(单词翻译:单击)
Passage One 真题
【真题再现】
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
A recent study, published in last week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, offers a picture of how risky it is to get a lift from a teenage driver, Indeed, a 16-year-old driver with three or more passengers is three times as likely to have a fatal accident as a teenager driving alone, By contrast, the risk of death for drivers between 30 and 59 decreases with each additional passenger.
The authors also found that the death rates for teenage drivers increased dramatically after 10 p.m., and especially after midnight, with passengers in the car, the driver was even more likely to die in a late-night accident.
Robert Foss, a scientist at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, says the higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with “really stupid behavior” than with just a lack of driving experience. “The basic issue.” Be says, “is that adults who are responsible for issuing licenses fail to recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is.”
Both he and the author of the study believe that the way to mitigate (使…缓解) the problem is to have states institute so-called graduated licensing systems, in which getting a license is a multistage process. A graduated license requires that a teenager first prove himself capable of driving in the presence of an adult, followed by a period of driving with night of passenger restrictions, before graduating to full driving privileges.
Graduated licensing systems have reduced teenage driver crashes, according to recent studies. About half of the states now have some sort of graduated licensing system in place, but only 10 of those states have restrictions on passengers, California is the strictest, with a novice (新手) driver prohibited from carrying any passenger under 20 (without the presence of an adult over 25) for the first six months.
21. Which of the following situations is most dangerous according to the passage?
A) Adults giving a lift to teenagers on the highway after 10 p.m.
B) A teenager driving after midnight with passengers in the car.
C) Adults driving with three or more teenage passengers late at night.
D) A teenager getting a lift from a stranger on the highway at midnight.(B)
22. According to Robert Foss. The high death rate of teenage drivers is mainly due to ________.
A) their frequent driving at night
B) their improper way of driving
C) their lack of driving experience
D) their driving with passengers(C)
23. According to Paragraph 3. which of the following statements is TRUE?
A) Teenagers should spend more time learning to drive.
B) Driving is a skill too complicated for teenagers to learn.
C) Restrictions should be imposed on teenagers applying to take driving lessons.
D) The licensing authorities are partly responsible for teenagers’ driving accidents.(D)
24. A suggested measure to be taken to reduce teenagers’ driving accidents is that ________.
A) driving in the presence of an adult should be made a rule
B) they should be prohibited from taking on passengers
C) they should not be allowed to drive after 10 p.m.
D) the licensing system should be improved(D)
25. The present situation in about half of the states is that the graduated licensing system ________.
A) is under discussion
B) is about to be set up
C) has been put into effect
D) has been perfected(C)
Passage One 精讲
【精讲】
这篇文章讲的是青少年驾车车祸死亡率过高的问题。文章总共五个段落，基本呈现了一个“提出问题”、“分析原因”、“解决办法”三步格局。这也是论说文最常用的结构，了解这种结构对于理解文章的意义是有好处的。
前两段提出问题，问题通常是具体的问题，作者只需以例举的方式向读者呈现问题就可以了。开头先是交代了获知问题的美国医学协会杂志上的一篇研究(Journal of the American Medical Association)。这条信息可以说一箭双雕，既能表明这一问题的严重性(否则一个医学协会不会进行研究)，又不必多费篇幅去证明这一问题的真实性、普遍性(美国医学协会当然具有权威性)。
How risky it is to get a lift from a teenage driver，这是一个总领句，意思是搭一个青少年驾驶者的车是多么的危险。随后是一个例子，一个16岁的司机搭载三四名乘客时，其发生致命事故的可能性是他单独驾车时的3倍(a 16-year-old driver with three or more passengers is three times as likely to have a fatal accident as a teenager driving alone)。而与此对应，30到59岁的司机搭载乘客时其发生致死车祸的可能性却在降低(the risk of death for drivers between 30 and 59 decreases)。
下一段继续举例。青少年在晚上10点以后驾车的死亡率大幅上升。车内同时又有乘客的话，则发生致死事故的可能性会更高。
问题呈现完毕，接下来就是分析原因了。作者以权威人士Robert Foss之口说出了问题背后的实质：higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with “really stupid behavior” than with just a lack of driving experience，这个句子较难理解，关键在于吃透have less to do with……than这个句型。这个句型的原型是have something to do with，意思是与……有关，那么have less to do with ……than就是“与……的关系不如与……的关系大”的意思。这句话想要表达的意思就是：与将其归因于“愚蠢行为”相比，用缺少驾驶经验来解释如此高的死亡率更为合理。他继续分析道，问题的根本在于负责发放驾照的大人们没有意识到驾车的复杂性和技术难度(fail to recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is)。
问题的解决方案在于使各州发布“驾照分步发放系统”(graduated licensing systems)，这一系统要求青少年首先要具备在成人监护下驾车的能力，随后是乘客人数限制，最后是完全不受限制地驾驶权限。
这一系统的实施情况和效果如何呢?最后一段写到，它减少了青少年司机所发生的车祸数量(reduced teenage driver crashes)。有大约一半的州实施了类似的系统，不过只有10个州对乘客进行了限制(only 10 of those states have restrictions on passengers)，加利福尼亚在这方面限制最严。
21. Which of the following situations is most dangerous according to the passage?
A) Adults giving a lift to teenagers on the highway after 10 p.m.
B) A teenager driving after midnight with passengers in the car.
C) Adults driving with three or more teenage passengers late at night.
D) A teenager getting a lift from a stranger on the highway at midnight.(B)
根据文章内容，下列哪种情况最为危险。
关于驾车危险性问题，在文章开头举的几个例子中有充分的说明。第一个例子说一个16岁的司机搭载三四名乘客时，其发生致命事故的可能性是他单独驾车时的3倍，第二个例子说青少年在晚上10点以后驾车的死亡率大幅上升;车内同时又有乘客的话，则发生致死事故的可能性会更高。把这道题的几个选项和上面的例子进行对比就可以找到正确答案。
A，夜里10点以后，成年人在高速公路上驾车搭载未成年人。例子的说法是夜里10点以后青少年驾车同时搭载别人的危险性高，而不是成年人驾车。A把主体搞错了。
B，一个未成年人在午夜后驾车，车中坐有乘客。第二段的例子提到了个这个说法。
C，成年人在深夜驾车搭载三个或三个以上未成年乘客。文章例子中提到的危险情况都为驾车人是未成年人。
D，未成年人在午夜高速公路上搭载陌生人的车。这个选项体现了出题人的想象力，在现实中，未成年人夜间搭载陌生人的车的确非常危险，但这不在文章的讨论范围。
22. According to Robert Foss, the high death rate of teenage drivers is mainly due to ________.
A) their frequent driving at night
B) their improper way of driving
C) their lack of driving experience
D) their driving with passengers(C)
题目的意思是根据Robert Foss的说法，青少年驾车者的高死亡率主要是因为什么。
A，他们经常在夜间驾车。
B，他们驾驶的方式不恰当。
C，他们缺乏驾驶经验。
D，他们驾车搭载了乘客。
文章提到Robert Foss是在第三段，(Robert Foss, a scientist at the University)，那么答案也只能在第三段寻找，至多参考一下第四段。正确理解这句话的意思：higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with “really stupid behavior” than with just a lack of driving experience——高死亡率与驾驶经验缺失的关系比“做傻事”更大。由此可见C所说的缺少驾驶经验是正确的。
23. According to Paragraph 3. which of the following statements is TRUE?
A) Teenagers should spend more time learning to drive.
B) Driving is a skill too complicated for teenagers to learn.
C) Restrictions should be imposed on teenagers applying to take driving lessons.
D) The licensing authorities are partly responsible for teenagers’ driving accidents.(D)
根据第三段的内容，下列哪项叙述是正确的。
观察第三段，是一个不是很长的段落。在小段上出题，同时又指明把考查范围限定在该段，则很有可能这个小段出现了难句。
第三段一共只有两句话，上一题已经考查过了第一句，两句话同时考查一句话的可能性很小，所以要把注意力集中在第二句话的理解上，而彻底了解这句话的意思应该结合后文。第二句引用了Robert的原话：The basic issue is that adults who are responsible for issuing licenses fail to recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is——从字面上看，这句话意思是：根本问题是，负责发放驾照的成年人(adults who are responsible for issuing licenses)没能 (fail to)认识到驾驶汽车非常复杂且技术性很强(recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is)。
A， 青少年应该花更多的时间来学习驾驶。句子最后提到驾驶汽车非常复杂且技术性很强，不过解决方案必定是花费更多时间吗?不见得。改变发放驾照程序就是一例。
B， 学习驾驶技术对于青少年来说是过于复杂了。句子最后提到驾驶汽车非常复杂且技术性很强，不过这就意味着青少年不能学习驾驶技术了吗?不是，解决方案是下文提到的调整发放驾照的程序。
C，对青少年的驾驶学习申请应该加以限制。限制学习人数不是解决办法，文章也没有提到这一点。
D，发放驾照部门应对青少年驾车事故负部分责任。从第二句字面意思可以直接推出D的结论。另外，后文提出的解决方案是改变管理当局的现有政策，从这一点也可看出管理当局应该负有一定责任。
24. A suggested measure to be taken to reduce teenagers’ driving accidents is that ________.
A) driving in the presence of an adult should be made a rule
B) they should be prohibited from taking on passengers
C) they should not be allowed to drive after 10 p.m.
D) the licensing system should be improved(D)
题目问文中提到了关于减少青少年驾车事故的措施的建议，这条建议是什么。
A，应该把在大人监护下才能驾车制定成规则。
B，青少年应被禁止搭载乘客。
C，他们不应被允许在夜里10点以后驾车。
D，应当改进驾照发放系统。
这道题比较简单，文章的第四五两段讲的都是驾照发放系统的改进问题，应当选择D。对于A、B、C所说的几条建议，在最后两段介绍的建议中都只字未提，所以不应选择。
25. The present situation in about half of the states is that the graduated licensing system ________.
A) is under discussion
B) is about to be set up
C) has been put into effect
D) has been perfected(C)
目前大约一半左右的州的情况是驾照分步发放系统如何如何。
A， 正处讨论中。
B， 将要得到确立。
C， 已经起到了效果。
D， 已经得到完善。
这道题考查最后一段的内容。第一句Graduated licensing systems have reduced teenage driver crashes的意思很明了，分步发放系统已经减少青少年驾车事故，这说明这一系统已经起到了效果，与C的说法一致。后面的一句话是个长句，大体意思是说一半的州虽然实施了分步发放系统，但在乘客限制上不是很严格，只有加利福尼亚较为严格。这说明这一系统还需要进行完善，D就不对了。文章没有提到这一系统是否正处讨论中，从已经实施这一情况来看，应该是讨论过并得到确立了。这样A和B的说法就都是错误的。
Passage Two 真题
【真题再现】
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
If you know exactly what you want, the best route to a job is to get specialized training. A recent survey shows that companies like graduates in such fields as business and health care who can go to work immediately with very little on-the-job training.
That’s especially true of booming fields that are challenging for workers. At Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, for example, bachelor’s degree graduates get an average of four or five job offers with salaries ranging from the high teens to the low 20s and plenty of chances for rapid advancement. Large companies, especially, like a background of formal education coupled with work experience.
But in the long run, too much specialization doesn’t pay off. Business, which has been flooded with MBAs, no longer considers the degree an automatic stamp of approval. The MBA may open doors and command a higher salary initially, but the impact of a degree washes out after five years.
As further evidence of the erosion (销蚀) of corporate (公司的) faith in specialized degrees, Michigan State’s Scheetz cites a pattern in corporate hiring practices, although companies tend to take on specialists as new hires, they often seek out generalists for middle and upper-level management. “They want someone who isn’t constrained (限制) by nuts and bolts to look at the big picture, “says Scheetz.
This sounds suspiciously like a formal statement that you approve of the liberal-arts graduate. Time and again labor-market analysts mention a need for talents that liberal-arts majors are assumed to have: writing and communication skills, organizational skills, open-mindedness and adaptability, and the ability to analyze and solve problems, David Birch claims he does not hire anybody with an MBA or an engineering degree, “I hire only liberal-arts people because they have a less-than-canned way of doing things,” says Birch. Liberal-arts means an academically thorough and strict program that includes literature, history, mathematics, economics, science, human behavior—plus a computer course or two. With that under your belt, you can feel free to specialize, “A liberal-arts degree coupled with an MBA or some other technical training is a very good combination in the marketplace,” says Scheetz.
26. What kinds of people are in high demand on the job market?
A) Students with a bachelor’s degree in humanities.
B) People with an MBA degree front top universities.
C) People with formal schooling plus work experience.
D) People with special training in engineering.(C)
27. By saying “... but the impact of a degree washes out after five years” (Line 3, Para, 3), the author means ________.
A) most MBA programs fail to provide students with a solid foundation
B) an MBA degree does not help promotion to managerial positions
C) MBA programs will not be as popular in five years’ time as they are now
D) in five people will forget about the degree the MBA graduates have got(B)
28. According to Scheetz’s statement (Lines 4-5. Para. 4), companies prefer ________.
A) people who have a strategic mind
B) people who are talented in fine arts
C) people who are ambitious and aggressive
D) people who have received training in mechanics(A)
29. David Birch claims that he only hires liberal-arts people because ________.
A) they are more capable of handling changing situations
B) they can stick to established ways of solving problems
C) they are thoroughly trained in a variety of specialized fields
D) they have attended special programs in management(A)
30. Which of the following statements does the author support?
A) Specialists are more expensive to hire than generalists.
B) Formal schooling is less important than job training.
C) On-the-job training is, in the long run, less costly.
D) Generalists will outdo specialists in management.(D)
Passage Two 精讲
【精讲】
这篇文章讲的是何种专业在人才市场上更受青睐的问题。到底什么样的人才更受青睐呢?文章实际上讲了两个观点，前两段论述了第一个观点，即“专家”更受青睐;后面的三段又提出了与此相反的观点，“杂家”更受青睐。观点之所以不同，是因为它们的前提条件不同。
先来看第一个观点。第一句可以说开宗明义：the best route to a job is to get specialized training，最好的办法是练就专业技能。而后作者提出了论据——最近一项调查结果显示，商务类和医疗保健类的毕业生很受公司青睐(companies like graduates in such fields as business and health care)。
下一段举出了更多的例子。That’s especially true of booming fields，这里的fields应该和第一段的fields所指相同，都是指学生的专业。急速发展的领域更是炙手可热，一个酒店管理学院的本科毕业生平均可以接到五到六个职位邀请(get an average of four or five job offers)，同时有大量的升职机会。
接下来，作者笔锋一转，提出了一个反面观点，too much specialization doesn’t pay off(pay off词组指“得到回报”)。而观点不同的关键在于条件，第二个观点是in the long run，即从长远来看。作者首先以商务领域为例，指出MBA过剩使得这一学历不再是职业通行证(no longer considers the degree an automatic stamp of approval)。
下一段介绍了密歇根州的Scheetz的说法，继续支持第二个观点。Scheetz认为，尽管现在的公司在招新人时依然倾向于招收“专家”(tend to take on specialists as new hires)，但在中上层管理职位上更倾向于“杂家”(generalists for middle and upper-level management)。原因是专家的眼光局限于具体细节，考试.大难以从大局考虑(constrained by nuts and bolts to look at the big picture)。
如果这篇材料是写给高中生们的，那么最后一段可以算是大学专业报考指南。This sounds suspiciously like a formal statement that you approve of the liberal-arts graduate：这似乎是在正面肯定文科毕业生。那么文科生有什么优势呢?写作、交流能力、组织技巧、开放的头脑、适应性、分析和解决问题的能力(writing and communication skills, organizational skills, open-mindedness and adaptability, and the ability to analyze and solve problems)。作者又引出另一位人士David Birch把文科生大夸了一番，最后以Scheetz的中庸观点收场：文科学历加上专业技能(liberal-arts degree coupled with an MBA or some other technical training)将是市场的宠儿。
26. What kinds of people are in high demand on the job market?
A) Students with a bachelor’s degree in humanities.
B) People with an MBA degree from top universities.
C) People with formal schooling plus work experience.
D) People with special training in engineering.
本题问哪些人在人才市场上需求量颇高。
这道题的考查的内容涉及全篇材料，必须根据每一个选项所描述的特点，在文章中找到相应的内容，对比之后排除错误选项。(C)
A，人文学科的本科毕业生。Humanities，人文学科，可以认为是文章后几段所说的liberal-arts，但这些专业的人在是从长远角度看(in the long run)，易进入中高层职位(for middle and upper-level management)，而不是本科毕业生。
B，拥有顶尖大学MBA学位的人。第三段提到MBA学位no longer considers the degree an automatic stamp of approval，说明MBA学位已经并不火爆了。
C，经过正规学校教育同时拥有工作经验的人。第二段最后一句是Large companies, especially, like a background of formal education coupled with work experience，这里提到经过正规学校教育同时拥有工作经验的人受到了大公司的青睐，符合题意。
D，在工程学方面拥有专业技能的人。最后一段说明文科生的特点有利于找工作，其中提到工程人才：David Birch claims he does not hire anybody with an MBA or an engineering degree，意思是此人绝不雇用MBA或是工程学毕业生。这说明工程学人才并不火爆。
27. By saying “... but the impact of a degree washes out after five years” (Line 3, Para, 3), the author means ________.
A) most MBA programs fail to provide students with a solid foundation
B) an MBA degree does not help promotion to managerial positions
C) MBA programs will not be as popular in five years’ time as they are now
D) in five people will forget about the degree the MBA graduates have got(B)
这道题问but the impact of a degree washes out after five years一句是什么意思。这是一道句子考查题，需要理顺上下文的逻辑关系之后作答。
A，大多数MBA课程没能为学生打下坚实的基础。
B，MBA学位并不会对升入管理层带来帮助。
C，MBA课程在五年以后就不会像现在这样受欢迎了。
D，五年后人们就会忘记MBA毕业生们的学位。
首先应该判断这一段在全篇中所起到的作用是什么，也就是这一段的大体功能，段落中的每一句话都是为了这个功能服务的。
本段第一句话应该是一个总领句，in the long run, too much specialization doesn’t pay off，意思是从长远来看，太专并不会带来回报。这句话提出了本文的第二个观点，文章的余下部分都是在论证这个观点。而实际上，这句话的意思并没有非常清晰地表达出来，比如in the long run到底指什么，不会带来回报具体是什么意思等。根据下一段的论述，可以知道这句话的意思实际上指的是在公司工作几年之后，太专不利于进入管理层。第三段余下的部分应该是为证明这个观点所举的例子，那么其背后的意义当然也是这个观点本身。四个选项中B的表达与此最为接近。
28. According to Scheetz’s statement (Lines 4-5. Para. 4), companies prefer ________.
A) people who have a strategic mind
B) people who are talented in fine arts
C) people who are ambitious and aggressive
D) people who have received training in mechanics(A)
根据Scheetz的说法，公司更喜欢什么样的人才。
A，具有战略头脑的人。
B，具有美术才能的人。
C，有野心、侵略性强的人。
D，在机械学方面接受过教育的人。
文章提到Scheetz是在第四段，首先是他介绍的一种人才雇用惯例(Scheetz cites a pattern in corporate hiring practices)，而后直接引用了他的原话。此外，在全文最后一句话中也提到了Scheetz。考虑到本题刚刚是第三道题，考查最后一句话的可能性不大，所以，只需研究第四段就可以了。
Scheetz所提到的惯例大致是这样的：在招聘新员工时还是会招“专家”，而在提拔中上管理层时则青睐“杂家”(generalists)。他的原话直译是：他们想要不被具体细节限制的人，这些人有更广阔的视角。可以看到公司更喜欢的人有两个要点，一是杂家，二是视角广阔或者看问题更为深远。A所说的strategic mind与look at the big picture应该是一个意思，可以选A。B所说的美术才能虽是文科，但恰恰也属于专家，只有通晓大部分文科专业的人才能称之为杂家。C的说法在文中没有提到。D也属于specialists。
29. David Birch claims that he only hires liberal-arts people because ________.
A) they are more capable of handling changing situations
B) they can stick to established ways of solving problems
C) they are thoroughly trained in a variety of specialized fields
D) they have attended special programs in management(A)
题目问David Birch宣称他只雇用文科生是因为……
A，文科生处理变化情况的能力更强。
B，他们能够坚持固有的解决问题的方式。
C，他们在一系列专业领域内都受到了完整的教育。
D，他们参加了管理方面的特别课程。
文章提到David Birch是在最后一段，文中他宣称he does not hire anybody with an MBA or an engineering degree，即不愿雇用specialists，而后文章引用了他的原话“I hire only liberal-arts people because they have a less-than-canned way of doing things”，这里的because从句已经说出了原因，本题考查的就是对句话的理解。Way of doing things，做事情的方式，由此可以估计，原因大体上是某种特别的做事的方式，基本可以把C和D排除，因为它们与方式无关。这具体是一种什么方式呢?less-than-canned，这是一个临时自造的词，字典里肯定没有，我们只能通过分析它的构成来猜测它的意思。Can是“能够”，此外还有罐头的意思，这里是被动式，说明已经转化成了动词形式，canned就是做成了罐头的意思。做事情时头脑像装进罐头一样，说明是死脑筋，墨守陈规。David Birch先生最不喜欢的就是这种人，反过来，他喜欢的就是脑筋灵活，思路开阔的人，A的说法与此一致，B的说法与此相反。应该选A。
30. Which of the following statements does the author support?
A) Specialists are more expensive to hire than generalists.
B) Formal schooling is less important than job training.
C) On-the-job training is, in the long run, less costly.
D) Generalists will outdo specialists in management.(D)
题目问作者支持下列哪个观点。从四个选项来看，这道题的考查范围遍布全文，不过解答难度却并不高，原因就是三个错误选项的迷惑性相对较小。
A，给“专家”所付的薪水比“杂家”要高。文中没有直接说工资高低问题。从文中的观点——杂家进入管理层的机会高于专家来看，杂家的薪水肯定是高于专家的。这与A的说法相反。
B，正规学校教育不如工作培训重要。文章里没有类似的内容，可以直接排除。
C，在职培训从长远角度讲花费更少。文章没有讲到花费问题，可以直接排除。
D，“杂家”在管理方面要胜过“专家”。这正是文章后三段论述的中心。
Passage Three 真题
【真题再现】
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked: “So, how have you been?” And the boy—who could not have been more than seven or eight years old—replied. “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed” until we were in high school.
The evidence of a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists, Why?
Human development is based not only on innate (天生的) biological states, but also on patterns of access to social knowledge. Movement from one social rote to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new status. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages: traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation (揭示) machine has been installed in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television, Television passes information, and indiscriminately (不加区分地), to all viewers alike, be they children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation, many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more vivid moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information to which children have access. Reading and writing involve a complex code of symbols that must be memorized and practices. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.
31. According to the author, feeling depressed is ________.
A) a sure sign of a psychological problem in a child
B) something hardly to be expected in a young child
C) an inevitable has of children’s mental development
D) a mental scale present in all humans, including children(B)
32. Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world ________.
A) through contact with society
B) gradually and under guidance
C) naturally and by biological instinct
D) through exposure to social information(B)
33. The phenomenon that today’s children seem adult like is attributed by the author to ________.
A) the widespread influence of television
B) the poor arrangement of teaching content
C) the fast pace of human intellectual development
D) the constantly rising standard of living(A)
34. Why is the author in favor of communication through print for children?
A) It enables children to gain more social information.
B) It develops children’s interest in reading and writing.
C) It helps children to memorize and practice more.
D) It can control what children are to learn.(D)
35. What does the author think of the change in today’s children?
A) He feels amused by chair premature behavior.
B) He thinks it is a phenomenon worthy of note.
C) He considers it a positive development.
D) He seems to be upset about it.(B)
Passage Three 精讲
【精讲】
这篇材料讲的是儿童早熟的问题。开头首先讲述了一个作者亲历的故事，作为引出儿童早熟问题的契机——六年前我在餐厅里遇见一对母子并偷听了他们的谈话;母亲问儿子过的怎么样，儿子回答说最近有一点沮丧(a little depressed lately)。
母子的对话深深印在作者的脑子里，因为它证实了作者的一个想法：现在的孩子正在改变。是什么方面改变了?作者拿现在的孩子与小时候的自己做了对比：小时的我直到高中才知道沮丧是什么滋味(I didn’t find out we were “depressed” until we were in high school)。
问题已经提出，接下来作者就要证明这个问题确实存在。第三段举出了很多现在儿童早熟的表现：Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to。
儿童早熟的原因何在?从第四段开始，文章进入了分析问题阶段。第一句话就一针见血，指出问题的根源出在接触社会知识的途径上(patterns of access to social knowledge)。社会角色转变后通常要学习相应的新知识(Movement from one social rote to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new status)，大人们一直在教给孩子们这样的知识，但要进度是缓慢的、按部就班的(slowly and in stages)。这里所说的社会角色转变也就是年龄增长的结果，比如上六年级和上五年级即是两种不同的社会角色。
第四段说的是孩子们过去吸收新知识的情形，第五段则开始介绍现状。还是从途径说起，98%的美国家庭都已经安装了电视(installed in 98 percent of American homes)，电视是一个传递信息的载体，传递对象不分成人与儿童，儿童通过看电视过早地吸收了尚不适合他们的知识。
文章最后一段介绍了通过书本传授知识的好处，这也算是作者提出的儿童早熟问题的一个解决方案。通过印刷品传授知识可以更容易地控制儿童接触到的知识是适合他们的年龄层次的(allows for a great deal of control over the social information to which children have access)，只要不让儿童在成长到一定程度之前接触较为复杂的知识就可以了(Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials)。
31. According to the author, feeling depressed is ________.
A) a sure sign of a psychological problem in a child
B) something hardly to be expected in a young child
C) an inevitable has of children’s mental development
D) a mental scale present in all humans, including children(B)
题目问根据作者的说法，“感到沮丧”是……。
A，孩子出现心理问题的明确信号。
B，很难想象会在小孩子身上出现。
C，孩子精神成长过程中不可避免的现象(原文有误，此为大体意思)。
D，存在于所有人类身上的精神现象，包括孩子。
这道题需要注意的地方是题目给出的According to the author，这是一个限定条件，意思是说判断选项的对错不是依据其说法本身是否错误，而是与作者的说法是否一致。文中作者对feeling depressed的评论应该是在第二段，也就是刚刚讲完作者亲历的故事之后。作者说到my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed” until we were in high school，意思是我和我的朋友们直到高中才开始感觉沮丧，言下之意就是小孩子是不会出现沮丧心理的。符合这个意思的是选项B，其余几项都不能从作者的叙述中推测出来。
32. Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world ________.
A) through contact with society
B) gradually and under guidance
C) naturally and by biological instinct
D) through exposure to social information(B)
这道题问从传统来看，孩子应该通过什么方式来了解学习成人世界。
A，通过与社会的接触。
B，循序渐进，受教于人。
C，依靠生理本能自然习得。
D，将其暴露在社会信息的冲击之下。
本题讨论孩子学习社会知识的途径，这应该是第五段的内容。在第五段中有这样一句话：Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages，后面一句以traditionally开头，说明这一句讨论的是传统方式的学习途径。been taught，受教，应该说相当于选项B中的under guidance;in stages，stage是阶段的意思，in stages就是按阶段，循序渐进，这个意思与B中的gradually一样。这样的话，按照文意，本题选择B最为合适。
33. The phenomenon that today’s children seem adult like is attributed by the author to ________.
A) the widespread influence of television
B) the poor arrangement of teaching content
C) the fast pace of human intellectual development
D) the constantly rising standard of living(A)
本题问如今的儿童成人化现象被作者归因于什么。
A，电视的广泛影响。
B，教育内容安排不当。
C，人类智力发展的快速进步。
D，生活水平的持续提高。
这道题较为容易。第五段讲的是孩子学习社会知识的传统方式，这一段在上一题中已经考过了。在第六段作者开始讨论如今孩子们早熟的原因，本题考查的就是第六段。在这一段作者首先讲述了一种现象，也就是电视在美国社会的普及(第一句)，以及电视不分地域、不分老幼地传播信息的特点(第二句)。最后一句指出这种现象对孩子们的学习途径的影响：many children turn their attention from printed texts to moving pictures，孩子们把注意力从书本转向了电视。上一段讲过，按照传统学习方式，孩子们就是传统的孩子，而以电视为主体的方式，必然造成儿童发生某种变化，在文章中这种变化就是成人化。这道题应该选A。
34. Why is the author in favor of communication through print for children?
A) It enables children to gain more social information.
B) It develops children’s interest in reading and writing.
C) It helps children to memorize and practice more.
D) It can control what children are to learn.(D)
本题问作者为何要主张让孩子们通过印刷媒介交流信息。
A，这种方式可以使孩子们获得更多的社会信息。
B，可以发展孩子们对阅读和写作的兴趣。
C，可以增加孩子们记忆和练习的机会。
D，可以控制孩子们学习的内容。
作者在最后一段主张孩子们应该通过印刷媒介交流信息。此段一共三句话，把它们逐一分析透彻，答案也就显而易见了。Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information to which children have access。首先找到主谓宾的大体结构，主语是通过印刷媒介交流，谓语是allows for ，allow本意是允许，在这里是指“使……可以发生”，宾语是control，控制。“控制”是对什么的控制呢?social information，社会信息、知识。后面是一个从句，to which children have access可以改变句序来理解：which children have access to。宾语与宾语从句合起来的意思就是“儿童能够接触到的信息的控制”。整个句子的大意则是通过印刷媒介交流可以控制儿童能够接触到的信息。符合这个意思的是D，而A与此正好相反。
Reading and writing involve a complex code of symbols that must be memorized and practiced。这一句的结构比上一句要清晰一些。主语是阅读与写作;谓语involve，涉及;宾语是“复杂的象征符号”。后面的从句对符号做了解释：必须记忆和练习。这句话所要表达的意思是：阅读与写作涉及很多复杂的要素，是需要不断记忆和练习(实践)才能掌握的。
Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials。根据上一句所述的道理，儿童们必须循序渐进，先读简单的材料，待其完全理解掌握了这些资料，再学习更为复杂的资料。
这两句话中没有提到培养孩子兴趣的问题，B可以排除。至于C的说法，文中有关阅读与写作的论述所要表达的核心观点是先易后难，循序渐进，与增加机会无关。这道题选择D。
35. What does the author think of the change in today’s children?
A) He feels amused by cheir premature behavior.
B) He thinks it is a phenomenon worthy of note.
C) He considers it a positive development.
D) He seems to be upset about it.
这道题问作者对如今发生在孩子们身上的变化是如何看待的。
A，他觉得孩子们的早熟行为十分有趣。
B，他觉得这是一个值得注意的现象。
C，他认为这是一种积极的进步。
D，他似乎为此充满忧虑。
本题考查对全篇材料的理解，必须结合全文的各种信息，寻找文章中流露出作者态度的地方，最后做出判断。第二段中As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed” until we were in high school，这里把自己和现在的小孩进行对比，暗含现在的小孩不应该这么小就感到“depressed”的意思，应该说对孩子们身上的变化是持否定态度的。
第四段作者提出：Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say，似乎对儿童的变化是好是坏没有做出评判，但再看最后一段最后一句话Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials，这里赫然使用了must这样带有强烈肯定色彩的词，可见作者的态度并不像第四段说的那样，而是对孩子们身上发生的变化持有明显的否定态度，说他为这种现象感到忧虑也不为过。
四个题支中D表达了作者的这种态度。B似乎也有道理，但不如D准确、具体，所以还是应该选择D。
