For reasons yet to be fully understood, one out of ten human beings in the world is left-handed, and from one generation to the next, this ratio is roughly preserved. As we know, left-handedness cuts across socioeconomic, ethnic, and gender lines. Yet throughout history prominent figures in science—to say nothing of religion—have identified in left-handedness signs of viciousness or worse. In 1903, Italian physician Cesare Lombroso identified left-handedness as one of the degeneracy signs of the born criminals. Three years later, Dr. Wilhelm Fliess suggested that left-handedness was a reliable identification of homosexuality. And in 1937 British psychologist Cyril Burt declared left-handedness to be a mark of an ill-organized nervous system.
As demonstrated by all the “therapeutic” coercion that left-handed children were subjected to during the first half of the 20th century, these biases had more than just a theoretical impact. Yet even when this gauche predilection was being discouraged, handism was certainly never taken as seriously as racism or sexism now is. Perhaps it’s the arbitrary nature of the trait that has militated against meaningful discrimination. After all, even when both parents are right-handed, there is still a 10 percent chance that they will bring a left-handed baby into the world. Moreover, a white baby born in Scaresdale is just as likely to be left-handed as a black baby in Hardem. Hence when the left-handed George Bush became President of the United States, it was hardly interpreted as a blow against prejudice. Nor was much attention paid to the fact that Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford were also southpaws.
36. Left-handedness is ______.
37. According to the passage, left-handedness ______.
38. The word “handism” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ______.
39. The word “southpaws” at the end of the passage means ______.
40. Judging from the context, Scaresdale is a place inhabited by ______.
问题1选项
A.a thing that is cultivated
B.a thing that occurs by pure chance
C.a thing of genetic inheritance
D.a thing that occurs more in prominent figures
问题2选项
A.is discouraged but not discriminated against
B.has caused discrimination as serious as sexism and racism
C.is a subject that has drawn more and more attention
D.is an advantage in running for public office
问题3选项
A.being skillful with one’s hands
B.quality of being convenient
C.discrimination against left-handed people
D.encouragement to use both hands instead of one
问题4选项
A.a boxer from the south
B.a politician from a southern state
C.a person with extraordinarily large hands
D.a left-handed person
问题5选项
A.white people
B.black people
C.mixed races
D.rich people
第1题:B
第2题:A
第3题:C
第4题:D
第5题:A
第1题:
36.【选项释义】
36. Left-handedness is ______. 36. 左撇子是______。
A. a thing that is cultivated A. 需要后天培养的
B. a thing that occurs by pure chance B. 一种纯属偶然的现象
C. a thing of genetic inheritance C. 一种遗传现象
D. a thing that occurs more in prominent figures D. 多出现在杰出人物身上
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据第二段第三和第四句“也许是这种特征的随意性（arbitrary nature）阻碍了有意义的歧视。毕竟，即使父母都是右撇子，他们生下左撇子婴儿的几率仍有10%。”，理解可知，左撇子并不受遗传影响，从arbitrary nature（随意性）可以看出，左撇子是偶然发生的。故该题选择B项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“需要后天培养的”从原文可知，左撇子是天生的，该项反向干扰；
C选项“一种遗传现象”也与原文相反，反向干扰；
D选项“多出现在杰出人物身上”从第一段第二句“我们知道，左撇子跨越了社会经济、种族和性别的界限”可以看出，左撇子在所有的社会、人种和性别中都有，并不是在杰出人物中更多，所以该项曲解原文。
第2题:
37.【选项释义】
37. According to the passage, left-handedness ______. 37. 根据文章，左撇子______。
A. is discouraged but not discriminated against A. 是不被鼓励的，但不是被歧视的
B. has caused discrimination as serious as sexism and racism B. 已经造成了像性别歧视和种族歧视一样严重的歧视
C. is a subject that has drawn more and more attention C. 是一个越来越受到关注的话题
D. is an advantage in running for public office D. 是竞选公职的一个优势
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】从第二段中的第二和第三句“然而，即使这种笨拙的偏好被劝阻时，它从来没有像现在的种族主义或性别歧视那样被严肃对待。也许是这种特征的随意性阻碍了有意义的歧视。”，从中可知，左撇子并没有受到歧视，只是生活中有些气馁。所以A选项“是不被鼓励的，但不是被歧视的”符合题干。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“已经造成了像性别歧视和种族歧视一样严重的歧视”和C选项“是一个越来越受到关注的话题”与原文表述并不符合，曲解原文；
D选项“是竞选公职的一个优势”文中未提及，无中生有。
第3题:
38.【选项释义】
38. The word “handism” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ______. 38. 第二段中的“handism”一词很可能是______的意思。
A. being skillful with one’s hands A. 双手灵巧
B. quality of being convenient B. 方便的特点
C. discrimination against left-handed people C. 对左撇子的歧视
D. encouragement to use both hands instead of one D. 鼓励人们用两只手而不是一只手
【考查点】词义推测题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到第二段第二句“handism从来没有像现在的种族主义或性别歧视那样被严肃对待（handism was certainly never taken as seriously as racism or sexism）”，从中可知handism是与racism和sexism类似的构词法，而racism和sexism都是表示歧视的意思，所以推测handism也表示“对使用左手的歧视”。C项正确。
【干扰项排除】A选项“双手灵巧”、B选项“方便的特点”和D选项“鼓励人们用两只手而不是一只手”都与原文不符，无中生有。
第4题:
39.【选项释义】
39. The word “southpaws” at the end of the passage means ______. 39. 文章最后的单词“southpaws”的意思是______。
A. a boxer from the south A. 来自南方的拳击手
B. a politician from a southern state B. 一位来自南部州的政治家
C. a person with extraordinarily large hands C. 手特别大的人
D. a left-handed person D. 一个左撇子的人
【考查点】词义推测题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位至文章最后一句“罗纳德•里根和杰拉尔德•福特也是（were also）southpaws，这一点也没有引起太多关注”，从were also可以看出，这一句是上一句的承接句，表示和上一句相同的意思；根据上一句内容“因此，当左撇子（left-handed）乔治•布什成为美国总统时，很难被理解为是对偏见的打击”，综合理解可知，southpaws是left-handed的意思。因此，该题选择D项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“来自南方的拳击手”和C选项“手特别大的人”文中没有提及，无中生有；
B选项“一位来自南部州的政治家”对原文表述不符，曲解原文。
第5题:
40.【选项释义】
40. Judging from the context, Scaresdale is a place inhabited by ______. 40. 从文章来看，斯卡斯代尔是______居住的地方。
A. white people A. 白人
B. black people B. 黑人
C. mixed races C. 混合种族
D. rich people D. 富人
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据关键词Scaresdale定位到第二段倒数第三句“此外，出生在斯卡斯代尔的白人婴儿和出生在哈德姆的黑人婴儿一样，都有可能是左撇子”，从中可知，斯卡斯代尔是白人居住的地方，而哈德姆是黑人居住的地方。因此，该题选择A项正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“黑人”是居住在哈德姆，而不是斯卡斯代尔，张冠李戴；
C选项“混合种族”和D选项“富人”没提及，无中生有。
