2026届最新高考模拟三轮冲刺卷 阅读理解之议论文专练

2026届最新高考模拟三轮冲刺卷 阅读理解之 议论文专练 (1) Have you ever obeyed the suggestions of a digital writing assistant to replace a word or restructure a sentence? Before the appearance of digital tools, you’d probably have turned to a dictionary for the same assistance. Dictionaries enable us to write not with fail-safe convenience but with originality and a point of view. While AI assistants produce phrases and statements so writers don’t have to think them up, dictionaries provide us with the knowledge to use language ourselves in expressive and potentially infinite (无穷的) ways. They place choice and authority literally in human hands, forcing us to discover how we want to explain ourselves and our ideas to the world. The abundance of digital writing assistants gives greater urgency to debates about what a dictionary should be. In 1946, George Orwell described good writing as “picking out words for the sake of their meaning,” a practice that dictionaries facilitate while digital writing programs stifle. Writers consulting a dictionary make a choice, while writers guided by an app have their choices made for them. The digital-native approach delivers hands-off, derivative (衍生的) communication. The other requires leafing through pages without knowing exactly where you’ll end up. Without dictionaries to provide us with a guide to English’s potential, writing that way is nearly impossible. Our ability to express ourselves is critical — it helps us define who we are. Dictionaries aid us in achieving this: They categorize our unique ways of thinking through language. I’m a Canadian; my feeling of pride in my native land is enhanced by small verbal Canadianisms like “eaves trough” or “serviette”, which are well-documented in dictionaries but rarely used by AI chatbots, for the most part. As digital writing extends deeper into our lives and minds, we need dictionaries more than ever. Abandoning dictionaries and embracing mechanized writing would weaken our capacity for collective identity quite as much as the ability to express ourselves. 1. What might be a distinct feature of dictionaries according to the author? A. They promise fail-safe phrases. B. They possess academic authority. C. They facilitate creative writing. D. They provide ready-made expressions. 2. What does the underlined word “stifle” in paragraph 3 probably mean? A. Favor. B. Revise. C. Observe. D. Discourage. 3. Why does the author mention “eaves trough” and “serviette” in paragraph 4? A. To show how AI aids us in expressing. B. To indicate the weakness of dictionaries. C. To celebrate the diversity of Canadian English. D. To illustrate how language use affects identity. 4. What can be a suitable title for the text? A. Why Keep Your Dictionary? B. How to Deal with Digital Writing? C. Who Uses Writing Assistants? D. What to Expect from Dictionaries? 【答案】1. C 2. D 3. D 4. A 【难度】0.65 【导语】这是一篇议论文。文章通过对比数字写作助手和字典指出，在数字写作普及的当下，字典对保留写作原创性、塑造身份认同有不可替代的作用，最后点明我们比以往更需要字典。 1. 细节理解题。根据第二段中“Dictionaries enable us to write not with fail-safe convenience but with originality and a point of view.(词典让我们写作时并非依靠万无一失的便捷，而是能够展现独特性和观点)”可知，字典能帮助我们写出有原创性的内容。故选C。 2. 词句猜测题。根据划线词前“a practice that dictionaries facilitate (字典促进这种做法)”和“while”表示的对比关系可知，stifle和facilitate含义相反，即“抑制、阻碍”，选项中discourage“阻拦、使气馁”意思一致。故选D。 3. 推理判断题。第四段开头“Our ability to express ourselves is critical — it helps us define who we are. Dictionaries aid us in achieving this: They categorize our unique ways of thinking through language.(我们表达自我的能力至关重要——它帮助我们定义自己是谁。词典有助于我们实现这一目标：它们通过语言将我们独特的思维方式进行分类)”点明观点：表达自我的能力帮助我们定义自身身份，字典能帮我们保留独有的语言表达。下文“I’m a Canadian; my feeling of pride in my native land is enhanced by small verbal Canadianisms like “eaves trough” or “serviette”, which are well-documented in dictionaries but rarely used by AI chatbots, for the most part.(我是加拿大人；我对祖国的自豪感因一些小小的加拿大式词汇而得到增强，比如“檐沟”或“餐巾纸”，这些词汇在词典中有详细记载，但在大多数情况下，人工智能聊天机器人很少使用它们)”作者举这两个加拿大特有的词汇，是为了说明：这类特有语言能增强本土身份认同感，即语言使用会影响个人/群体身份。故选D。 4. 主旨大意题。根据全文内容，结合最后一段“As digital writing extends deeper into our lives and minds, we need dictionaries more than ever. Abandoning dictionaries and embracing mechanized writing would weaken our capacity for collective identity quite as much as the ability to express ourselves.(随着数字写作深入我们的生活和思维，我们对词典的需求比以往任何时候都更加迫切。放弃词典而转向机械化写作，将同等程度地削弱我们建立集体认同的能力和表达自我的能力)”可知，全文对比数字写作助手和字典，层层论述：在数字写作普及的当下，字典对保留写作原创性、塑造身份认同有不可替代的作用，结尾点明我们比以往更需要字典。由此可知，A项“为什么要保留字典？”适合作本文标题。故选A。 (2) New scientific understanding and engineering techniques have always impressed and frightened us, and will continue to do so. Open AI recently announced that it anticipates superintelligent AI going beyond human abilities within this decade. It is accordingly building a new team, and devoting 20% of its computing resources to ensuring that the behavior of such AI systems will be aligned with (与……一致) human values. Beyond engineers and researchers, can philosophers shape AI too? Philosophy has been instrumental to AI from its early days. In 1956, the Logic Theorist, the first operational AI program, was created to prove mathematical theorems (定理), drawing on ideas from philosophers Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell. Besides, German philosopher Gottlob Frege also laid the groundwork for modern logic and computing, which helped create early AI systems. Today’s AI, based on deep learning, is associated with processing vast quantities of data. Philosophy, however, remains relevant. Take Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, which generates conversational text. At their heart, they track statistical patterns of language use. Something very much like this idea was stated by the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein: the meaning of a word is found in its use in the language. Philosophy also raises big questions about AI’s future. Can AI truly understand language or become conscious (有意识的)? Science has so far been unable to fully explain how consciousness arises. Similarly, can AI be creative? British scientist Margaret Boden believes AI can produce new ideas but struggles to evaluate them like humans do. As AI grows more powerful, aligning AI with human values is not just a technical challenge but a social one. It requires input from philosophers, social scientists, policymakers, and citizen users. British author Jamie Susskind even suggests building a “digital republic” — one that rejects the political and economic systems that excessively empower tech giants. AI is also changing philosophy itself. Computational models simulate real-world situations, aiding philosophers in tackling social questions. As AI develops, it provides new ways to explore age-old questions, ensuring philosophy remains essential in guiding our technological future. 1. What is OpenAI mainly concerned about? A. The waste of its computing resources. B. The potential risks of superintelligent AI. C. The decline of human competitive abilities. D. The high cost of super intelligence research. 2. What is the main focus of Paragraph 2? A. The technical breakthroughs in early AI. B. The philosophy’s historical contributions to AI. C. The role of mathematical theorems in AI creation. D. The collaboration between philosophers and engineers. 3. Why does the author mention Wittgenstein’s viewpoint? A. To explain the linguistic logic of LLMs. B. To argue philosophers’ superiority in AI research. C. To illustrate philosophy’s relevance to modern AI. D. To prove LLMs lack genuine language understanding. 4. Which word best defines the relationship between AI and philosophy? A. Interdependent. B. Irrelevant. C. Competitive. D. One-sided. 【答案】1. B 2. B 3. C 4. A 【难度】0.65 【导语】这是一篇议论文。文章探讨了人工智能(AI)与哲学之间的关系。 1. 细节理解题。根据第一段“Open AI recently announced that it anticipates superintelligent AI going beyond human abilities within this decade. It is accordingly building a new team, and devoting 20% of its computing resources to ensuring that the behavior of such AI systems will be aligned with (与……一致) human values. (OpenAI最近宣布，它预计超智能人工智能将在十年内超越人类能力。因此，它正在组建一个新团队，并投入20%的计算资源，以确保此类人工智能系统的行为与人类价值观保持一致)”可知，OpenAI投入大量资源以确保超智能AI的行为与人类价值观一致，这表明其主要关注的是超智能AI可能带来的潜在风险。故选B。 2. 主旨大意题。根据第二段“Philosophy has been instrumental to AI from its early days. In 1956, the Logic Theorist, the first operational AI program, was created to prove mathematical theorems (定理), drawing on ideas from philosophers Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell. Besides, German philosopher Gottlob Frege also laid the groundwork for modern logic and computing, which helped create early AI systems. (从早期开始，哲学就对人工智能起到了重要作用。1956年，第一个可运行的人工智能程序“逻辑理论家”被创造出来，用于证明数学定理，它借鉴了哲学家Alfred North Whitehead和Bertrand Russell的思想。此外，德国哲学家Gottlob Frege也为现代逻辑和计算奠定了基础，这有助于创建早期的人工智能系统)”可知，本段主要阐述了哲学在人工智能早期发展中所做出的历史贡献。故选B。 3. 推理判断题。根据第三段“Today’s AI, based on deep learning, is associated with processing vast quantities of data. Philosophy, however, remains relevant. Take Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, which generates conversational text. At their heart, they track statistical patterns of language use. Something very much like this idea was stated by the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein: the meaning of a word is found in its use in the language.(如今，基于深度学习的人工智能与处理海量数据相关。然而，哲学仍然具有相关性。以大型语言模型(LLMs)为例，比如ChatGPT，它能生成对话文本。它们的核心是追踪语言使用的统计模式。奥地利哲学家路Ludwig Wittgenstein也曾提出过类似的观点：一个词的意义存在于它在语言中的使用)”可知，作者提到Wittgenstein的观点，是为了说明哲学思想与现代AI(如大语言模型)的核心逻辑是相通的，以此来论证哲学与现代AI的相关性。故选C。 4. 推理判断题。根据第四段“Philosophy also raises big questions about AI’s future. (哲学也提出了关于人工智能未来的重大问题)”、第五段“As AI grows more powerful, aligning AI with human values is not just a technical challenge but a social one. It requires input from philosophers, social scientists, policymakers, and citizen users. (随着人工智能变得更加强大，让人工智能与人类价值观保持一致不仅是一项技术挑战，也是一项社会挑战。它需要哲学家、社会科学家、政策制定者和公民用户的参与)”及最后一段“AI is also changing philosophy itself. Computational models simulate real-world situations, aiding philosophers in tackling social questions. As AI develops, it provides new ways to explore age-old questions (人工智能也在改变哲学本身。计算模型模拟现实世界的情况，帮助哲学家解决社会问题。随着人工智能的发展，它为探索古老的问题提供了新的方法)”可知，哲学塑造和引导AI的发展，而AI也为哲学研究提供了新的方法和视角，二者是相互依存、相互影响的关系。故选A。 (3) Forgetting things is a blessing, believe it or not. For proof, imagine a world where every detail you ever came across was carved indelibly in your mind. Every conversation you regret, every rejection you’ve ever felt, every time you stepped out with your zipper undone stands as clearly in your mind as what you had for breakfast last week as well as the moments that bring you the greatest joy. That is a world of utter chaos and suffering. We don’t need to stick to just our armchair-philosophizing, however. Thanks to the wonderful combinatory magic genetics pulls off at each birth, we’ve had a few individuals on Earth who are unable to forget anything. Solomon Shereshevsky, for instance, could memorize lists of arbitrary (任意的) numbers, words, and nonsense syllables with perfect recall, even decades later. At first glance, this sounds like a superpower. But Shereshevsky described it as exhausting, distracting, and emotionally unbearable. What most miss about forgetting is that it is not a design flaw (缺陷). It’s a feature. In fact, the ability to forget is fundamental to learning. It’s what gives us focus, highlights the signal through the noise, and lets the brain determine what matters most given the context we are in. Research suggests that forgetting is an active process involving brain regions like the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, which help us manage the inflow and outflow of information. Forgetting is not our memory failing on us as much as it is our memory being better used. And here is where we meet the concept of the forgetting curve (曲线). First described by Hermann Ebbinghaus in the late 19th century, the forgetting curve tracks how quickly we lose information over time without reinforcement (巩固). Within hours of learning something new, we begin to forget it. Rapidly at first, then more slowly over time. The key insight of those who have followed Ebbinghaus is that this curve is not fixed. On the contrary, it’s something we can reshape, a feature we can tune ourselves. 1. What does the underlined word “indelibly” in the first paragraph mean? A. Permanently. B. Violently. C. Chaotically. D. Effortlessly. 2. What did Shereshevsky think of his ability? A. A design flaw. B. A real blessing. C. A mental burden. D. A rare talent. 3. How does forgetting contribute to learning? A. It prevents the flow of information. B. It pushes people to review regularly. C. It activates brain regions responsible for learning. D. It allows the brain to prioritize important information. 4. What does the author suggest readers do in the last paragraph? A. Keep learning new things. B. Intervene in the forgetting process. C. Accept forgetting as a natural part of life. D. Explore a fixed pattern of the forgetting curve. 【答案】1. A 2. C 3. D 4. B 【难度】0.65 【导语】本文是一篇议论文，作者通过科学事实、案例分析和逻辑推理，论证了“遗忘是大脑的重要功能”这一观点，并鼓励读者正确看待遗忘现象并对其加以利用。 1. 词句猜测题。根据划线词上文“Forgetting things is a blessing, believe it or not.(别不信，遗忘事物其实是一种福气)”提到能够遗忘是一件幸事，划线词所在句子以及下文是提供支撑性证据，论证“遗忘是一件幸事”这一观点；结合下文“Every conversation you regret, every rejection you’ve ever felt, every time you stepped out with your zipper undone stands as clearly in your mind as what you had for breakfast last week as well as the moments that bring you the greatest joy. That is a world of utter chaos and suffering.(每一次让你懊悔的交谈，每一次你所经历的被拒绝的时刻，每一次你未系好拉链就出门的举动，都清晰地印刻在你的脑海中，就如同你上周早餐吃了什么一样，也包括那些给你带来最大快乐的时刻。那是一个充满混乱与痛苦的世界)”可知，此处是作者让读者想象一个所有遇到的细节都无法遗忘的世界、一切都永远被刻在脑海里的世界，那将是充满混乱和痛苦的世界。故划线词indelibly意思是“永久地”。故选A项。 2. 细节理解题。根据第二段“At first glance, this sounds like a superpower. But Shereshevsky described it as exhausting, distracting, and emotionally unbearable.(乍一看，这听起来像是某种超能力。但舍雷舍夫斯基却称其令人精疲力竭、分心不已，而且情绪上难以承受)”可知，谢雷舍夫斯基认为他的能力是一种精神负担。故选C项。 3. 推理判断题。根据第三段“It’s what gives us focus, highlights the signal through the noise, and lets the brain determine what matters most given the context we are in.(正是它让我们能够集中注意力，帮助我们从杂乱的信息中提取出关键信息，并让大脑根据我们所处的环境来确定哪些才是最重要的)”可知，遗忘能让大脑优先处理重要的信息。故选D项。 4. 推理判断题。根据最后一段“On the contrary, it’s something we can reshape, a feature we can tune ourselves. (相反，这并非是无法改变的固定状态，而是我们能够加以调整、能够自行塑造的特性)”可知，作者建议读者参与遗忘过程。故选B项。 (4) If you want to tell the history of the whole world, a history that does not privilege one part of humanity, you cannot do it through texts alone, because only some of the world has ever had texts, while most of the world, for most of the time, has not. Writing is one of humanity’s later achievements, and until fairly recently even many literate (有文字的) societies recorded their concerns not only in writing but in things. Ideally a history would bring together texts and objects, and some chapters of this book are able to do just that, but in many cases we simply can’t. The clearest example of this between literate and non-literate history is perhaps the first conflict, at Botany Bay, between Captain Cook’s voyage and the Australian Aboriginals. From the English side, we have scientific reports and the captain’s record of that terrible day. From the Australian side, we have only a wooden shield (盾) dropped by a man in flight after his first experience of gunshot. If we want to reconstruct what was actually going on that day, the shield must be questioned and interpreted as deeply and strictly as the written reports. In addition to the problem of miscomprehension from both sides, there are victories accidentally or deliberately twisted, especially when only the victors know how to write. Those who are on the losing side often have only their things to tell their stories. The Caribbean Taino, the Australian Aboriginals, the African people of Benin and the Incas, all of whom appear in this book, can speak to us now of their past achievements most powerfully through the objects they made: a history told through things gives them back a voice. When we consider contact (联系) between literate and non-literate societies such as these, all our first-hand accounts are necessarily twisted, only one half of a dialogue. If we are to find the other half of that conversation, we have to read not just the texts, but the objects. 1. What is the first paragraph mainly about? A. How past events should be presented. B. What humanity is concerned about. C. Whether facts speak louder than words. D. Why written language is reliable. 2. What does the author indicate by mentioning Captain Cook in paragraph 2? A. His report was scientific. B. He represented the local people. C. He ruled over Botany Bay. D. His record was one-sided. 3. What does the underlined word “conversation” in paragraph 3 refer to? A. Problem. B. History. C. Voice. D. Society. 4. Which of the following books is the text most likely selected from? A. How Maps Tell Stories of the World B. A Short History of Australia C. A History of the World in 100 Objects D. How Art Works Tell Stories 【答案】1. A 2. D 3. B 4. C 【难度】0.4 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。本文讨论了仅仅依靠书面文本来讲述世界历史的局限性，并强调了将物品纳入历史叙事以更好地理解无文字社会的重要性。 1. 主旨大意题。根据文章第一段“If you want to tell the history of the whole world, a history that does not privilege one part of humanity, you cannot do it through texts alone, because only some of the world has ever had texts, while most of the world, for most of the time, has not. Writing is one of humanity’s later achievements, and until fairly recently even many literate (有文字的) societies recorded their concerns not only in writing but in things. (如果你想讲述整个世界的历史，一段不以人类某一部分为特权的历史，你不能仅仅通过文本来讲述，因为世界上只有一部分人曾经有过文本，而世界上大多数人，在大多数时间里，都没有。写作是人类较晚的成就之一，直到最近，甚至许多有文字的社会也不仅用文字，而且用物件来记录他们所关心的事情。)”可推知，第一段主要讲述的是历史应该如何呈现给我们。故选A。 2. 推理判断题。根据文章第二段首句“Ideally a history would bring together texts and objects, and some chapters of this book are able to do just that, but in many cases we simply can’t. (理想情况下，历史应该将文本和物品结合在一起，本书的某些章节能够做到这一点，但在许多情况下，我们根本做不到。)”可推断，作者认为历史应该是文本和物品相结合的产物，但是很多情况下，我们做不到。再根据所举例子的下文“From the English side, we have scientific reports and the captain’s record of that terrible day. From the Australian side, we have only a wooden shield (盾) dropped by a man in flight after his first experience of gunshot. (在英国方面，我们有科学报告和船长对那可怕的一天的记录。从澳大利亚方面来看，我们只有一个木制盾牌，这是一名男子在第一次经历枪击后在飞行中扔下的。)”可知，作者举这个例子是为了说明船长的记录是片面的，只从自己的角度描述了问题。故选D。 3. 词句猜测题。根据划线单词上文“The Caribbean Taino, the Australian Aboriginals, the African people of Benin and the Incas, all of whom appear in this book, can speak to us now of their past achievements most powerfully through the objects they made: a history told through things gives them back a voice. When we consider contact (联系) between literate and non-literate societies such as these, all our first-hand accounts are necessarily twisted, only one half of a dialogue. (加勒比海的泰诺人、澳大利亚的土著人、贝宁的非洲人以及印加人，所有这些人都出现在这本书中，他们现在都可以通过他们制造的物品向我们讲述他们过去最强大的成就：通过物品讲述的历史给了他们一个声音。当我们考虑诸如此类的有文化社会和无文化社会之间的接触时，我们所有的第一手资料都必然是扭曲的，只有对话的一半。)”结合划线句“If we are to find the other half of that conversation, we have to read not just the texts, but the objects. (如果我们要找到对话的另一半，我们不仅要读文本，还要读物体。)”可知，我们对过去历史的了解，只是书写历史的人所想要让我们了解的历史，如果我们想要了解历史的另一半，我们不仅仅要读文本也要读对象。所以conversation指的是“历史”。故选B。 4. 推理判断题。根据文章第一段“If you want to tell the history of the whole world, a history that does not privilege one part of humanity, you cannot do it through texts alone, because only some of the world has ever had texts, while most of the world, for most of the time, has not.(如果你想讲述整个世界的历史，一段不以人类某一部分为特权的历史，你不能仅仅通过文本来讲述，因为世界上只有一部分人的历史曾经被文字记录过，而世界上大多数人，在大多数时间里，都没有。)”结合最后一段的“ If we are to find the other half of that conversation, we have to read not just the texts, but the objects. (如果我们要找到对话的另一半，我们不仅要读文本，还要读物体。)”可知，本文讲述仅仅依靠书面文本来讲述世界历史有局限性，想要更好的了解历史就要将文本和物品结合在一起。从而推断文章最有可能选自《100件物品中的世界史》。故选C。 (5) So, you’ve finished that dull book. You sat through the movie you paid for, super bored. Stood in a long queue for that milk tea. Paid much for the luxury handbag — expensive nonsense. What do these have in common? They’re all examples of what economists call “sunk costs (沉没成本)”: the price you’ve already paid — in time, money, effort, suffering, for an item or an experience — holds you to them. It’s a phenomenon we all recognize. It affects our behavior in ways that can be unreasonable. But we do it. To avoid the situation, economists tell us to make decisions based mainly on future value, not past investment. If the ongoing cost outweighs the expected benefit, one should cut their losses and walk away. It hurts, yes, but this cold, clear logic protects us from going broke. Yet, life is rarely so neatly calculated. This purely economic view raises difficult questions: Does the value of an experience lie only in its outcome, or also in the process? A joyful journey with an ordinary goal and a painful one aimed at a splendid achievement, which one is more worthwhile? When it comes to education, the sunk costs theory doesn’t seem applicable. Parents and teachers pour immeasurable amount of investment — love, time, hope, money — into the growth of a child. Will the child turn out the way they expect? No guarantee. If we view this through a strict cost-benefit angle, much of education can be written off as a “sunk cost.” Education is obviously different from the commercial world. A child’s growth cannot be planned like a business strategy; it unfolds like a unique and unpredictable story. We can’t dream his dreams or live his life; we can only build the stage, and light his path. In education we have to hold onto this faith: everything we do for a child is worthwhile. Every act of love is like offering light and water to a seed; while we can’t see its roots grow underground, we know it. That child will blossom (开花) some day. Not all that has cost is sunk. 1. Which of the following best describes the examples in paragraph 1? A. Boring but beneficial. B. Interesting but worthless. C. Joyful and worthwhile. D. Senseless and regrettable. 2. What do economists advise us to do to avoid sunk costs? A. Focus on the outcome. B. Ignore the future losses. C. Calculate the past cost. D. Pursue the hidden gains. 3. What is the writer’s attitude towards the investment in education? A. Indifferent. B. Favorable. C. Balanced. D. Critical. 4. Why does the author write the text? A. To promote a principle. B. To correct a misbehavior. C. To challenge a concept. D. To present a phenomenon. 【答案】1. D 2. A 3. B 4. C 【难度】0.65 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。主要探讨沉没成本理论的适用场景，同时质疑其在教育领域的适用性，强调教育投入的价值。 1. 推理判断题。根据第一段中的“So, you’ve finished that dull book. You sat through the movie you paid for, super bored. Stood in a long queue for that milk tea. Paid much for the luxury handbag—expensive nonsense.(那么，你已经看完那本枯燥乏味的书了。你耐着性子看完了花钱买的电影，全程超级无聊。为了那杯奶茶排了好久的队。花大价钱买了个奢侈手袋 —— 昂贵的无用之物)”可知，这些例子都是无意义且可能让人后悔的经历。故选D项。 2. 细节理解题。根据第三段中的“To avoid the situation, economists tell us to make decisions based mainly on future value, not past investment.(为了避免这种情况，经济学家告诉我们，决策应主要基于未来价值，而不是过去的投资)”可知，经济学家建议我们关注结果（未来价值）以避免沉没成本的影响。故选A项。 3. 推理判断题。根据第五段中的“Education is obviously different from the commercial world.(教育显然与商业世界不同)”以及第六段中的“In education we have to hold onto this faith: everything we do for a child is worthwhile. (在教育中，我们必须坚守这样的信念：我们为孩子所做的一切都是值得的)”可知，作者认为教育投入与商业领域的沉没成本不同，对教育投入持支持态度。故选B项。 4. 推理判断题。根据第五段“When it comes to education, the sunk costs theory doesn’t seem applicable.(说到教育，沉没成本理论似乎并不适用)”可知，文章先介绍沉没成本理论及经济学家的建议，随后通过提问引发思考，并指出该理论在教育领域不适用，强调教育投入的独特价值，目的是对沉没成本这一概念的挑战。故选C项。 (6) Being an information technology, or IT, worker is not a job I envy. They are the ones expected to instantly fix a projector that stops working, even right in the middle of a critical meeting. They have to tolerate the bad mood of colleagues who are upset after calling the help desk repeatedly for the same issue. They also know there are better, more reliable and faster systems available, but their employer simply will not provide the funds to buy them. According to a recent survey, employees reliant on IT support often consider it a major source of job dissatisfaction. Through no fault of their own, they can suddenly find their productivity deteriorating (退化) or quality control non-existent. And there’s little they can do about it. The experience of using IT affects almost every aspect of the workplace. It has become a crucial part of employees’ overall work experience. When IT is operating as it should, employee self-confidence increases. Their job satisfaction, too, can surge when well-functioning machines relieve them of dull tasks or repetitive processes. But if there’s one thing that triggers widespread frustration, it’s a failed IT transformation project. In such cases, high expectations are dashed, and a long list of promised efficiencies fails to materialize. This occurs when business leaders implement IT initiatives with little consideration of how those changes will impact the end user. This is why managers should appreciate how influential the IT user experience is, and make a substantial effort to ensure their IT team fixes programming errors and application crashes. Adequate and timely IT support should also be available to help users resolve technological issues at work. More importantly, IT practitioners need to understand how employees feel when they use IT. Therefore, businesses need to design their IT infrastructure (基础设施) to fit their employees’ work, rather than force employees to work around the company’s IT limitations. 1. What makes the author say IT work is not a job he envies? A. Fixing unexpected project problems. B. Upgrading the present systems repeatedly. C. Resolving tensions among unhappy colleagues. D. Handling high-pressure tasks with poor support. 2. What is said about Information Technology’s influence on employees? A. It mainly helps the tech-skilled. B. Its negatives may outweigh positives. C. It can hurt or improve work and well-being. D. It often lowers productivity and satisfaction. 3. What should managers and businesses do to improve the IT experience? A. Make IT training available to staff. B. Tailor technology to fit human work patterns. C. Upgrade systems regardless of cost for efficiency. D. Focus first on solving urgent technical breakdowns. 4. Which would be the best title for the text? A. Employee Training in the Digital Age B. The Rising Cost of Business Technology C. Why IT Departments Need More Funding D. Human-Centered IT: A Key to Productivity 【答案】1. D 2. C 3. B 4. D 【难度】0.62 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。文章通过分析IT工作者面临的困境、IT系统对普通员工工作效率与满意度的双重影响，最终论证了企业管理中应以员工体验为中心设计技术方案的必要性。 1. 细节理解题。根据第一段中“They are the ones expected to instantly fix a projector that stops working, even right in the middle of a critical meeting. They have to tolerate the bad mood of colleagues who are upset after calling the help desk repeatedly for the same issue. They also know there are better, more reliable and faster systems available, but their employer simply will not provide the funds to buy them.(IT人员需要在关键会议进行到一半时，立刻修复出现故障的投影仪。他们还得忍受那些因同一问题反复致电求助台而心情不佳的同事的坏脾气。他们也知道有更好、更可靠、更快捷的系统，但雇主就是不愿出资购买。)”可知，作者列举了IT工作者的工作内容，综合来看，他们要处理各种高压力任务，且得不到足够的支持，所以作者说信息技术工作并非是他所羡慕的职业。故选D。 2. 推理判断题。根据第三段中“The experience of using IT affects almost every aspect of the workplace. It has become a crucial part of employees’ overall work experience. When IT is operating as it should, employee self-confidence increases.(使用信息技术的体验几乎影响着职场的方方面面。它已成为员工整体工作体验中至关重要的一部分。当信息技术正常运行时，员工的自信心会增强。)”及第四段中“Their job satisfaction, too, can surge when well-functioning machines relieve them of dull tasks or repetitive processes. But if there’s one thing that triggers widespread frustration, it’s a failed IT transformation project.(当运转良好的机器将员工从枯燥的任务或重复的流程中解脱出来时，他们的工作满意度也会大幅提升。但是，如果说有什么事情会引发普遍的挫败感，那就是失败的IT转型项目。)”可知，信息技术对员工的影响既有积极的一面，也有消极的一面，即它可以影响工作和生活的好坏，故选C。 3. 推理判断题。根据最后一段“Therefore, businesses need to design their IT infrastructure (基础设施) to fit their employees’ work, rather than force employees to work around the company’s IT limitations.(因此，企业需要设计适合员工工作的IT基础设施，而不是强迫员工去适应公司的IT限制。)”可知，管理者和企业要根据人类的工作模式定制技术。故选B。 4. 主旨大意题。纵观全文，尤其根据最后一段“Therefore, businesses need to design their IT infrastructure (基础设施) to fit their employees’ work, rather than force employees to work around the company’s IT limitations.(因此，企业需要设计适合员工工作的IT基础设施，而不是强迫员工去适应公司的IT限制。)”可知，本文先揭示IT工作者及普通员工因技术问题面临的困境（引出现象）， 进而分析IT对员工效率与心理的双重影响（剖析问题），最后提出根本出路在于以员工为中心设计IT系统（提出解决方案）。D项“Human-Centered IT: A Key to Productivity(以人为本的IT：提高生产力的关键)”概括了文章主题，适合作为最佳标题。故选D。 (7) Nowadays, the thought that a child’s behavior can be bad — mean, greedy, selfish — is often considered unacceptable especially in the rich and democratic West. Children are treated as a unique category, almost a species apart from adults. This appears in the popular “every child is different” belief, which discourages judging or correcting children so as to honor their uniqueness. One explanation for this is the tendency to view children’s emotions as purely physiological releases of stress, beyond moral evaluation. Brain-body parenting, for instance, argues that young children lack the neural wiring for self-control and therefore should not be expected to regulate their behavior. Parents are urged not to correct wrongdoing but simply to narrate emotions — “You’re feeling very angry right now.” But human emotions are inseparable from understanding: Fear reflects a sense of threat, disappointment signals unmet expectations; jealousy implies perceiving another as a rival. Meaning shapes feeling, even in toddlers. Merely labeling a child’s anger without explaining when anger is appropriate or how it may harm others deprives them of an understanding of what they are feeling. The psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion explained in Learning from Experience (1962) that when parents interpret and respond to a baby’s behavior, they transform raw sense experiences into meaningful thoughts. Moral and emotional understanding — knowing justified anger, practicing restraint, respecting others — does not suddenly appear in adulthood. It develops gradually, long before children are able to grasp or express such ideas clearly, as parents offer forms of understanding to their children from the very beginning. As Bion put it, “just as we do not hold back from speaking to little babies because of the worry that they are unable to use words, so we should not hold back from initiating kids to our understanding of what counts as good and bad behavior.” The idea that a parent can remain neutral toward their child’s behaviour is at best naive and at worst dangerous. The deeper question parents need to ask is: Who do we want our toddlers to become? Unless we begin with a vision of the kind of person we hope to raise, we will always be chasing the latest parenting trend, or, perhaps, our child’s every mood. 1. How would parents usually respond to children’s misbehavior in the West? A. They try to categorize all their mistakes. B. They point out and punish it immediately. C. They judge it by moral standards of adults. D. They forgive it to ensure kids’ individuality. 2. What does the author think of the brain-body parenting? A. It overlooks the role of understanding in emotions. B. It is a practical solution to reduce children’s stress. C. It helps parents handle children’s negative moods. D. It highlights the biological basis of kids’ misbehavior. 3. What can we learn about moral education according to Wilfred Bion? A. Kids know nothing about moral rules. B. Language and morals develop hand in hand. C. Moral rules should be nurtured from early ages. D. Children’s abilities mature when they grow up. 4. What does the author advise parents to do in the last paragraph? A. Follow new parenting trends closely. B. Set clear aims for their child’s growth. C. Stay neutral about their child’s behavior. D. Let moods guide their parenting choices. 【答案】1. D 2. A 3. C 4. B 【难度】0.65 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。文章主要讨论了如今在富裕民主的西方，人们对待孩子不良行为的态度，指出不应因尊重孩子独特性而忽视对其不良行为的纠正，强调了理解在孩子情绪中的重要性，以及道德教育应从小开始，并建议父母要为孩子的成长设定明确目标。 1. 细节理解题。根据第一段中的“This appears in the popular ‘every child is different’ belief, which discourages judging or correcting children so as to honor their uniqueness.(这体现在流行的‘每个孩子都不一样’的观念中，这种观念不鼓励评判或纠正孩子，以尊重他们的独特性。)”可知，在西方，父母通常会原谅孩子的不良行为以确保孩子的个性。故选D项。 2. 推理判断题。根据第三段“But human emotions are inseparable from understanding: Fear reflects a sense of threat, disappointment signals unmet expectations; jealousy implies perceiving another as a rival. Meaning shapes feeling, even in toddlers. Merely labeling a child’s anger without explaining when anger is appropriate or how it may harm others deprives them of an understanding of what they are feeling.(但人类的情绪与理解是分不开的：恐惧反映了一种威胁感，失望表明期望未得到满足；嫉妒意味着将他人视为竞争对手。意义塑造感觉，即使是在蹒跚学步的孩子身上也是如此。仅仅给孩子贴上愤怒的标签，而不解释什么时候愤怒是合适的，或者它可能会如何伤害他人，这剥夺了他们对自己感受的理解。)”可推知，作者认为大脑—身体育儿法忽视了理解在情绪中的作用。故选A项。 3. 推理判断题。根据第四段中的“Moral and emotional understanding — knowing justified anger, practicing restraint, respecting others — does not suddenly appear in adulthood. It develops gradually, long before children are able to grasp or express such ideas clearly, as parents offer forms of understanding to their children from the very beginning.(道德和情感理解——知道什么是合理的愤怒，练习克制，尊重他人——并不是在成年后突然出现的。它是在孩子们能够清楚地理解或表达这些想法之前很久就逐渐发展起来的，因为父母从一开始就向孩子们提供理解的形式。)”可推知，根据Wilfred Bion的观点，道德规则应该从小培养。故选C项。 4. 推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“The deeper question parents need to ask is: Who do we want our toddlers to become? Unless we begin with a vision of the kind of person we hope to raise, we will always be chasing the latest parenting trend, or, perhaps, our child’s every mood.(父母需要问的一个更深层次的问题是：我们希望我们的孩子成为什么样的人？除非我们一开始就对我们希望培养的人有一个愿景，否则我们将永远在追逐最新的育儿趋势，或者，也许，我们孩子的每一种情绪。)”可推知，作者建议父母在最后一段为孩子的成长设定明确的目标。故选B项。 (8) Quick: what’s your best friend’s phone number? Don’t feel bad if you couldn’t answer off the top of your head. You have no reason to commit phone numbers to memory: it’s just there in your phone. Or perhaps you once had a phone book to store them. In either case, an object does the remembering for you. “Prosthetic memory” (人工记忆) is nothing new. Writing itself has been a means of storing information. Yet the information revolution has generated more data than ever before. We are flooded with information. We’re creating more of it, and keeping more of it. The storage capacity of the human brain has since been eclipsed. No wonder, then, that we’re increasingly dependent on memory prostheses, from libraries to smartphones. Not everyone thinks this trend in external memory is good. Historically, memory prostheses were expensive. As technologies such as printing and photography become more affordable, sharing experiences with others is easier than ever. So every breakfast, every sunset, every encounter with a cat finds its way on to social media. And here comes the worry. When we devote ourselves to capturing and sharing the world in this way, something immensely valuable is lost; when recording so much of our lives, we’re forgetting to actually live them, and so disconnect ourselves from experience. But is our social media-driven transformation wholly bad? If we’re still creating and sharing memories like this, perhaps this is because we’ve not had sufficient time to learn how to do these things without thinking about what we’re doing. It is easy to ignore that the mass social media era is less than a decade old. That’s just a short blink (眨眼) in human history, yet it has totally changed how we live. I suspect we’re not far off from being directly faced with experience yet with the ability to share experience in ways less bounded by geography and time. After all, technology can protect all the moments of a life that would otherwise be lost. 1. What can be inferred from paragraph 1? A. Technology weakens our brains. B. We are burdened with phone numbers. C. We rely more on tools to memorize. D. Technology distances us from our friends. 2. What does the underlined word “eclipsed” in paragraph 2 mean? A. Improved. B. Undervalued. C. Restricted. D. Outperformed. 3. What negative effect does online sharing bring about? A. An overflow of posts. B. High cost of digital devices. C. Addiction to the virtual world. D. Disregard for authentic experience. 4. What does the author advise us to do in the last paragraph? A. Have faith in human brains. B. Take time to adapt to digital age. C. Quicken the pace of development. D. Make efforts to enhance memory. 【答案】1. C 2. D 3. D 4. B 【难度】0.65 【导语】这是一篇议论文。文章介绍人们依赖手机等人工记忆工具，有人担忧社交媒体分享让人们忽视真实生活，但作者认为无需全盘否定，科技也能留存珍贵时刻。 1. 推理判断题。根据第一段中“You have no reason to commit phone numbers to memory: it’s just there in your phone. Or perhaps you once had a phone book to store them. In either case, an object does the remembering for you. (你没有理由把电话号码记在记忆里：它就在你的手机里。或者你曾经有一个电话簿来存储它们。在任何一种情况下，一个物体为你做记忆。)”推知，我们更多地依赖工具进行记忆。故选C。 2. 词句猜测题。根据第二段中“The storage capacity of the human brain has since been eclipsed. No wonder, then, that we’re increasingly dependent on memory prostheses, from libraries to smartphones.(人类大脑的存储能力从此eclipsed。因此，从图书馆到智能手机，我们越来越依赖人工记忆也就不足为奇了。)”可知，我们越来越依靠人工记忆，其原因是我们大脑的储存能力已经被超越，人工记忆可以记得更多。由此猜测，划线词eclipsed意为“超越”的意思，与outperformed同义。故选D。 3. 细节理解题。根据第三段中“When we devote ourselves to capturing and sharing the world in this way, something immensely valuable is lost; when recording so much of our lives, we’re forgetting to actually live them, and so disconnect ourselves from experience.(当我们执着于以这种方式捕捉并分享世界时，某种极具价值的东西便会悄然流失；我们记录了生活中太多片段，却忘了真正去体验生活，也因此与当下的感受渐行渐远。)”可知，网上分享带来的负面影响是对真实体验的忽视。故选D。 4. 推理判断题。根据最后一段中“But is our social media-driven transformation wholly bad? If we’re still creating and sharing memories like this, perhaps this is because we’ve not had sufficient time to learn how to do these things without thinking about what we’re doing. It is easy to ignore that the mass social media era is less than a decade old. (但这种由社交媒体驱动的转变就完全是坏事吗？倘若我们如今依然还在用这种方式创造并分享回忆，或许是因为我们尚未有足够时间，学会自然而然地去做这些事（而无需刻意盘算）。我们很容易忽略，大众社交媒体时代至今还不到十年。)”可知，大规模社交媒体时代时间不算太久，且人们还没有做到自然而然地去创造和分享回忆。由此推知，作者建议人们花时间去适应数字时代。故选B。 (9) The Stanford marshmallow (棉花糖) test was originally conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in the late 1960s. Children aged four to six at a nursery school were placed in a room. A single sugary treat, selected by the child, was placed on a table. Each child was told if they waited for 15 minutes before eating the treat, they would be given a second treat. Then they were left alone in the room. Follow-up studies with the children later in life showed a connection between an ability to wait long enough to obtain a second treat and various forms of success. As adults we face a version of the marshmallow test every day. We’re not tempted (诱惑) by sugary treats, but by our computers, phones, and tablets — all the devices that connect us to the global delivery system for various types of information that do to us what marshmallows do to preschoolers. We are tempted by sugary treats because our ancestors lived in a calorie-poor world, and our brains developed a response mechanism to these treats that reflected their value — a feeling of reward and satisfaction. But as we’ve reshaped the world around us, dramatically reducing the cost and effort involved in obtaining calories, we still have the same brains we had thousands of years ago, and this mismatch is at the heart of why so many of us struggle to resist tempting foods that we know we shouldn’t eat. A similar process is at work in our response to information. Our formative environment as a species was information-poor, so our brains developed a mechanism that prized new information. But global connectivity has greatly changed our information environment. We are now ceaselessly bombarded (轰炸) with new information. Therefore, just as we need to be more thoughtful about our caloric consumption, we also need to be more thoughtful about our information consumption, resisting the temptation of the mental “junk food” in order to manage our time most effectively. 1. What was the key for children to get a second treat in the Stanford test? A. Selecting their favorite sugary snack. B. Remaining alone in the room for 15 minutes. C. Resisting the immediate desire to eat the first one. D. Following the instructions given by the psychologist. 2. What does the author imply by “a version of the marshmallow test” for adults? A. Adults are tested with digital devices instead of treats. B. Adults face more complex temptations than children. C. Adults must also delay contentment in the digital age. D. Adults are assessed on the ability to share information. 3. According to the text, what is the root cause of people’s struggle against temptation? A. The lack of self-discipline in our contemporary society. B. The mismatch between our ancient brains and modern environment. C. The overabundance of calorie-rich foods in the market. D. The constant bombardment of new information from digital devices. 4. Which of the following is the best title for the text? A. The Marshmallow Test: Lessons for Modern Life B. Delaying Satisfaction: A Key to Success C. Why Our Brains Struggle in the Modern World D. How to Manage Information Consumption 【答案】1. C 2. C 3. B 4. A 【难度】0.65 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。文章结合棉花糖实验，论述信息时代需理性控制信息消费的观点。 1. 细节理解题。根据第一段中“Each child was told if they waited for 15 minutes before eating the treat, they would be given a second treat.(每个孩子都被告知，如果他们在吃糖果前等待15分钟，就会得到第二份糖果。)”可知，孩子们得到第二份糖果的关键在于抵抗住立刻吃掉第一份糖果的冲动。故选C。 2. 推理判断题。根据第二段中“As adults we face a version of the marshmallow test every day. We’re not tempted by sugary treats, but by our computers, phones, and tablets — all the devices that connect us to the global delivery system for various types of information that do to us what marshmallows do to preschoolers.(作为成年人，我们每天都要面对棉花糖测试的一个版本。我们不会被甜食诱惑，而是会被我们的电脑、手机和平板电脑诱惑——所有这些设备都将我们与全球信息传递系统连接起来，这些信息对我们所起的作用就像棉花糖对学龄前儿童所起的作用一样。)”可知，作者暗示成人在数字时代也必须延迟满足感。故选C。 3. 细节理解题。根据第三段中“But as we’ve reshaped the world around us, dramatically reducing the cost and effort involved in obtaining calories, we still have the same brains we had thousands of years ago, and this mismatch is at the heart of why so many of us struggle to resist tempting foods that we know we shouldn’t eat.(但是，随着我们重塑了周围的世界，大大降低了获取卡路里的成本和努力，我们仍然拥有几千年前相同的头脑，这种不匹配正是为什么我们很多人难以抗拒我们知道不应该吃的诱人食物的核心原因。)”可知，人们与诱惑作斗争的根本原因是我们古老的大脑与现代环境之间的不匹配。故选B。 4. 主旨大意题。通读全文，尤其是由文章第一段“The Stanford marshmallow test was originally conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in the late 1960s.(斯坦福棉花糖实验最初由心理学家沃尔特・米歇尔于 20 世纪 60 年代末开展。)”和最后一段“A similar process is at work in our response to information. Our formative environment as a species was information-poor, so our brains developed a mechanism that prized new information. But global connectivity has greatly changed our information environment. We are now ceaselessly bombarded with new information. Therefore, just as we need to be more thoughtful about our caloric consumption, we also need to be more thoughtful about our information consumption, resisting the temptation of the mental “junk food” in order to manage our time most effectively.(我们对信息的反应也遵循着类似的逻辑。人类在成长关键期所处的环境信息匮乏，因此大脑进化出了珍视新信息的机制。但全球互联彻底改变了我们的信息环境，如今我们不断受到新信息的“轰炸”。因此，正如我们需要更理性地控制热量摄入一样，我们也需要更审慎地对待信息消费，抵制精神 “垃圾食品” 的诱惑，以最有效地管理时间。)”可知，文章首先介绍了斯坦福棉花糖测试，然后类比到成人面对信息诱惑的情况，指出我们也需要像对待热量摄入一样谨慎对待信息摄入，以有效管理时间。因此，A选项“The Marshmallow Test: Lessons for Modern Life(棉花糖测试：现代生活的启示)”最能概括文章主旨。故选A。 (10) In Victorian Britain, Londoners could receive up to 12 postal deliveries a day. Daily communications could begin with a morning invitation to dinner, continue with a midday argument, and conclude with a compromise—all before nightfall. We often imagine predigital era similar to ours now but without our digital distractions, but it was not so. With letters flooding in, an ever-filling doormat might easily overwhelm even a gentleman. Distraction is claimed to be the cognitive crisis of the digital age. In a recent Atlantic article “The elite college students who can’t read books”, Rose Horowitch reports that students now struggle to focus on even a sonnet (十四行诗). Many U.S. schools have replaced classic literature with shorter passages to prioritize workplace-relevant skills But might historical context reframe these worries? Would it help those who lament our growing inability to sit attentively through a classical music concert to know that the 18th-century symphony was not designed with the expectation of an attentive audience? Horowitch notes we might not see so much a decline in engaging with long texts as shifts in what is consumed and how: “Students see reading books as similar to listening to vinyl records — something that a small subculture may still enjoy, but that’s mostly a relic of an earlier time.” Meanwhile, audiobooks thrive. “Students can read…they just choose not to.” Might what we identify as an attention crisis be in part a shift in priorities? This isn’t to dismiss valid concerns. We must reconsider what types of attention we value. Intense focus can make us miss the obvious. A more diffused (分散的) focus might foster different cognitive skills. Is it possible younger generations are developing new, valuable modes of attention? While real problems exist in today’s attention economies, history invites flexibility in how we engage with long-form culture. New practices of attention may bring social and individual good. 1. Why does the author mention Victorian letter writing? A. To criticize modern communication. B. To show distraction existed in history. C. To demonstrate writing’s importance. D. To compare different postal systems. 2. What does the underlined word “lament” in paragraph 3 mean? A. Applaud. B. Regret. C. Measure. D. Encourage. 3. According to paragraph 4, what does Horowitch think of the attention crisis? A. It is a cultural decline. B. It is a novel phenomenon. C. It is a change in preference. D. It is a problem without solutions. 4. What is the author’s view on attention? A. Traditional reading is outdated. B. Digital skills will replace old methods. C. Diverse attention modes are needed. D. Attention spans are damaged. 【答案】1. B 2. B 3. C 4. C 【难度】0.4 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。文章主要描述了现代社会中关于注意力危机的讨论，并通过历史视角进行了反思。作者认为现代社会中，并不是人们的专注能力有所下滑，而是人们的喜好有了改变，因此需要多样化的注意力模式。 1. 推理判断题。根据第一段“In Victorian Britain, Londoners could receive up to 12 postal deliveries a day.(在维多利亚时代的英国，伦敦人一天最多能收到12次邮政投递。)”和“We often imagine predigital era similar to ours now but without our digital distractions, but it was not so. With letters flooding in, an ever-filling doormat might easily overwhelm even a gentleman.(我们常常想象前数字时代与现在的我们相似，只是没有如今的数字化干扰，但事实并非如此。信件如潮水般涌来，门口的垫子总是堆满信件，这甚至可能让一位绅士都应接不暇。)”可知，维多利亚时代的书信往来会让人们受到干扰、注意力分散，所以作者提到这点是为了表明历史上已经存在了注意力分散的现象，并非是如今的数字时代才出现的。故选B。 2. 词句猜测题。根据上文“But might historical context reframe these worries?(但历史背景或许能重新审视这些担忧吗？)”和划线词所在句“Would it help those who lament our growing inability to sit attentively through a classical music concert to know that the 18th-century symphony was not designed with the expectation of an attentive audience?(如果能让那些lament我们越来越难以专心聆听一场古典音乐会的人明白，18世纪的交响乐作品就并非是为期待观众全神贯注聆听而设计的，那是否会有助于他们缓解这种情绪呢？)”可知，对于我们越来越缺乏专心聆听一场古典音乐会的能力，那些人感到担忧，暗示了他们对我们注意力下降的遗憾和惋惜，故lament表示“遗憾、惋惜”。故选B。 3. 细节理解题。根据第四段“Horowitch notes we might not see so much a decline in engaging with long texts as shifts in what is consumed and how: “Students see reading books as similar to listening to vinyl records — something that a small subculture may still enjoy, but that’s mostly a relic of an earlier time.”(Horowitch指出，我们或许不会看到人们阅读长篇文本的频率有明显下降，而是会看到人们阅读的内容以及阅读方式发生了变化：“学生们认为阅读书籍就像听黑胶唱片——这在一小部分人群中可能仍是一种喜爱的活动，但更多的是属于过去时代的遗留产物了。”)”和“Might what we identify as an attention crisis be in part a shift in priorities?(我们所认为的“注意力危机”现象，是否在一定程度上是由于优先选择的改变所导致的呢？)”可知，Horowitch认为，注意力危机是由于人们优先选择的阅读内容和阅读方式有了改变，即偏好的改变导致的。故选C。 4. 推理判断题。根据最后一段“Is it possible younger generations are developing new, valuable modes of attention? While real problems exist in today’s attention economies, history invites flexibility in how we engage with long-form culture. New practices of attention may bring social and individual good.(有没有可能年轻一代正在发展新的、有价值的注意力模式？尽管当今的注意力经济存在一些实际问题，但历史告诉我们，在如何对待长篇文化内容方面可以保持灵活性。新的注意力模式或许能带来社会和个体的益处。)”可知，作者认为当今社会需要有新的注意力模式加入，保持注意力模式的灵活性、多样化。故选C。 (11) Most of us were raised to think that smart people always know the right answers. From gold stars in school to performance reviews in the office, we’re rewarded for certainty. Yet as Bidhan Parmar, professor at the UVA Darden School of Business, argues in his new book, Radical Doubt, “Certainty somehow blinds us. The only thing that spoon-feeding teaches us is the shape of a spoon”. His point is unsettling: The very habits we rely on to feel smart — rushing toward the final goals, simplifying complex problems, sugar-coating our initial reactions — are the ones that keep us from making wise choices. The hardest problems we face in life, whether in careers, relationships, or society, rarely come with single right answers. They’re what Parmar calls “moments of unease”: multi-criteria choices that involve competing goals, high risks, and deep uncertainty. The old playbook of being a “right-answer getter” not only fails here, but backfires. As Parmar explains, “We often treat complex problems like simple ones until we are faced with the reality.” Our personal and professional environments are more uncertain than ever. Technology evolves faster than regulation, workplaces are more diverse, and social standards are shifting. I’ve watched firsthand that seasoned leaders ignore warning signs because they were addicted to “feeling right.” They simplified the situation when they should have paused or explored, and missed the opportunity that doubt was pointing them toward. Our brains run on interconnected systems: the Pursue system (seek rewards), the Protect system (avoid threats), and the Pause-and-Piece-Together system (engage doubt and reframe). Prior evidence-based studies report that most of us let the first two dominate, charging ahead or withdrawing in fear. Grounded in behavioral science, the wiser move is to take enough time to notice complexity, question assumptions, and treat our intuition (直觉) not as the only decision but as an alternative. In practice, this means holding competing goals side by side, and learning to say not “I know,” but “I’m learning.” 1. What is implied by mentioning the spoon-feeding? A. Certainty might ruin decision-making. B. Average people can learn few facts. C. Smart habits secure positive outcomes. D. Simple tools secretly boost creativity. 2. Which might be a “moment of unease”? A. Profiting from stable investments with spare funds. B. Trying to find a job overseas when a parent falls ill. C. Treating difficult problems with one’s first intuition. D. Continuing to develop in one’s familiar research field. 3. What can make leaders fail according to the author? A. Shifting standards. B. Lacking experience. C. Ignoring principles. D. Overlooking doubts. 4. What is mainly talked about in the last paragraph? A. Intuition types and brain functions. B. Initial doubts and competing goals. C. Brain systems and connection forms. D. Scientific theories and workable tips. 【答案】1. A 2. B 3. D 4. D 【难度】0.4 【导语】这是一篇议论文。主要阐述了人们常被教导追求确定答案，但这会阻碍明智决策。复杂问题无唯一解，过度追求确定性易适得其反。应善用大脑的审慎系统，拥抱怀疑，以学习心态应对不确定性。 1. 推理判断题。根据第二段“Yet as Bidhan Parmar, professor at the UVA Darden School of Business, argues in his new book, Radical Doubt, “Certainty somehow blinds us. The only thing that spoon-feeding teaches us is the shape of a spoon”. His point is unsettling: The very habits we rely on to feel smart — rushing toward the final goals, simplifying complex problems, sugar-coating our initial reactions — are the ones that keep us from making wise choices.(然而，正如弗吉尼亚大学达顿商学院的布迪安·帕尔马尔教授在其新书《激进的怀疑》中所指出的那样：“确定性会让我们变得盲目。一味地灌输所教会我们的，不过是勺子的形状而已”。他的观点令人不安：我们赖以自认为聪明的那些习惯——急于追求最终目标、简化复杂问题、美化最初的反应——恰恰是那些阻碍我们做出明智选择的习惯)”可知，提到“填鸭式教育”所隐含的意思是过分的确定性可能会破坏决策过程。故选A。 2. 细节理解题。根据第三段“They’re what Parmar calls “moments of unease”: multi-criteria choices that involve competing goals, high risks, and deep uncertainty.(这就是帕尔玛所说的“不安时刻”：这类决策涉及多重标准，包含相互冲突的目标、巨大的风险以及极大的不确定性)”可知，“不安时刻”涉及多重标准，包含相互冲突的目标、巨大的风险以及极大的不确定性。B选项“当父母生病时，却试图去国外找工作”符合“不安时刻”的描述。故选B。 3. 细节理解题。根据第四段“I’ve watched firsthand that seasoned leaders ignore warning signs because they were addicted to “feeling right.” They simplified the situation when they should have paused or explored, and missed the opportunity that doubt was pointing them toward.(我亲眼目睹过一些经验丰富的领导者会忽视那些警示信号，因为他们过于执着于“感觉是对的”这种想法。他们本应停下来或深入探究，却选择了简化问题，从而错失了那些由怀疑所指向的机遇)”可知，导致领导者失败的原因是忽视疑虑。故选D。 4. 主旨大意题。根据最后一段“Our brains run on interconnected systems: the Pursue system (seek rewards), the Protect system (avoid threats), and the Pause-and-Piece-Together system (engage doubt and reframe). Prior evidence-based studies report that most of us let the first two dominate, charging ahead or withdrawing in fear. Grounded in behavioral science, the wiser move is to take enough time to notice complexity, question assumptions, and treat our intuition (直觉) not as the only decision but as an alternative. In practice, this means holding competing goals side by side, and learning to say not “I know,” but “I’m learning.”(我们的大脑由相互关联的系统构成：追求系统（寻求奖励）、保护系统（避免威胁）以及暂停并整合系统（质疑并重新审视）。以往基于实证的研究表明，我们大多数人往往让前两个系统占据主导地位，要么勇往直前，要么因恐惧而退缩。从行为科学的角度来看，更明智的做法是花足够的时间去留意复杂性、质疑假设，并将我们的直觉（直觉）视为一种可供选择的决策方式，而非唯一的决定依据。实际上，这意味着要同时兼顾相互冲突的目标，并学会说“我正在学习”，而非“我知道”)”可知，最后一段主要谈论了科学理论与实用建议。故选D。 (12) When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to escape from Ramsgate, the harbor town where I grew up on the Isle of Thanet. It could feel small: the same faces in the same places, and where a new café or gallery was often met with doubt. There was this apparent insistence that life was fine as it was. But for a teenager itching to see more, that lack of curiosity was disheartening. So I left. I headed north for a four-year academic journey from York to Durham. After university, having played at newspapers, I made the move to London to do it for real. But the reality was tough. I struggled to contribute to various dailies before periods on staff at both magazines and newspapers. In my twenties, I threw myself into city life: sampling Mediterranean restaurants, navigating around on the Tube, and staying out late with friends. For a while, it was enough. Then it became too much. In and among the sharing plates, I found myself on an unending rat race of moving faster and needing to earn more — just to keep up. Rents in London were pressing, apartments were tiny, yet the dream of owning one felt like a cruel joke. As I got older, trips back to Thanet opened my eyes to what I had left behind. Mainly, it was the sea. Wide yellow sands and even the touch of salt in the air, ordinary in childhood, suddenly felt appealing. But I also started to miss the beat of small-town life: waving to people on the street, noticing whose garden was overgrown, finding charm even in the pubs I had once dismissed. What’s more, where I’d once hurried to leave, others are now rushing to arrive. Artists, creatives, and technologists have been priced out of London and are pouring to Thanet, bringing new ideas and drive. Now, when I head back home, I feel a mixture of pride and mild wonder: the place I once thought I’d outgrown has had a facelift I wasn’t expecting. I’ll keep returning to Thanet, with eager willingness. Each visit reminds me that places, like people, can grow without losing their essence. I’ve come to love Thanet as more than just the home I left; it is now the place it continues to become. 1. Why did the author want to leave Ramsgate? A. It offered few job opportunities. B. It lacked modern entertainment. C. It stuck to values he disagreed with. D. It failed to satisfy his desire to explore. 2. Which of the following best summarizes the author’s life in London? A. Rich in possibilities. B. Socially diverse. C. Filled with challenges. D. Financially stressful. 3. What can we learn about the author’s bond with Thanet over time? A. It remains stable and strong. B. It is influenced by public opinions. C. It shifts from rejection to reconnection. D. It is shaped by his childhood experience. 4. What can be a suitable title for the text? A. The Sea in Memory B. Four Years Up North C. The Hometown Out of Reach D. A Growing Place, a Growing Me 【答案】1. D 2. C 3. C 4. D 【难度】0.65 【导语】本文是一篇夹叙夹议文。文章主要讲述了作者离开家乡Ramsgate去伦敦打拼，历经挑战后回到家乡，重新认识并爱上家乡的故事。 1. 细节理解题。根据第一段“When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to escape from Ramsgate, the harbor town where I grew up on the Isle of Thanet. It could feel small: the same faces in the same places, and where a new café or gallery was often met with doubt. There was this apparent insistence that life was fine as it was. But for a teenager itching to see more, that lack of curiosity was disheartening. (当我年轻的时候，我迫不及待地想要逃离拉姆斯盖特，这个我在萨尼特岛上长大的海港小镇。它可能会让人觉得很小：同样的面孔出现在同样的地方，一个新的咖啡馆或画廊常常会遭到质疑。显然，人们坚持认为生活本该如此。但对于一个渴望看到更多的青少年来说，这种缺乏好奇心是令人沮丧的)”可知，作者想要离开拉姆斯盖特是因为这个地方无法满足他探索的欲望。故选D项。 2. 推理判断题。根据第二段中“But the reality was tough. I struggled to contribute to various dailies before periods on staff at both magazines and newspapers. (但现实是残酷的。在杂志和报纸工作之前，我努力为各种日报撰稿)”和第三段中“In and among the sharing plates, I found myself on an unending rat race of moving faster and needing to earn more — just to keep up. Rents in London were pressing, apartments were tiny, yet the dream of owning one felt like a cruel joke. (在一顿顿分食小碟菜的聚餐间隙，我发现自己陷入了一场永无止境的激烈竞争，要更快地行动，需要赚更多的钱，只是为了跟上节奏。伦敦的房租压力很大，公寓很小，但拥有一个公寓的梦想感觉就像一个残酷的玩笑)”可知，作者在伦敦的生活充满了挑战。故选C项。 3. 推理判断题。根据第一段中“When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to escape from Ramsgate, the harbor town where I grew up on the Isle of Thanet. (当我年轻的时候，我迫不及待地想要逃离拉姆斯盖特，这个我在萨尼特岛上长大的海港小镇)”和第四段“As I got older, trips back to Thanet opened my eyes to what I had left behind. Mainly, it was the sea. Wide yellow sands and even the touch of salt in the air, ordinary in childhood, suddenly felt appealing. But I also started to miss the beat of small-town life: waving to people on the street, noticing whose garden was overgrown, finding charm even in the pubs I had once dismissed. What’s more, where I’d once hurried to leave, others are now rushing to arrive. Artists, creatives, and technologists have been priced out of London and are pouring to Thanet, bringing new ideas and drive. Now, when I head back home, I feel a mixture of pride and mild wonder: the place I once thought I’d outgrown has had a facelift I wasn’t expecting. (随着年龄的增长，回到萨尼特岛的旅行让我看清了自己留下的东西。主要是大海。宽阔的黄色沙滩，甚至空气中盐的味道，在童年时很普通，突然变得吸引人。但我也开始怀念小镇生活的节奏：向街上的人挥手，注意谁的花园杂草丛生，甚至在我曾经不屑一顾的酒吧里也能找到魅力。更重要的是，我曾经匆匆离开的地方，现在别人却急着来。艺术家、创意人士和科技人员因为伦敦的高房价而离开，纷纷涌向萨尼特岛，带来了新的想法和动力。现在，当我回到家乡时，我感到既自豪又有些惊讶：我曾经以为自己早已超越、已经不再适合的地方，却有了意想不到的改头换面)”可知，作者对Thanet的情感随着时间的推移从最初的排斥转变为后来的重新连接和热爱。故选C项。 4. 主旨大意题。通读全文，结合最后一段中“Each visit reminds me that places, like people, can grow without losing their essence. I’ve come to love Thanet as more than just the home I left; it is now the place it continues to become. (每一次到访都提醒我，地方和人一样，可以在不失去本质的情况下成长。我已经不再仅仅把萨尼特岛当作我离开的家;它现在是它继续成为的地方)”可知，文章主要讲述了作者离开家乡去伦敦打拼，历经挑战后回到家乡，重新认识并爱上家乡的故事，表达了作者对家乡和自身成长的深刻感悟。故D项“A Growing Place, a Growing Me (一个成长的地方，一个成长的我)”能概括文章内容，最适合做文章标题。故选D项。 (13) Some famous novels show that being the side character can give us access to deeper truths and a richer appreciation of the human condition than those too busy propelling the story forward. Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle “He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. He is only wanting in knowledge.” There is little doubt that Sherlock Holmes is the most famous detective in literature. Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories now exist in over 70 languages, and Holmes is the most portrayed literary character in film and television history. As a detective, Holmes often takes the lead in solving mysteries, but the story is told from the perspective of Dr. John H. Watson, Holmes’s loyal friend and companion. There are many advantages to this. First, Holmes is odd and tends to focus on minor details. Telling a short story from his perspective would make it anything but short. Dr. Watson translates Holmes’s oddity into something less tiring for the reader. On a literary level, having the story told by the companion helps keep the reader in suspense. If we had access to everything Holmes knew, the game would be over before it was happening. By seeing the Victorian world through Watson’s eyes, not only are we provided a picture that non-detectives can comprehend, but we get to enjoy Sherlock’s exciting adventures spoiler-free. The Great Gatsby by E. Scot Fitzgerald “Yet high over the city, our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets, and I was him too, looking up and wondering. I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” E. Scott Fitzgerald’s best-known work is a meditation on class in the supposedly egalitarian (平等主义) United States, the excesses of the 1920s, and how horrible it can be when the American Dream comes true. The story is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, a young man who has moved to Long Island in hopes of becoming a stockbroker and cashing in on the 1920s boom. As the title suggests, the real hero of the story is his mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby. The difficulty of the story centers on Gatsby’s attempts to pursue Nick’s married cousin Daisy, his dreams of reliving the past, and his efforts to climb into the upper-class of American society. Nick, who is an unreliable narrator, is present for many of the main events in the story. However, as hinted at in the above quote, he considers himself an observer rather than a driver of those events. This allows us to get an outside view of the situation from somebody who admits he doesn’t entirely fit into the world he’s participating in while still being an intimate companion of those who do. The resulting commentary on the life of the American upper crust (症结) has been debated for a century. 1. If written from the perspective of Sherlock Holmes instead of Dr. John Watson, the book Sherlock Holmes would be ________. A. short and to the point B. incomprehensible and long C. full of spoiler and suspense D. interesting but too professional 2. What can be inferred from The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald? A. Nick Carraway is not just as observer but a driver of the story events. B. The real mysterious hero behind the title of the novel is Nick Garraway. C. Readers will know more about the American upper class from the perspective of  Jay Gatsby. D. The unreliable narrator prevents the reader from grasping the harms of pursuing the American Dream. 3. Quotes from Sherlock Holmes and The Great Gatsby given below the title respectively in order to ________. A. stick to the traditional pattern of a famous novel B. indicate the side character’s role as the narrator C. remind readers of the theme and plot of the novels D. explain the main character’s neglect of deep truths 4. What’s the message the author of the passage wants to convey through the two books mentioned? A. Classical novels must have quotes that have enduring power among readers. B. Stories told from the most important character’s perspective are still the mainstream. C. Individual, or historical eras can be deeply explored from a unique sideline perspective. D. Side characters in novels are usually dismissed as unimportant and can’t get their name in the title. 【答案】1. B 2. A 3. B 4. C 【难度】0.4 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。主要探讨文学作品中配角视角的价值，以《福尔摩斯》和《了不起的盖茨比》为例说明其能揭示更深层的人性真相。 1. 推理判断题。根据Sherlock Holmes部分第五段中的“First, Holmes is odd and tends to focus on minor details. Telling a short story from his perspective would make it anything but short. Dr. Watson translates Holmes’s oddity into something less tiring for the reader.(首先，福尔摩斯性格古怪，倾向于关注细节。从他的视角讲述一个短篇故事只会让故事变得冗长。华生医生将福尔摩斯的古怪之处转化为让读者不那么疲惫的内容)”及第六段“If we had access to everything Holmes knew, the game would be over before it was happening.(如果我们能知道福尔摩斯所知的一切，故事的悬念将荡然无存)”可知，若以福尔摩斯为叙事视角，故事可能因细节堆砌而冗长，且缺乏悬念（充满剧透）。故选B项。 2. 推理判断题。根据The Great Gatsby部分倒数第二段中的“ Nick, who is an unreliable narrator, is present for many of the main events in the story. However, as hinted at in the above quote, he considers himself an observer rather than a driver of those events.(尼克是一个不可靠的叙述者，在故事中的许多主要事件中都出现了。然而，正如上面引用的暗示，他认为自己是一个观察者，而不是这些事件的驱动者)”可知，Nick Garraway在故事中的很多主要事件中都出现了。结合尾段中的“This allows us to get an outside view of the situation from somebody who admits he doesn’t entirely fit into the world he’s participating in while still being an intimate companion of those who do.(这使我们能够从一个人那里获得对局势的外部视角 —— 这个人承认自己并不完全融入他所参与的世界，但同时仍是那些真正融入其中的人的亲密伙伴)由此推测，他不仅仅是观察者，同时也是故事事件的驱动者。故选A项。 3. 细节理解题。根据Sherlock Holmes 部分的第三段中的“As a detective, Holmes often takes the lead in solving mysteries, but the story is told from the perspective of Dr. John H. Watson, Holmes’s loyal friend and companion. (作为一名侦探，福尔摩斯常常在解开谜团的过程中起主导作用，但故事却是从他的忠实朋友兼同伴约翰・H・华生医生的视角来讲述的)”以及The Great Gatsby by E. Scot Fitzgerald部分中的第二段中的“The story is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, a young man who has moved to Long Island in hopes of becoming a stockbroker and cashing in on the 1920s boom.(这个故事是从尼克・卡拉威的视角来讲述的。他是一个搬到长岛的年轻人，希望成为股票经纪人，并在 20 世纪 20 年代的经济繁荣中获利)”可知，文中引用两段话分别对应配角（华生和尼克）的叙述视角。Sherlock Holmes的引用体现华生对福尔摩斯的观察评价，The Great Gatsby的引用通过尼克的内心独白展现其“既融入又疏离”的旁观者身份，两段引用均旨在表明配角作为叙述者的角色特点。故选B项。 4. 主旨大意题。根据首段中的“Some famous novels show that being the side character can give us access to deeper truths and a richer appreciation of the human condition than those too busy propelling the story forward.(一些著名小说表明，相较于那些忙于推动故事发展的主角，作为配角反而能让我们触及更深刻的真相，并对人性有更丰富的认知)”可知，首段点明“配角视角比主角更能揭示深层人性”，随后以两部小说为例，说明通过配角的旁观视角可深入探讨时代背景与人性本质，选项C“从独特的旁观者视角可深入探索个人或历史时代”最能概括作者观点。故选C项。 (14) “I write to find out what I’m thinking,” wrote the great American journalist John Dos Passos. Anyone engaged in writing understands this truth: the act of writing transforms half - formed ideas into precise, logical thought. What sounds coherent (有条理的) when spoken often appears weak and illogical when committed to paper. A recent MIT study provides convincing scientific evidence for this claim. Researchers used wearable brain scanners to compare students who wrote essays independently with those using AI assistance. The findings were clear: AI-assisted writers “consistently underperformed at brain, verbal, and behavioural levels”. They demonstrated that we need to write in order to think deeply. This research emerges at a critical historical moment for literacy. Childhood reading has reached record lows, with nearly half of British adults not reading a single book last year. Adult literacy is declining or making no progress across most OECD countries. Notably, average IQs have begun to decline since the 1980s, along with reasoning and problem-solving abilities — a trend that is unlikely to be random. Walter Ong’s influential work “Orality and Literacy” clarifies why writing is essential. He argued that literacy enabled Ancient Greece’s intellectual revolution. Oral cultures must “think memorable thoughts”, relying on rhyme, emotion, and cliché (陈词滥调) to preserve knowledge. Writing, by contrast, allows for precise, complex statements that can be examined, reviewed, and developed into logical arguments. In our digital age, no technology has surpassed the complicated architecture of the book. While the internet offers fragmented (碎片化的) information, books provide rich context and sustained logical connections. Reading is an active process that demands engagement and concentration — it is essentially thinking in dialogue with the text. As our culture becomes increasingly dominated by short-form videos and attention-fragmenting content, we risk losing the capacity for complex reasoning. Reading and writing form the foundation of serious thought — a habit that unites history’s greatest minds. Before we yield our cognitive development to screens and algorithms, we must carefully consider what we might be sacrificing. 1. How does AI assistance affect writing according to the MIT study? A. It reduces deep thinking. B. It improves writing speed. C. It enhances creative expression. D. It has little impact on brain activity. 2. Why is writing essential for developing logical arguments? A. It relies on rhyme and emotion. B. It is easier to remember and repeat. C. It requires concentration and engagement. D. It enables accurate and revisable statements. 3. What is the author’s attitude towards digital media’s effect on deep thinking? A. Optimistic. B. Dismissive. C. Objective. D. Concerned. 4. Which of the following is the best title for the text? A. The Decline of Modern Literacy B. The Benefits of Reading in a Digital Age C. Writing: The Foundation of Deep Thinking D. Thinking: The Capacity for Complex Reasoning 【答案】1. A 2. D 3. D 4. C 【难度】0.65 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。主要论述写作能梳理思想、深入思考，结合研究与理论说明读写的重要性，担忧数字时代碎片化内容对复杂推理能力的影响。 1. 细节理解题。根据第二段“The findings were clear: AI-assisted writers “consistently underperformed at brain, verbal, and behavioural levels”. They demonstrated that we need to write in order to think deeply. (研究结果十分明确：借助人工智能辅助创作的作者在智力、语言能力和行为表现方面“始终表现不佳”。研究还表明，我们需要通过写作来深入思考。)”可知，人工智能辅助减少了深度思考。故选A。 2. 细节理解题。根据第四段“Writing, by contrast, allows for precise, complex statements that can be examined, reviewed, and developed into logical arguments. (相比之下，写作则能够实现精确且复杂的表述，这些表述可以被审视、回顾，并进而发展成为逻辑严密的论证。)”可知，写作对于构建逻辑论证至关重要是因为它能促成准确且可修正的表述。故选D。 3. 推理判断题。根据第六段“As our culture becomes increasingly dominated by short-form videos and attention-fragmenting content, we risk losing the capacity for complex reasoning. (随着我们的文化日益被简短的视频和分散注意力的内容所主导，我们有可能丧失进行复杂推理的能力。)”以及“Before we yield our cognitive development to screens and algorithms, we must carefully consider what we might be sacrificing. (在我们将认知发展交给屏幕和算法之前，我们必须仔细思考我们可能会失去的东西。)”可知，作者担忧碎片化内容导致人们推理能力下降，对人们的推理能力持担忧态度。故选D。 4. 主旨大意题。根据第一段“ “I write to find out what I’m thinking, ” wrote the great American journalist John Dos Passos. Anyone engaged in writing understands this truth: the act of writing transforms half - formed ideas into precise, logical thought. What sounds coherent (有条理的) when spoken often appears weak and illogical when committed to paper. (“我写作是为了弄清楚自己的想法，”美国著名记者约翰·多斯·帕索斯如是说。任何从事写作的人都明白这一真理：写作这一行为将不成熟的想法转化为清晰、有条理的思考。口头表述时听起来条理清晰的内容，写下来往往显得薄弱且缺乏逻辑性)”结合文章主要论述写作能梳理思想、深入思考，结合研究与理论说明读写的重要性，担忧数字时代碎片化内容对复杂推理能力的影响。可知，C选项“写作：深度思考的基础”最符合文章标题。故选C。 (15) While AI-driven technologies have revolutionized professional workflows and academic research in recent years, authoritative surveys reveal a disturbing loss of core qualities among young professionals — particularly in logical reasoning, independent problem-solving, and critical judgment of information. A growing number of young adults admit they depend on AI to draft proposals or confirm conclusions, so they rarely take part in the careful mental work needed to develop these basic skills. Clara Bennett and Oliver Hale, technology analysts at The Economist, analyze this contradiction in their latest feature “AI’s Convenience Trap: Trading Skill for Efficiency”. They argue that the smooth use of AI in daily work and study has created a “skill decline” phenomenon, urging societies to keep a balance between making use of technological progress and protecting necessary human abilities. Over the past decade, AI-powered writing assistants, data analysis software, and decision-support programs have spread through workplaces, universities, and even basic education. A small number of far-sighted institutions have taken action: most notably, several Ivy League universities in the US started a“Human-Centric Learning” activity in 2021,requiring that students finish core coursework without AI help, with AI only allowed for improving work after it is drafted. They stressed that AI should support not replace mental development, as passive dependence weakens in-depth learning. Similar changes have been tried in top Chinese universities, though on a small scale. Despite these separate efforts, the whole situation remains largely unchanged: AI’s efficiency benefits continue to cause uncontrolled over-reliance. Statistical data from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) shows that the percentage of young graduates unable to solve open-ended problems — those needing creative thinking rather than fixed answers — has risen sharply by 37% over the past five years. Employers in all fields complain that new workers often lack the ability to solve sudden errors or adjust to unexpected challenges, linking the gap to over-reliance on AI’s ready-made solutions. We spend billions on advancing Al to make productivity more efficient, yet we often ignore the long-term social costs. Do we fully understand what is lost when critical thinking and careful analysis are set aside for immediate technological solutions? Bennett and Hale’s opinion is well-timed: it is necessary to re-examine our relationship with AI, making sure that human potential is developed rather than reduced. 1. What phenomenon is highlighted in paragraph 1? A. The misuse of AI in academic fields. B. Young adults’ over-reliance on AI tools. C. Declining thinking capacities of young working people. D. The impact of AI-driven technologies on workflows. 2. What is the core. requirement of the “Human-Centric Learning” activity? A. Training students to use AI tools critically. B. Prioritizing human thinking over AI assistance. C. Raising the efficiency of coursework completion. D. Mastering basic operation of mainstream AI tools. 3. What can be inferred about the reforms mentioned in paragraph 3? A. They lack long-term sustainable effects. B. They proved to be effective in top universities. C. They have greatly cut down dependence on AI. D. They have not addressed the problem on a large scale. 4. Which one is the most suitable title for the text? A. AI’s Negative Influence on Us B. Decline in Problem-Solving Skills C. Some Solutions to AI Dependency D. AI Overuse Causes Core Skill Decline 【答案】1. C 2. B 3. D 4. D 【难度】0.69 【导语】这是一篇议论文。文章主要探讨了人工智能（AI）的广泛使用对年轻专业人士核心能力的影响，指出过度依赖AI导致逻辑推理、独立解决问题和信息批判性判断等能力下降，并提及了一些应对措施及其局限性。 1. 细节理解题。根据第一段“While AI-driven technologies have revolutionized professional workflows and academic research in recent years, authoritative surveys reveal a disturbing loss of core qualities among young professionals—particularly in logical reasoning, independent problem-solving, and critical judgment of information. (近年来，尽管人工智能驱动的技术彻底改变了专业工作流程和学术研究，但权威调查显示，年轻专业人士的核心素质出现了令人不安的丧失，尤其是在逻辑推理、独立解决问题和信息批判性判断方面。)”可知，第一段强调了年轻劳动者的思维能力下降。故选C。 2. 细节理解题。根据第三段“They stressed that AI should support not replace mental development, as passive dependence weakens in-depth learning.(他们强调，人工智能应该支持而不是取代思维发展，因为被动依赖会削弱深度学习。)”可知，“以人为本的学习”活动的核心要求是优先考虑人类思维而非人工智能辅助。故选B。 3. 推理判断题。根据第四段“Despite these separate efforts, the whole situation remains largely unchanged: AI’s efficiency benefits continue to cause uncontrolled over-reliance.(尽管做出了这些单独的努力，但整个情况基本上没有改变：人工智能的效率优势继续导致不受控制的过度依赖。)”可知，这些改革并没有大规模地解决问题。故选D。 4. 主旨大意题。文章主要讨论了人工智能的过度使用导致年轻专业人士的核心能力下降，如逻辑推理、独立解决问题和信息批判性判断等，并指出尽管有一些改革措施，但问题仍未得到大规模解决。因此，选项D“人工智能的过度使用导致核心技能下降”最能概括文章的主题。故选D。 试卷第1页，共3页 试卷第1页，共3页 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $ 2026届最新高考模拟三轮冲刺卷 阅读理解之 议论文专练 (1) Have you ever obeyed the suggestions of a digital writing assistant to replace a word or restructure a sentence? Before the appearance of digital tools, you’d probably have turned to a dictionary for the same assistance. Dictionaries enable us to write not with fail-safe convenience but with originality and a point of view. While AI assistants produce phrases and statements so writers don’t have to think them up, dictionaries provide us with the knowledge to use language ourselves in expressive and potentially infinite (无穷的) ways. They place choice and authority literally in human hands, forcing us to discover how we want to explain ourselves and our ideas to the world. The abundance of digital writing assistants gives greater urgency to debates about what a dictionary should be. In 1946, George Orwell described good writing as “picking out words for the sake of their meaning,” a practice that dictionaries facilitate while digital writing programs stifle. Writers consulting a dictionary make a choice, while writers guided by an app have their choices made for them. The digital-native approach delivers hands-off, derivative (衍生的) communication. The other requires leafing through pages without knowing exactly where you’ll end up. Without dictionaries to provide us with a guide to English’s potential, writing that way is nearly impossible. Our ability to express ourselves is critical — it helps us define who we are. Dictionaries aid us in achieving this: They categorize our unique ways of thinking through language. I’m a Canadian; my feeling of pride in my native land is enhanced by small verbal Canadianisms like “eaves trough” or “serviette”, which are well-documented in dictionaries but rarely used by AI chatbots, for the most part. As digital writing extends deeper into our lives and minds, we need dictionaries more than ever. Abandoning dictionaries and embracing mechanized writing would weaken our capacity for collective identity quite as much as the ability to express ourselves. 1. What might be a distinct feature of dictionaries according to the author? A. They promise fail-safe phrases. B. They possess academic authority. C. They facilitate creative writing. D. They provide ready-made expressions. 2. What does the underlined word “stifle” in paragraph 3 probably mean? A. Favor. B. Revise. C. Observe. D. Discourage. 3. Why does the author mention “eaves trough” and “serviette” in paragraph 4? A. To show how AI aids us in expressing. B. To indicate the weakness of dictionaries. C. To celebrate the diversity of Canadian English. D. To illustrate how language use affects identity. 4. What can be a suitable title for the text? A. Why Keep Your Dictionary? B. How to Deal with Digital Writing? C. Who Uses Writing Assistants? D. What to Expect from Dictionaries? (2) New scientific understanding and engineering techniques have always impressed and frightened us, and will continue to do so. Open AI recently announced that it anticipates superintelligent AI going beyond human abilities within this decade. It is accordingly building a new team, and devoting 20% of its computing resources to ensuring that the behavior of such AI systems will be aligned with (与……一致) human values. Beyond engineers and researchers, can philosophers shape AI too? Philosophy has been instrumental to AI from its early days. In 1956, the Logic Theorist, the first operational AI program, was created to prove mathematical theorems (定理), drawing on ideas from philosophers Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell. Besides, German philosopher Gottlob Frege also laid the groundwork for modern logic and computing, which helped create early AI systems. Today’s AI, based on deep learning, is associated with processing vast quantities of data. Philosophy, however, remains relevant. Take Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, which generates conversational text. At their heart, they track statistical patterns of language use. Something very much like this idea was stated by the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein: the meaning of a word is found in its use in the language. Philosophy also raises big questions about AI’s future. Can AI truly understand language or become conscious (有意识的)? Science has so far been unable to fully explain how consciousness arises. Similarly, can AI be creative? British scientist Margaret Boden believes AI can produce new ideas but struggles to evaluate them like humans do. As AI grows more powerful, aligning AI with human values is not just a technical challenge but a social one. It requires input from philosophers, social scientists, policymakers, and citizen users. British author Jamie Susskind even suggests building a “digital republic” — one that rejects the political and economic systems that excessively empower tech giants. AI is also changing philosophy itself. Computational models simulate real-world situations, aiding philosophers in tackling social questions. As AI develops, it provides new ways to explore age-old questions, ensuring philosophy remains essential in guiding our technological future. 1. What is OpenAI mainly concerned about? A. The waste of its computing resources. B. The potential risks of superintelligent AI. C. The decline of human competitive abilities. D. The high cost of super intelligence research. 2. What is the main focus of Paragraph 2? A. The technical breakthroughs in early AI. B. The philosophy’s historical contributions to AI. C. The role of mathematical theorems in AI creation. D. The collaboration between philosophers and engineers. 3. Why does the author mention Wittgenstein’s viewpoint? A. To explain the linguistic logic of LLMs. B. To argue philosophers’ superiority in AI research. C. To illustrate philosophy’s relevance to modern AI. D. To prove LLMs lack genuine language understanding. 4. Which word best defines the relationship between AI and philosophy? A. Interdependent. B. Irrelevant. C. Competitive. D. One-sided. (3) Forgetting things is a blessing, believe it or not. For proof, imagine a world where every detail you ever came across was carved indelibly in your mind. Every conversation you regret, every rejection you’ve ever felt, every time you stepped out with your zipper undone stands as clearly in your mind as what you had for breakfast last week as well as the moments that bring you the greatest joy. That is a world of utter chaos and suffering. We don’t need to stick to just our armchair-philosophizing, however. Thanks to the wonderful combinatory magic genetics pulls off at each birth, we’ve had a few individuals on Earth who are unable to forget anything. Solomon Shereshevsky, for instance, could memorize lists of arbitrary (任意的) numbers, words, and nonsense syllables with perfect recall, even decades later. At first glance, this sounds like a superpower. But Shereshevsky described it as exhausting, distracting, and emotionally unbearable. What most miss about forgetting is that it is not a design flaw (缺陷). It’s a feature. In fact, the ability to forget is fundamental to learning. It’s what gives us focus, highlights the signal through the noise, and lets the brain determine what matters most given the context we are in. Research suggests that forgetting is an active process involving brain regions like the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, which help us manage the inflow and outflow of information. Forgetting is not our memory failing on us as much as it is our memory being better used. And here is where we meet the concept of the forgetting curve (曲线). First described by Hermann Ebbinghaus in the late 19th century, the forgetting curve tracks how quickly we lose information over time without reinforcement (巩固). Within hours of learning something new, we begin to forget it. Rapidly at first, then more slowly over time. The key insight of those who have followed Ebbinghaus is that this curve is not fixed. On the contrary, it’s something we can reshape, a feature we can tune ourselves. 1. What does the underlined word “indelibly” in the first paragraph mean? A. Permanently. B. Violently. C. Chaotically. D. Effortlessly. 2. What did Shereshevsky think of his ability? A. A design flaw. B. A real blessing. C. A mental burden. D. A rare talent. 3. How does forgetting contribute to learning? A. It prevents the flow of information. B. It pushes people to review regularly. C. It activates brain regions responsible for learning. D. It allows the brain to prioritize important information. 4. What does the author suggest readers do in the last paragraph? A. Keep learning new things. B. Intervene in the forgetting process. C. Accept forgetting as a natural part of life. D. Explore a fixed pattern of the forgetting curve. (4) If you want to tell the history of the whole world, a history that does not privilege one part of humanity, you cannot do it through texts alone, because only some of the world has ever had texts, while most of the world, for most of the time, has not. Writing is one of humanity’s later achievements, and until fairly recently even many literate (有文字的) societies recorded their concerns not only in writing but in things. Ideally a history would bring together texts and objects, and some chapters of this book are able to do just that, but in many cases we simply can’t. The clearest example of this between literate and non-literate history is perhaps the first conflict, at Botany Bay, between Captain Cook’s voyage and the Australian Aboriginals. From the English side, we have scientific reports and the captain’s record of that terrible day. From the Australian side, we have only a wooden shield (盾) dropped by a man in flight after his first experience of gunshot. If we want to reconstruct what was actually going on that day, the shield must be questioned and interpreted as deeply and strictly as the written reports. In addition to the problem of miscomprehension from both sides, there are victories accidentally or deliberately twisted, especially when only the victors know how to write. Those who are on the losing side often have only their things to tell their stories. The Caribbean Taino, the Australian Aboriginals, the African people of Benin and the Incas, all of whom appear in this book, can speak to us now of their past achievements most powerfully through the objects they made: a history told through things gives them back a voice. When we consider contact (联系) between literate and non-literate societies such as these, all our first-hand accounts are necessarily twisted, only one half of a dialogue. If we are to find the other half of that conversation, we have to read not just the texts, but the objects. 1. What is the first paragraph mainly about? A. How past events should be presented. B. What humanity is concerned about. C. Whether facts speak louder than words. D. Why written language is reliable. 2. What does the author indicate by mentioning Captain Cook in paragraph 2? A. His report was scientific. B. He represented the local people. C. He ruled over Botany Bay. D. His record was one-sided. 3. What does the underlined word “conversation” in paragraph 3 refer to? A. Problem. B. History. C. Voice. D. Society. 4. Which of the following books is the text most likely selected from? A. How Maps Tell Stories of the World B. A Short History of Australia C. A History of the World in 100 Objects D. How Art Works Tell Stories (5) So, you’ve finished that dull book. You sat through the movie you paid for, super bored. Stood in a long queue for that milk tea. Paid much for the luxury handbag — expensive nonsense. What do these have in common? They’re all examples of what economists call “sunk costs (沉没成本)”: the price you’ve already paid — in time, money, effort, suffering, for an item or an experience — holds you to them. It’s a phenomenon we all recognize. It affects our behavior in ways that can be unreasonable. But we do it. To avoid the situation, economists tell us to make decisions based mainly on future value, not past investment. If the ongoing cost outweighs the expected benefit, one should cut their losses and walk away. It hurts, yes, but this cold, clear logic protects us from going broke. Yet, life is rarely so neatly calculated. This purely economic view raises difficult questions: Does the value of an experience lie only in its outcome, or also in the process? A joyful journey with an ordinary goal and a painful one aimed at a splendid achievement, which one is more worthwhile? When it comes to education, the sunk costs theory doesn’t seem applicable. Parents and teachers pour immeasurable amount of investment — love, time, hope, money — into the growth of a child. Will the child turn out the way they expect? No guarantee. If we view this through a strict cost-benefit angle, much of education can be written off as a “sunk cost.” Education is obviously different from the commercial world. A child’s growth cannot be planned like a business strategy; it unfolds like a unique and unpredictable story. We can’t dream his dreams or live his life; we can only build the stage, and light his path. In education we have to hold onto this faith: everything we do for a child is worthwhile. Every act of love is like offering light and water to a seed; while we can’t see its roots grow underground, we know it. That child will blossom (开花) some day. Not all that has cost is sunk. 1. Which of the following best describes the examples in paragraph 1? A. Boring but beneficial. B. Interesting but worthless. C. Joyful and worthwhile. D. Senseless and regrettable. 2. What do economists advise us to do to avoid sunk costs? A. Focus on the outcome. B. Ignore the future losses. C. Calculate the past cost. D. Pursue the hidden gains. 3. What is the writer’s attitude towards the investment in education? A. Indifferent. B. Favorable. C. Balanced. D. Critical. 4. Why does the author write the text? A. To promote a principle. B. To correct a misbehavior. C. To challenge a concept. D. To present a phenomenon. (6) Being an information technology, or IT, worker is not a job I envy. They are the ones expected to instantly fix a projector that stops working, even right in the middle of a critical meeting. They have to tolerate the bad mood of colleagues who are upset after calling the help desk repeatedly for the same issue. They also know there are better, more reliable and faster systems available, but their employer simply will not provide the funds to buy them. According to a recent survey, employees reliant on IT support often consider it a major source of job dissatisfaction. Through no fault of their own, they can suddenly find their productivity deteriorating (退化) or quality control non-existent. And there’s little they can do about it. The experience of using IT affects almost every aspect of the workplace. It has become a crucial part of employees’ overall work experience. When IT is operating as it should, employee self-confidence increases. Their job satisfaction, too, can surge when well-functioning machines relieve them of dull tasks or repetitive processes. But if there’s one thing that triggers widespread frustration, it’s a failed IT transformation project. In such cases, high expectations are dashed, and a long list of promised efficiencies fails to materialize. This occurs when business leaders implement IT initiatives with little consideration of how those changes will impact the end user. This is why managers should appreciate how influential the IT user experience is, and make a substantial effort to ensure their IT team fixes programming errors and application crashes. Adequate and timely IT support should also be available to help users resolve technological issues at work. More importantly, IT practitioners need to understand how employees feel when they use IT. Therefore, businesses need to design their IT infrastructure (基础设施) to fit their employees’ work, rather than force employees to work around the company’s IT limitations. 1. What makes the author say IT work is not a job he envies? A. Fixing unexpected project problems. B. Upgrading the present systems repeatedly. C. Resolving tensions among unhappy colleagues. D. Handling high-pressure tasks with poor support. 2. What is said about Information Technology’s influence on employees? A. It mainly helps the tech-skilled. B. Its negatives may outweigh positives. C. It can hurt or improve work and well-being. D. It often lowers productivity and satisfaction. 3. What should managers and businesses do to improve the IT experience? A. Make IT training available to staff. B. Tailor technology to fit human work patterns. C. Upgrade systems regardless of cost for efficiency. D. Focus first on solving urgent technical breakdowns. 4. Which would be the best title for the text? A. Employee Training in the Digital Age B. The Rising Cost of Business Technology C. Why IT Departments Need More Funding D. Human-Centered IT: A Key to Productivity (7) Nowadays, the thought that a child’s behavior can be bad — mean, greedy, selfish — is often considered unacceptable especially in the rich and democratic West. Children are treated as a unique category, almost a species apart from adults. This appears in the popular “every child is different” belief, which discourages judging or correcting children so as to honor their uniqueness. One explanation for this is the tendency to view children’s emotions as purely physiological releases of stress, beyond moral evaluation. Brain-body parenting, for instance, argues that young children lack the neural wiring for self-control and therefore should not be expected to regulate their behavior. Parents are urged not to correct wrongdoing but simply to narrate emotions — “You’re feeling very angry right now.” But human emotions are inseparable from understanding: Fear reflects a sense of threat, disappointment signals unmet expectations; jealousy implies perceiving another as a rival. Meaning shapes feeling, even in toddlers. Merely labeling a child’s anger without explaining when anger is appropriate or how it may harm others deprives them of an understanding of what they are feeling. The psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion explained in Learning from Experience (1962) that when parents interpret and respond to a baby’s behavior, they transform raw sense experiences into meaningful thoughts. Moral and emotional understanding — knowing justified anger, practicing restraint, respecting others — does not suddenly appear in adulthood. It develops gradually, long before children are able to grasp or express such ideas clearly, as parents offer forms of understanding to their children from the very beginning. As Bion put it, “just as we do not hold back from speaking to little babies because of the worry that they are unable to use words, so we should not hold back from initiating kids to our understanding of what counts as good and bad behavior.” The idea that a parent can remain neutral toward their child’s behaviour is at best naive and at worst dangerous. The deeper question parents need to ask is: Who do we want our toddlers to become? Unless we begin with a vision of the kind of person we hope to raise, we will always be chasing the latest parenting trend, or, perhaps, our child’s every mood. 1. How would parents usually respond to children’s misbehavior in the West? A. They try to categorize all their mistakes. B. They point out and punish it immediately. C. They judge it by moral standards of adults. D. They forgive it to ensure kids’ individuality. 2. What does the author think of the brain-body parenting? A. It overlooks the role of understanding in emotions. B. It is a practical solution to reduce children’s stress. C. It helps parents handle children’s negative moods. D. It highlights the biological basis of kids’ misbehavior. 3. What can we learn about moral education according to Wilfred Bion? A. Kids know nothing about moral rules. B. Language and morals develop hand in hand. C. Moral rules should be nurtured from early ages. D. Children’s abilities mature when they grow up. 4. What does the author advise parents to do in the last paragraph? A. Follow new parenting trends closely. B. Set clear aims for their child’s growth. C. Stay neutral about their child’s behavior. D. Let moods guide their parenting choices. (8) Quick: what’s your best friend’s phone number? Don’t feel bad if you couldn’t answer off the top of your head. You have no reason to commit phone numbers to memory: it’s just there in your phone. Or perhaps you once had a phone book to store them. In either case, an object does the remembering for you. “Prosthetic memory” (人工记忆) is nothing new. Writing itself has been a means of storing information. Yet the information revolution has generated more data than ever before. We are flooded with information. We’re creating more of it, and keeping more of it. The storage capacity of the human brain has since been eclipsed. No wonder, then, that we’re increasingly dependent on memory prostheses, from libraries to smartphones. Not everyone thinks this trend in external memory is good. Historically, memory prostheses were expensive. As technologies such as printing and photography become more affordable, sharing experiences with others is easier than ever. So every breakfast, every sunset, every encounter with a cat finds its way on to social media. And here comes the worry. When we devote ourselves to capturing and sharing the world in this way, something immensely valuable is lost; when recording so much of our lives, we’re forgetting to actually live them, and so disconnect ourselves from experience. But is our social media-driven transformation wholly bad? If we’re still creating and sharing memories like this, perhaps this is because we’ve not had sufficient time to learn how to do these things without thinking about what we’re doing. It is easy to ignore that the mass social media era is less than a decade old. That’s just a short blink (眨眼) in human history, yet it has totally changed how we live. I suspect we’re not far off from being directly faced with experience yet with the ability to share experience in ways less bounded by geography and time. After all, technology can protect all the moments of a life that would otherwise be lost. 1. What can be inferred from paragraph 1? A. Technology weakens our brains. B. We are burdened with phone numbers. C. We rely more on tools to memorize. D. Technology distances us from our friends. 2. What does the underlined word “eclipsed” in paragraph 2 mean? A. Improved. B. Undervalued. C. Restricted. D. Outperformed. 3. What negative effect does online sharing bring about? A. An overflow of posts. B. High cost of digital devices. C. Addiction to the virtual world. D. Disregard for authentic experience. 4. What does the author advise us to do in the last paragraph? A. Have faith in human brains. B. Take time to adapt to digital age. C. Quicken the pace of development. D. Make efforts to enhance memory. (9) The Stanford marshmallow (棉花糖) test was originally conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in the late 1960s. Children aged four to six at a nursery school were placed in a room. A single sugary treat, selected by the child, was placed on a table. Each child was told if they waited for 15 minutes before eating the treat, they would be given a second treat. Then they were left alone in the room. Follow-up studies with the children later in life showed a connection between an ability to wait long enough to obtain a second treat and various forms of success. As adults we face a version of the marshmallow test every day. We’re not tempted (诱惑) by sugary treats, but by our computers, phones, and tablets — all the devices that connect us to the global delivery system for various types of information that do to us what marshmallows do to preschoolers. We are tempted by sugary treats because our ancestors lived in a calorie-poor world, and our brains developed a response mechanism to these treats that reflected their value — a feeling of reward and satisfaction. But as we’ve reshaped the world around us, dramatically reducing the cost and effort involved in obtaining calories, we still have the same brains we had thousands of years ago, and this mismatch is at the heart of why so many of us struggle to resist tempting foods that we know we shouldn’t eat. A similar process is at work in our response to information. Our formative environment as a species was information-poor, so our brains developed a mechanism that prized new information. But global connectivity has greatly changed our information environment. We are now ceaselessly bombarded (轰炸) with new information. Therefore, just as we need to be more thoughtful about our caloric consumption, we also need to be more thoughtful about our information consumption, resisting the temptation of the mental “junk food” in order to manage our time most effectively. 1. What was the key for children to get a second treat in the Stanford test? A. Selecting their favorite sugary snack. B. Remaining alone in the room for 15 minutes. C. Resisting the immediate desire to eat the first one. D. Following the instructions given by the psychologist. 2. What does the author imply by “a version of the marshmallow test” for adults? A. Adults are tested with digital devices instead of treats. B. Adults face more complex temptations than children. C. Adults must also delay contentment in the digital age. D. Adults are assessed on the ability to share information. 3. According to the text, what is the root cause of people’s struggle against temptation? A. The lack of self-discipline in our contemporary society. B. The mismatch between our ancient brains and modern environment. C. The overabundance of calorie-rich foods in the market. D. The constant bombardment of new information from digital devices. 4. Which of the following is the best title for the text? A. The Marshmallow Test: Lessons for Modern Life B. Delaying Satisfaction: A Key to Success C. Why Our Brains Struggle in the Modern World D. How to Manage Information Consumption (10) In Victorian Britain, Londoners could receive up to 12 postal deliveries a day. Daily communications could begin with a morning invitation to dinner, continue with a midday argument, and conclude with a compromise—all before nightfall. We often imagine predigital era similar to ours now but without our digital distractions, but it was not so. With letters flooding in, an ever-filling doormat might easily overwhelm even a gentleman. Distraction is claimed to be the cognitive crisis of the digital age. In a recent Atlantic article “The elite college students who can’t read books”, Rose Horowitch reports that students now struggle to focus on even a sonnet (十四行诗). Many U.S. schools have replaced classic literature with shorter passages to prioritize workplace-relevant skills But might historical context reframe these worries? Would it help those who lament our growing inability to sit attentively through a classical music concert to know that the 18th-century symphony was not designed with the expectation of an attentive audience? Horowitch notes we might not see so much a decline in engaging with long texts as shifts in what is consumed and how: “Students see reading books as similar to listening to vinyl records — something that a small subculture may still enjoy, but that’s mostly a relic of an earlier time.” Meanwhile, audiobooks thrive. “Students can read…they just choose not to.” Might what we identify as an attention crisis be in part a shift in priorities? This isn’t to dismiss valid concerns. We must reconsider what types of attention we value. Intense focus can make us miss the obvious. A more diffused (分散的) focus might foster different cognitive skills. Is it possible younger generations are developing new, valuable modes of attention? While real problems exist in today’s attention economies, history invites flexibility in how we engage with long-form culture. New practices of attention may bring social and individual good. 1. Why does the author mention Victorian letter writing? A. To criticize modern communication. B. To show distraction existed in history. C. To demonstrate writing’s importance. D. To compare different postal systems. 2. What does the underlined word “lament” in paragraph 3 mean? A. Applaud. B. Regret. C. Measure. D. Encourage. 3. According to paragraph 4, what does Horowitch think of the attention crisis? A. It is a cultural decline. B. It is a novel phenomenon. C. It is a change in preference. D. It is a problem without solutions. 4. What is the author’s view on attention? A. Traditional reading is outdated. B. Digital skills will replace old methods. C. Diverse attention modes are needed. D. Attention spans are damaged. (11) Most of us were raised to think that smart people always know the right answers. From gold stars in school to performance reviews in the office, we’re rewarded for certainty. Yet as Bidhan Parmar, professor at the UVA Darden School of Business, argues in his new book, Radical Doubt, “Certainty somehow blinds us. The only thing that spoon-feeding teaches us is the shape of a spoon”. His point is unsettling: The very habits we rely on to feel smart — rushing toward the final goals, simplifying complex problems, sugar-coating our initial reactions — are the ones that keep us from making wise choices. The hardest problems we face in life, whether in careers, relationships, or society, rarely come with single right answers. They’re what Parmar calls “moments of unease”: multi-criteria choices that involve competing goals, high risks, and deep uncertainty. The old playbook of being a “right-answer getter” not only fails here, but backfires. As Parmar explains, “We often treat complex problems like simple ones until we are faced with the reality.” Our personal and professional environments are more uncertain than ever. Technology evolves faster than regulation, workplaces are more diverse, and social standards are shifting. I’ve watched firsthand that seasoned leaders ignore warning signs because they were addicted to “feeling right.” They simplified the situation when they should have paused or explored, and missed the opportunity that doubt was pointing them toward. Our brains run on interconnected systems: the Pursue system (seek rewards), the Protect system (avoid threats), and the Pause-and-Piece-Together system (engage doubt and reframe). Prior evidence-based studies report that most of us let the first two dominate, charging ahead or withdrawing in fear. Grounded in behavioral science, the wiser move is to take enough time to notice complexity, question assumptions, and treat our intuition (直觉) not as the only decision but as an alternative. In practice, this means holding competing goals side by side, and learning to say not “I know,” but “I’m learning.” 1. What is implied by mentioning the spoon-feeding? A. Certainty might ruin decision-making. B. Average people can learn few facts. C. Smart habits secure positive outcomes. D. Simple tools secretly boost creativity. 2. Which might be a “moment of unease”? A. Profiting from stable investments with spare funds. B. Trying to find a job overseas when a parent falls ill. C. Treating difficult problems with one’s first intuition. D. Continuing to develop in one’s familiar research field. 3. What can make leaders fail according to the author? A. Shifting standards. B. Lacking experience. C. Ignoring principles. D. Overlooking doubts. 4. What is mainly talked about in the last paragraph? A. Intuition types and brain functions. B. Initial doubts and competing goals. C. Brain systems and connection forms. D. Scientific theories and workable tips. (12) When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to escape from Ramsgate, the harbor town where I grew up on the Isle of Thanet. It could feel small: the same faces in the same places, and where a new café or gallery was often met with doubt. There was this apparent insistence that life was fine as it was. But for a teenager itching to see more, that lack of curiosity was disheartening. So I left. I headed north for a four-year academic journey from York to Durham. After university, having played at newspapers, I made the move to London to do it for real. But the reality was tough. I struggled to contribute to various dailies before periods on staff at both magazines and newspapers. In my twenties, I threw myself into city life: sampling Mediterranean restaurants, navigating around on the Tube, and staying out late with friends. For a while, it was enough. Then it became too much. In and among the sharing plates, I found myself on an unending rat race of moving faster and needing to earn more — just to keep up. Rents in London were pressing, apartments were tiny, yet the dream of owning one felt like a cruel joke. As I got older, trips back to Thanet opened my eyes to what I had left behind. Mainly, it was the sea. Wide yellow sands and even the touch of salt in the air, ordinary in childhood, suddenly felt appealing. But I also started to miss the beat of small-town life: waving to people on the street, noticing whose garden was overgrown, finding charm even in the pubs I had once dismissed. What’s more, where I’d once hurried to leave, others are now rushing to arrive. Artists, creatives, and technologists have been priced out of London and are pouring to Thanet, bringing new ideas and drive. Now, when I head back home, I feel a mixture of pride and mild wonder: the place I once thought I’d outgrown has had a facelift I wasn’t expecting. I’ll keep returning to Thanet, with eager willingness. Each visit reminds me that places, like people, can grow without losing their essence. I’ve come to love Thanet as more than just the home I left; it is now the place it continues to become. 1. Why did the author want to leave Ramsgate? A. It offered few job opportunities. B. It lacked modern entertainment. C. It stuck to values he disagreed with. D. It failed to satisfy his desire to explore. 2. Which of the following best summarizes the author’s life in London? A. Rich in possibilities. B. Socially diverse. C. Filled with challenges. D. Financially stressful. 3. What can we learn about the author’s bond with Thanet over time? A. It remains stable and strong. B. It is influenced by public opinions. C. It shifts from rejection to reconnection. D. It is shaped by his childhood experience. 4. What can be a suitable title for the text? A. The Sea in Memory B. Four Years Up North C. The Hometown Out of Reach D. A Growing Place, a Growing Me (13) Some famous novels show that being the side character can give us access to deeper truths and a richer appreciation of the human condition than those too busy propelling the story forward. Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle “He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. He is only wanting in knowledge.” There is little doubt that Sherlock Holmes is the most famous detective in literature. Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories now exist in over 70 languages, and Holmes is the most portrayed literary character in film and television history. As a detective, Holmes often takes the lead in solving mysteries, but the story is told from the perspective of Dr. John H. Watson, Holmes’s loyal friend and companion. There are many advantages to this. First, Holmes is odd and tends to focus on minor details. Telling a short story from his perspective would make it anything but short. Dr. Watson translates Holmes’s oddity into something less tiring for the reader. On a literary level, having the story told by the companion helps keep the reader in suspense. If we had access to everything Holmes knew, the game would be over before it was happening. By seeing the Victorian world through Watson’s eyes, not only are we provided a picture that non-detectives can comprehend, but we get to enjoy Sherlock’s exciting adventures spoiler-free. The Great Gatsby by E. Scot Fitzgerald “Yet high over the city, our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets, and I was him too, looking up and wondering. I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” E. Scott Fitzgerald’s best-known work is a meditation on class in the supposedly egalitarian (平等主义) United States, the excesses of the 1920s, and how horrible it can be when the American Dream comes true. The story is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, a young man who has moved to Long Island in hopes of becoming a stockbroker and cashing in on the 1920s boom. As the title suggests, the real hero of the story is his mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby. The difficulty of the story centers on Gatsby’s attempts to pursue Nick’s married cousin Daisy, his dreams of reliving the past, and his efforts to climb into the upper-class of American society. Nick, who is an unreliable narrator, is present for many of the main events in the story. However, as hinted at in the above quote, he considers himself an observer rather than a driver of those events. This allows us to get an outside view of the situation from somebody who admits he doesn’t entirely fit into the world he’s participating in while still being an intimate companion of those who do. The resulting commentary on the life of the American upper crust (症结) has been debated for a century. 1. If written from the perspective of Sherlock Holmes instead of Dr. John Watson, the book Sherlock Holmes would be ________. A. short and to the point B. incomprehensible and long C. full of spoiler and suspense D. interesting but too professional 2. What can be inferred from The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald? A. Nick Carraway is not just as observer but a driver of the story events. B. The real mysterious hero behind the title of the novel is Nick Garraway. C. Readers will know more about the American upper class from the perspective of  Jay Gatsby. D. The unreliable narrator prevents the reader from grasping the harms of pursuing the American Dream. 3. Quotes from Sherlock Holmes and The Great Gatsby given below the title respectively in order to ________. A. stick to the traditional pattern of a famous novel B. indicate the side character’s role as the narrator C. remind readers of the theme and plot of the novels D. explain the main character’s neglect of deep truths 4. What’s the message the author of the passage wants to convey through the two books mentioned? A. Classical novels must have quotes that have enduring power among readers. B. Stories told from the most important character’s perspective are still the mainstream. C. Individual, or historical eras can be deeply explored from a unique sideline perspective. D. Side characters in novels are usually dismissed as unimportant and can’t get their name in the title. (14) “I write to find out what I’m thinking, ” wrote the great American journalist John Dos Passos. Anyone engaged in writing understands this truth: the act of writing transforms half - formed ideas into precise, logical thought. What sounds coherent (有条理的) when spoken often appears weak and illogical when committed to paper. A recent MIT study provides convincing scientific evidence for this claim. Researchers used wearable brain scanners to compare students who wrote essays independently with those using AI assistance. The findings were clear: AI-assisted writers “consistently underperformed at brain, verbal, and behavioural levels”. They demonstrated that we need to write in order to think deeply. This research emerges at a critical historical moment for literacy. Childhood reading has reached record lows, with nearly half of British adults not reading a single book last year. Adult literacy is declining or making no progress across most OECD countries. Notably, average IQs have begun to decline since the 1980s, along with reasoning and problem-solving abilities — a trend that is unlikely to be random. Walter Ong’s influential work “Orality and Literacy” clarifies why writing is essential. He argued that literacy enabled Ancient Greece’s intellectual revolution. Oral cultures must “think memorable thoughts”, relying on rhyme, emotion, and cliché (陈词滥调) to preserve knowledge. Writing, by contrast, allows for precise, complex statements that can be examined, reviewed, and developed into logical arguments. In our digital age, no technology has surpassed the complicated architecture of the book. While the internet offers fragmented (碎片化的) information, books provide rich context and sustained logical connections. Reading is an active process that demands engagement and concentration — it is essentially thinking in dialogue with the text. As our culture becomes increasingly dominated by short-form videos and attention-fragmenting content, we risk losing the capacity for complex reasoning. Reading and writing form the foundation of serious thought — a habit that unites history’s greatest minds. Before we yield our cognitive development to screens and algorithms, we must carefully consider what we might be sacrificing. 1. How does AI assistance affect writing according to the MIT study? A. It reduces deep thinking. B. It improves writing speed. C. It enhances creative expression. D. It has little impact on brain activity. 2. Why is writing essential for developing logical arguments? A. It relies on rhyme and emotion. B. It is easier to remember and repeat. C. It requires concentration and engagement. D. It enables accurate and revisable statements. 3. What is the author’s attitude towards digital media’s effect on deep thinking? A. Optimistic. B. Dismissive. C. Objective. D. Concerned. 4. Which of the following is the best title for the text? A. The Decline of Modern Literacy B. The Benefits of Reading in a Digital Age C. Writing: The Foundation of Deep Thinking D. Thinking: The Capacity for Complex Reasoning (15) While AI-driven technologies have revolutionized professional workflows and academic research in recent years, authoritative surveys reveal a disturbing loss of core qualities among young professionals — particularly in logical reasoning, independent problem-solving, and critical judgment of information. A growing number of young adults admit they depend on AI to draft proposals or confirm conclusions, so they rarely take part in the careful mental work needed to develop these basic skills. Clara Bennett and Oliver Hale, technology analysts at The Economist, analyze this contradiction in their latest feature “AI’s Convenience Trap: Trading Skill for Efficiency”. They argue that the smooth use of AI in daily work and study has created a “skill decline” phenomenon, urging societies to keep a balance between making use of technological progress and protecting necessary human abilities. Over the past decade, AI-powered writing assistants, data analysis software, and decision-support programs have spread through workplaces, universities, and even basic education. A small number of far-sighted institutions have taken action: most notably, several Ivy League universities in the US started a“Human-Centric Learning” activity in 2021,requiring that students finish core coursework without AI help, with AI only allowed for improving work after it is drafted. They stressed that AI should support not replace mental development, as passive dependence weakens in-depth learning. Similar changes have been tried in top Chinese universities, though on a small scale. Despite these separate efforts, the whole situation remains largely unchanged: AI’s efficiency benefits continue to cause uncontrolled over-reliance. Statistical data from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) shows that the percentage of young graduates unable to solve open-ended problems — those needing creative thinking rather than fixed answers — has risen sharply by 37% over the past five years. Employers in all fields complain that new workers often lack the ability to solve sudden errors or adjust to unexpected challenges, linking the gap to over-reliance on AI’s ready-made solutions. We spend billions on advancing Al to make productivity more efficient, yet we often ignore the long-term social costs. Do we fully understand what is lost when critical thinking and careful analysis are set aside for immediate technological solutions? Bennett and Hale’s opinion is well-timed: it is necessary to re-examine our relationship with AI, making sure that human potential is developed rather than reduced. 1. What phenomenon is highlighted in paragraph 1? A. The misuse of AI in academic fields. B. Young adults’ over-reliance on AI tools. C. Declining thinking capacities of young working people. D. The impact of AI-driven technologies on workflows. 2. What is the core. requirement of the “Human-Centric Learning” activity? A. Training students to use AI tools critically. B. Prioritizing human thinking over AI assistance. C. Raising the efficiency of coursework completion. D. Mastering basic operation of mainstream AI tools. 3. What can be inferred about the reforms mentioned in paragraph 3? A. They lack long-term sustainable effects. B. They proved to be effective in top universities. C. They have greatly cut down dependence on AI. D. They have not addressed the problem on a large scale. 4. Which one is the most suitable title for the text? A. AI’s Negative Influence on Us B. Decline in Problem-Solving Skills C. Some Solutions to AI Dependency D. AI Overuse Causes Core Skill Decline 试卷第1页，共3页 试卷第1页，共3页 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $