，而在定语从句中，又出现由what引导的宾语从句。结合宾语从句的含义，“知道接下来会发生什么”更符合语境。



9【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.rather than

B.such as

C.regardless of

D.owing to

【答案】B

【解析】结合语境，后面语境为并列关系，因此此题应填举例子。B为正选。



10【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.disagree

B.forgive

C.forget

D.discover

【答案】D

【解析】Discover 与上文中的Curiosity 相对应。



11【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.pay

B.marriage

C.food

D.schooling

【答案】C

【解析】本词与后文的Basic drives 的详细说明。与shelter一样都属于人类的基本需求。



12【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.begin with

B.rest on

C.learn from

D.lead to

【答案】D

【解析】破折号的内容是对前文instinct 的解释。说明这种本能能够促进新的科学发展，属于因果关系。



13【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.withdrawal

B.inquiry

C.persistence

D.diligence

【答案】B

【解析】跟前文的drives 相对应。



14【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.self-destructive

B.self-reliant

C.self-evident

D.self-deceptive

【答案】A

【解析】本题与前文的backfire相对应，都属于贬义词。



15【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.resist

B.define

C.replace

D.trace

【答案】A

【解析】从后文的试验中，参与者应该被鼓励参与，因此跟前文的坚持相对应。



16【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.predict

B.overlook

C.design

D.conceal

【答案】A

【解析】通过后文的after能看出这个事情并没有发生，因此填预测。



17【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.remember

B.choose

C.promise

D.pretend

【答案】B

【解析】动宾搭配。



18【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.relief

B.plan

C.outcome

D.duty

【答案】C

【解析】of 引导的后置定语。由一个人的好奇心所带来的结果。



19【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.whether

B.why

C.where

D.how

【答案】A

【解析】whether 引导宾语从句。



20【题干】_____.

【选项】

A.limitations

B.investments

C.strategies

D.consequences

【答案】D

【解析】关联对应，对应18题的outcome.


Text 1

It is curious that Stephen Koziatek feels almost as though he has to justify his efforts to give his students a better future.

Mr. Koziatek is part of something pioneering. He is a teacher at a New Hampshire high school where learning is not something of books and tests and mechanical memorization, but practical. When did it become accepted wisdom that students should be able to name the 13th president of the United States but be utterly overwhelmed by a broken bike Chain?

As Koziatek know, there is learning in just about everything. Nothing is necessarily gained by forcing students to learn geometry at a graffitied desk stuck with generations of discarded chewing gum. They can also learn geometry by assembling a bicycle.

But he's also found a kind of insidious prejudice. Working with your hands is seen as almost a mark of inferiority. School in the family of vocational education "have that stereotype...that it's for kids who can't make it academically," he says.

On one hand, that viewpoint is a logical product of America's evolution. Manufacturing is not the economic engine that it once was. The job security that the US economy once offered to high school graduates has largely evaporated. More education is the new principle. We want more for our kids, and rightfully so.

But the headlong push into bachelor's degrees for all—and the subtle devaluing of anything less—misses an important point: That's not the only thing the American economy needs.Yes,a bachelor's degree opens moredoors. Buteven now,54 percent of the jobs in the country are middle-skill jobs, such as construction and high-skill manufacturing. But only 44 percent of workers are adequately trained.