2014英语专八真题及答案

　　Text C

　　Today we make room for a remarkably narrow range of personality styles. We're told that to be great is to be bold, to be happy is to be sociable. We see ourselves as a nation of extroverts—which means that we've lost sight of who we really are. One-third to one-half of Americans are introverts—in the other words, one out of every two or three people you know. If you're not an introvert yourself, you are surely raising, managing, married to, or coupled with one.

　　If these statistics surprise you, that's probably because so many people pretend to be extroverts. Closet introverts pass undetected on playgrounds, in high school locker rooms, and in the corridors of corporate America. Some fool even themselves, until some life event---a layoff, an empty nest, an inheritance that frees them to spend time as they like---jolts them into taking stock of their true natures. You have only to raise this subject with your friends and acquaintances to find that the most unlikely people consider themselves introverts.

　　It makes sense that so many introverts hide even from themselves. We live with a value system that I call the Extrovert Ideal— the omnipresent belief that the ideal self is gregarious, alpha, and comfortable in the spotlight. The archetypal extrovert prefers action to contemplation, risk-taking to heed-taking, certainty to doubt. He favors quick decisions, even at the risk of being wrong. She works well in teams and socializes in groups. We like to think that we value individuality, but all too often we admire one type of individual—— the kind who's comfortable "putting himself out there." Sure, we allow technologically gifted loners who launch companies in garages to have any personality they please, but they are the exceptions, not the rule, and our tolerance extends mainly to those who get fabulously wealthy or hold the promise of doing so.

　　Introversion---along with its cousins sensitivity, seriousness, and shyness---is now a second-class personality trait, somewhere between a disappointment and a pathology. Introverts living under the Extrovert Ideal are like women in a man's world, discounted because of a trait that goes to the core of who they are. Extroversion is an enormously appealing personality style, but we've turned it into an oppressive standard to which most of us feel we must conform.

　　The Extrovert Ideal has been documented in many studies, though this research has never been grouped under a single name. Talkative people, for example, are rated as smarter, better-looking, more interesting, and more desirable as friends. Velocity of speech counts as well as volume: we rank fast talkers as more competent and likable than slow ones. Even the word introvert is stigmatized---one informal study, by psychologist Laurie Helgoe, found that introverts described their own physical appearance in vivid language, but when asked to describe generic introverts they drew a bland and distasteful picture.

　　But we make a grave mistake to embrace the Extrovert Ideal so unthinkingly. Some of our greatest ideas, art, and inventions---from the theory of evolution to van Gogh's sunflowers to the personal computer---came from quiet and cerebral people who knew how to tune in to their inner worlds and the treasures to be found there.

　　21. According to the author, there exists, as far as personality styles are concerned, a discrepancy between

　　A. what people say they can do and what they actually can B. what society values and what people pretend to be

　　C. what people profess and what statistics show D. what people profess and what they hide from others

　　22. The ideal extrovert is described as being all the following EXCEPT

　　A. doubtful B. sociable C. determined D. bold

　　23. According to the author, our society only permits ___ to have whatever personality they like.

　　A. the young B. the ordinary C. the artistic D. the rich

　　24. According to the passage, which of the following statements BEST reflects the author’s opinion?

　　A. Introversion is seen as an inferior trait because of its association with sensitivity.

　　B. Extroversion is arbitrary forced by society as a norm upon people.

　　C. Introverts are generally regarded as either unsuccessful or as deficient.

　　D. Extroversion and introversion have similar personality trait profiles.

　　25. The author winds up the passage with a____ note.

　　A. cautious B. warning C. positive D. humorous

　　Text D

　　Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age.

　　This view of bilingualism is remarkably different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century. Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interference, cognitively speaking, that hindered a child’s academic and intellectual development.

　　They were not wrong about the interference: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual’s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other. But this interference, researchers are finding out, isn’t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles.

　　The collective evidence from a number of such studies suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function ? a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks. These processes include ignoring distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfully from one thing to another and holding information in mind ? like remembering a sequence of directions while driving.

　　Why does the tussle between two simultaneously active language systems improve these aspects of cognition? Until recently, researchers thought the bilingual advantage stemmed primarily from an ability for inhibition that was honed by the exercise of suppressing one language system: this suppression, it was thought, would help train the bilingual mind to ignore distractions in other contexts. But that explanation increasingly appears to be inadequate, since studies have shown that bilinguals perform better than monolinguals even at tasks that do not require inhibition, like threading a line through an ascending series of numbers scattered randomly on a page.

　　The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment. “Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often ? you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language,” says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of Pompeu Fabra in Spain. “It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving.” In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr. Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, indicating that they were more efficient at it.

　　The bilingual experience appears to influence the brain from infancy to old age (and there is reason to believe that it may also apply to those who learn a second language later in life).

　　26. According to the passage, the more recent and old views of bilingualism differ mainly in

　　A. its practical advantages B. its role in cognition

　　C. perceived language fluency D. its role in medicine

　　27. The fact that interference is now seen as a blessing in disguise means that

　　A. it has led to unexpectedly favourable results B. its potential benefits have remained undiscovered

　　C. its effects on cognitive development have been minimal

　　D. only a few researchers have realized its advantages

　　28. What is the role of Paragraph Four in relation to Paragraph Three?

　　A. It provides counter evidence to Paragraph Three. B. It offers another example of the role of interference.

　　C. It serves as a transitional paragraph in the passage. D. It further illustrates the point in Paragraph Three.

　　29. Which of the following can account for better performance of bilinguals in doing non-inhibition tasks?

　　A. An ability to monitor surroundings. B. An ability to ignore distractions.

　　C. An ability to perform with less effort. D. An ability to exercise suppression.

　　30. What is the main theme of the passage?

　　A. Features of bilinguals and monolinguals. B. Interference and suppression.

　　C. Bilinguals and monitoring tasks. D. Reasons why bilinguals are smarter.

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