2009年全國(guó)碩士研究生入學(xué)考試英語(yǔ)試題精析

　　Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension

　　Part A

　　Directions:

　　Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)

　　Text 1

　　Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto�瞤ilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting herd,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever�瞔hanging 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative implication.

　　So it seems paradoxical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation. But 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.

　　Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In 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.

　　But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.

　　“The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind. “But we are taught instead to ‘decide,’ just as our president calls himself ‘the Decider.’” She adds, however, that “to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”

　　All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware, she says. Researchers in the late 1960 discovered that humans are born with the capacity to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, relationally (or collaboratively) and innovatively. At 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.

　　The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought. “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. “That’s a lie that we have perpetuated, and it fosters commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.” This is where developing new habits comes in.

　　習(xí)慣是一種有趣的現(xiàn)象。我們無(wú)意識(shí)地養(yǎng)成了習(xí)慣，任由大腦自動(dòng)操作，且不知不覺在熟悉的常規(guī)中感到輕松舒適�！安⒎沁x擇，而是習(xí)慣會(huì)控制那些沒(méi)有思想的人�！�19世紀(jì)時(shí)，威廉·華茲華斯說(shuō)。在千變?nèi)f化的21世紀(jì)，甚至“習(xí)慣”這個(gè)詞本身也帶有負(fù)面涵義。

　　因此，在創(chuàng)造和革新的背景下來(lái)談?wù)摿?xí)慣，似乎顯得有點(diǎn)矛盾。但大腦研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)我們有意識(shí)地培養(yǎng)新的習(xí)慣，就創(chuàng)建了平行路徑，甚至是全新的腦細(xì)胞，可以讓我們思緒的列車跳轉(zhuǎn)到新的創(chuàng)新軌道上來(lái)。

　　我們不用因?yàn)樽约菏鞘芰?xí)慣影響的一成不變的生物而否定自己，相反我們可以通過(guò)有意識(shí)的培養(yǎng)新習(xí)慣來(lái)指導(dǎo)改變。事實(shí)上，我們對(duì)新事物嘗試得越多，就會(huì)越遠(yuǎn)地走出自己的舒適地帶，在職場(chǎng)及個(gè)人生活中變得越有創(chuàng)造性。

　　但是，不要白費(fèi)力氣試圖戒除舊習(xí)慣;一旦這些慣有程序融進(jìn)腦部，它們就會(huì)留在那里。相反，我們有意使之根深蒂固的新習(xí)慣會(huì)創(chuàng)建平行路徑，它們可以繞過(guò)原來(lái)那些路徑。

　　《開放思想》一書的作者達(dá)瓦納·馬克瓦說(shuō)：“革新所需要的第一樣?xùn)|西就是對(duì)好奇的著迷。然而我們被教導(dǎo)去做‘決定’，就像我們的總裁稱呼自己為‘決策者’那樣。”她接著說(shuō)，“但是，決定意味著除了一種可能性外，其他的都被扼殺了。優(yōu)秀的具有革新精神的思想家總是在探尋著許多其他的可能性�！�

　　她說(shuō)，我們都是通過(guò)一些自己沒(méi)有意識(shí)到的方法解決問(wèn)題的。研究人員在20世紀(jì)60年代末發(fā)現(xiàn)人類天生主要用四種方法應(yīng)對(duì)挑戰(zhàn)：分析法，程序法，相關(guān)法(或合作法)和創(chuàng)新法。但是在青春期結(jié)束，大腦關(guān)閉一半的能力，僅僅保留了那些大約在生命最開始的十幾年時(shí)間里似乎是最為寶貴的思維方式。

　　目前標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化測(cè)試主要強(qiáng)調(diào)分析法和程序法這兩種方式，也就是說(shuō)，我們中很少有人會(huì)本能地使用創(chuàng)新和合作的思維方式。M.J.瑞恩是2006年出版的著作《今年我將……》一書的作者以及馬克瓦女士的商業(yè)合作伙伴，她解釋說(shuō)：“這打破了美國(guó)信念體系里的主要規(guī)則—任何人都可以做任何事。這是一個(gè)我們已經(jīng)使之永久化的謊言，這會(huì)造成平庸。了解你擅長(zhǎng)什么，再多做一些就會(huì)成就卓越。”這正是培養(yǎng)新習(xí)慣的用武之地。

　　第一段中心句：In the ever�瞔hanging 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative connotation. 在千變?nèi)f化的21世紀(jì)，甚至習(xí)慣這個(gè)詞本身也帶有負(fù)面涵義。

　　第二段中心句:But 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. 但大腦研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)我們有意識(shí)地培養(yǎng)新的習(xí)慣，就創(chuàng)建了平行路徑，甚至是全新的腦細(xì)胞，可以讓我們思緒的列車跳轉(zhuǎn)到新的創(chuàng)新軌道上。

　　第三段中心句:Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. 我們不用因?yàn)樽约菏芰?xí)慣影響的一成不變的生物而否定自己，相反我們可以通過(guò)有意識(shí)的培養(yǎng)新習(xí)慣來(lái)指導(dǎo)改變。

　　第四段中心句:But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the hippocampus, they’re there to stay. 但是，不要白費(fèi)力氣試圖戒除舊習(xí)慣;一旦這些慣有程序融進(jìn)腦部，它們就會(huì)留在那里。

　　第五段中心句:“The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of “The Open Mind” and an executive change consultant for Professional Thinking Partners. 《開放思想》一書的作者達(dá)瓦納·馬克瓦說(shuō)：“革新需要的第一樣?xùn)|西就是對(duì)好奇的著迷。”

　　第六段中心句:All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware, she says. 她說(shuō)，我們都是通過(guò)一些自己沒(méi)有意識(shí)到的方法解決問(wèn)題的。

　　第七段中心句:The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought. 目前標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化測(cè)試主要強(qiáng)調(diào)分析法和程序法這兩種方式，也就是說(shuō)，我們中很少有人會(huì)本能地使用創(chuàng)新和合作的思維方式。

　　【答案】C D A D A(解析略)