Americans today don’t place a very high value on intellect. Our heroes are athletes, entertainers, and entrepreneurs, not scholars. Even our schools are where we send our children to get a practical education — not to pursue Knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Symptoms of pervasive anti-intellectualism in our schools aren’t difficult to find.
“Schools have always been in a society where practical is more important than intellectual;” says education writer Diane Ravitch. “Schools could be a counterbalance—’’ Ravitch’s latest book, Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms, traces the roots of intellectualism in our schools, concluding they are anything but a counterbalance to the American distaste for intellectual pursuits.
But they could and should be. Encouraging kids to reject the life of the mind leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and control. Without the ability to think critically, to defend their ideas and understand the ideas of others, they cannot fully participate in our democracy. Continuing along this path, says writer Earl Sherries; “We will become a second-rate country. We will have a less civil society.”
“Intellect is resented as a form of power or privilege,” writes historian and Professor Richard Hofstadter in Anti-intellectualism in American life, a Pulitzer Prize winning book on the roots of anti-intellectualism in US politics, religion, and education. From the beginning of our history says Hofstadter, our democratic and populist urge have driven us to reject anything that smells of elitism. Practicality, common sense, and native intelligence have been considered more noble qualities than anything you could learn from a book.
Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Transcendentalist philosophers thought schooling and rigorous book learning put unnatural restraints on children: “We are shut up in schools and college recitation rooms for 10 or 15 years and come out at last with a bellyful of words and do not know a thing.” Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn exemplified American anti-intellectualism. Its hero avoids being civilized — going to school and learning to read — so he can preserve his innate goodness.
Intellect, according to Hofstadter, is different from native intelligence, a quality we reluctantly admire. Intellect is the critical, creative, and contemplative side of the mind. Intelligence seeks to grasp, manipulate, re-order, and adjust, while intellect examines, ponders, wonders, theorizes, criticizes and imagines.
School remains a place where intellect is mistrusted. Hofstadter says our country’s educational system is in the grips of people who “joyfully and militantly proclaim their hostility to intellect and their eagerness to identify with children who show the least intellectual promise.”
36. What do American parents expect their children to acquire in school?
37. We can learn from the text that Americans have a history of（ ）.
38. The views of Ravitch and Emerson on schooling are（ ）.
39. Emerson, according to the text, is probably（ ）.
40. What does the author think of intellect?
问题1选项
A.The habit of thinking independently.
B.Profound knowledge of the world.
C.Practical abilities for future career.
D.The confidence in intellectual pursuits.
问题2选项
A.undervaluing intellect
B.favoring intellectualism
C.supporting school reform
D.suppressing native intelligence
问题3选项
A.identical
B.similar
C.complementary
D.opposite
问题4选项
A.A pioneer of education reform
B.An opponent of intellectualism
C.A scholar in favor of intellect
D.An advocate of regular schooling
问题5选项
A.It is second to intelligence.
B.It evolves from common sense.
C.It is to be pursued.
D.It underlies power.
第1题:C
第2题:A
第3题:D
第4题:B
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
What do American parents expect their children to acquire in school? 美国家长希望孩子在学校学到什么？
A. The habit of thinking independently. A. 独立思考的习惯。
B. Profound knowledge of the world. B. 世界的深奥知识。
C. Practical abilities for future career. C. 未来职业的实践能力。
D. The confidence in intellectual pursuits. D. 追求知识的信心。
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】第一段讲“今天的美国人并不重视学识（don’t place a very high value on intellect）。我们的英雄是运动员、艺人和企业家，而不是学者。甚至我们的学校也是我们送孩子去接受实用教育的地方（schools are where we send our children to get a practical education），而不是为了知识而追求知识的地方（not to pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge）。”由此可知，孩子上学的目的是为了获得实用的教育，C选项“未来职业的实践能力”符合实用的目的，故C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“独立思考的习惯”文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
B选项“世界的深奥知识”与原文本意恰恰相反，家长希望的是更实际些的东西，而不是真正的知识，属于反向干扰；
D选项“追求知识的信心”文中只提到了追求知识，而没有提到所谓追求知识的自信，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
We can learn from the text that Americans have a history of ____. 从文中我们可以了解到，美国人历来____。
A. undervaluing intellect A. 低估学识
B. favoring intellectualism B. 支持学识至上论
C. supporting school reform C. 支持学校改革
D. suppressing native intelligence D. 压制天生的智力
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】文章第一段首先指出，美国人不注重智慧；第二段最后一句提到“得出的结论是，学校根本无法平衡美国人对知识追求的厌恶（the American distaste for intellectual pursuits）。”第四段也提到“历史学家Richard Hofstadter教授在《美国生活中的反智主义》一书中写道：‘学识被视为一种权力或特权而遭到憎恨。’这本书曾获得普利策奖，讲述了反智主义（Anti-intellectualism）在美国政治、宗教和教育中的根源。……实用性、常识和天生的智力被认为是比从书本上学到的任何东西都要高贵的品质（Practicality, common sense, and native intelligence have been considered more noble qualities than anything you could learn from a book）。”综上可知，美国人历来是不看重学识的，而重视实用技能，故A选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“支持学识至上论”与文章本意恰恰相反，属于反向干扰；
C选项“支持学校改革”不符合文章内容，根据原文可知，作者认为学校需要改革，所以这是作者的观点，并不是所有美国人的观点，属于曲解原文；
D选项“压制天生的智力”在文中找不到任何线索，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The views of Ravitch and Emerson on schooling are ____. Ravitch和Emerson对学校教育的观点是____。
A. identical A. 相同的
B. similar B. 相似的
C. complementary C. 互补的
D. opposite D. 相反的
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】解答此题我们先要弄清楚Ravitch和Emerson对学校教育持什么样的观点，然后再进行比较。Ravitch的观点可定位到第二段，该段讲“教育作家Diane Ravitch说：‘在一个实用性比知识性更重要的社会里，学校一直都是如此。学校可以起到制衡作用’。Ravitch最新著作《落后：一世纪失败的学校改革》一书追溯了学校中知识主义的根源，得出的结论是，学校根本无法平衡美国人对知识追求的厌恶（they are anything but a counterbalance to the American distaste for intellectual pursuits）。”根据“they are anything but a counterbalance to the American distaste for intellectual pursuits”可推断，Ravitch批评学校没有起到抵制美国人对学识追求的厌恶的作用，即认为学校应该追求学识。而Emerson的观点可定位到第五段，该段提到“Ralph Waldo Emerson和其他超验主义哲学家认为，学校教育和严格的书本知识给孩子们带来了不自然的束缚：‘我们被关在学校和大学的背诵室里10年或15年，最后带着满肚子的单词出来，却什么都不知道’。”从本段可看出，Emerson认为学校压制人的天性，追求学识的学校是不正确的。综上可知，两人对学校教育的观点是相反的，D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、C选项均不符合原文内容，属于曲解原文。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Emerson, according to the text, is probably ____. 根据文章内容，Emerson可能是____。
A. a pioneer of education reform A. 教育改革的先驱
B. an opponent of intellectualism B. 学识主义的反对者
C. a scholar in favor of intellect C. 赞同学识的学者
D. an advocate of regular schooling D. 正规学校教育的倡导者
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据“Emerson”定位到第五段，该段提到“Ralph Waldo Emerson和其他超验主义哲学家认为，学校教育和严格的书本知识给孩子们带来了不自然的束缚：‘我们被关在学校和大学的背诵室里10年或15年，最后带着满肚子的单词出来，却什么都不知道’。”从本段可看出，Emerson认为学校压制人的天性，追求学识的学校是不正确的，故B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“教育改革的先驱”原文只是提到Emerson是不赞同传统的学识教育的，并没有说他是“教育改革的先驱”，属于过度推断；
C、D选项正好与原文意思相反，Emerson不赞同学识教育，不可能是正规学校教育的倡导者，属于反向干扰。
第5题:
【选项释义】
What does the author think of intellect? 作者如何看待才识？
A. It is second to intelligence. A. 它仅次于智力。
B. It evolves from common sense. B. 从常识发展而来。
C. It is to be pursued. C. 它是需要追求的。
D. It underlies power. D. 它是权力的基础。
【考查点】观点态度题
【解题思路】文章第一段作者描述了美国人实用教育而不看重“intellect”的现象；第二段作者引用Diane Ravitch的观点来说明“学校根本无法平衡美国人对知识追求的厌恶”；第三段作者提出了自己的看法：“鼓励孩子们拒绝思想生活，会让他们容易受到剥削和控制。如果没有批判性思维、捍卫自己的观点和理解他人观点的能力，他们就无法充分参与我们的民主。”由此可知，作者对“intellect”的培养是赞同的，即作者支持追求“intellect”，故C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“它仅次于智力”文章并没有将智力与学识做关于重要性的比较，属于无中生有；
B、D选项文章均没有提及，属于无中生有。
