People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviors are formed. It is not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive.
Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of questions. They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behaviors. There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from one another, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory. The controversy is often referred to as “nature/nurture”.
Those who support the “nature” side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors. That our environment has little if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behavior is central to this theory. Taken to an extreme, this theory maintains that our behavior is predetermined to such a degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts.
Proponents of the “nurture” theory, or as they are often called, behaviorists, claimed that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act. A behaviorist B.F. Skinner sees humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. The behaviorists’ view of the human being is quite mechanistic, they maintain that, like machines, humans respond to environmental stimuli as the basis of their behavior.
Neither of these theories can yet fully explain human behavior. In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain.
1. Which of the following statements would supporters of the “nature” theory agree with?
2. Which of the following statements would proponents of the “nurture” theory agree with?
3. B.F. Skinner ______.
4. Concerning the nature/nurture controversy, the writer of this article ______.
5. In the U.S, black people often score people on intelligence tests. With this in mind, which one of the following statements is not true?
问题1选项
A.A person’s instincts have little effect on his actions.
B.Environment is important in determining a person’s behavior and personality.
C.Biological reasons have a strong influence on how we act.
D.The behaviorists’ view correctly explains how we act.
问题2选项
A.Environment has little to do with behavior.
B.Behaviorist theory is not correct.
C.Biologically based instincts are important in how we act.
D.A persons’ character is greatly influenced by his environment.
问题3选项
A.supports the nature theory
B.thinks the environment plays an important role in determining character
C.believes instincts govern behavior
D.believes in the importance of genes in determining personality
问题4选项
A.supports the nature theory
B.supports the nurture theory
C.believes both are completely wrong
D.thinks that the correct explanation of human behavior will take ideas from both theories
问题5选项
A.Nature proponents would say that whites are genetically superior to blacks.
B.Nurture proponents would disagree that blacks are biologically inferior to whites.
C.Supporters of the nature theory would say that whites score well because they have a superior environment.
D.Behaviorists would say that blacks often lack the educational and environmental advantages that whites enjoy.
第1题:C
第2题:D
第3题:B
第4题:D
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following statements would supporters of the “nature” theory agree with? “先天”理论的支持者同意下列哪一种说法？
A. A person’s instincts have little effect on his actions. A. 一个人的天性对他的行为影响不大。
B. Environment is important in determining a person’s behavior and personality. B. 环境在决定一个人的行为和个性方面很重要。
C. Biological reasons have a strong influence on how we act. C. 生物学方面的原因对我们的行为有很大的影响。
D. The behaviorists’ view correctly explains how we act. D. 行为主义者的观点正确地解释了我们如何行动。
【答案】C
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干可以定位答案所在区域为第三段。根据第三段前两句内容“在这场冲突中，支持‘先天’一方的人认为，我们的性格和行为模式在很大程度上是由生物学因素和遗传因素决定的。我们的环境与我们的能力、特征和行为几乎没有任何关系，这是这一理论的核心”可知：“先天”理论认为影响我们的是生物学因素和遗传因素，所以正确答案为C选项。
【干扰项排除】A、B、D选项均属于曲解原文。
第2题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following statements would proponents of the “nurture” theory agree with? “后天”理论的支持者会同意下列哪项陈述？
A. Environment has little to do with behavior. A. 环境对行为影响不大。
B. Behaviorist theory is not correct. B. 行为主义理论是不正确的。
C. Biologically based instincts are important in how we act. C. 基于生物学的天性在我们的行为中很重要。
D. A persons’ character is greatly influenced by his environment. D. 一个人的性格在很大程度上受环境的影响。
【答案】D
【考查点】判断推理题。
【解题思路】根据题干可定位答案所以在区域为第四段。根据第四段第一句“‘后天’理论的支持者，或者他们通常被称为行为主义者，声称在决定我们将如何行动方面，我们的环境比我们基于生物学的本能更重要”可知：“后天”理论认为环境的影响大于生物学因素的影响，由此可知正确答案为D选项。
【干扰项排除】A、B、C选项均属于曲解原文。
第3题:
【选项释义】
B.F. Skinner ______. 斯金纳______。
A. supports the nature theory A. 支持先天理论
B. thinks the environment plays an important role in determining character B. 认为环境在决定性格方面起着重要的作用
C. believes instincts govern behavior C. 相信天性支配行为
D. believes in the importance of genes in determining personality D. 相信基因在决定性格方面的重要性
【答案】B
【考查点】判断推理题。
【解题思路】根据题干可定位答案所以在区域为第四段。根据第四段第二句“行为主义者B.F.斯金纳认为，人类的行为几乎完全是由周围环境塑造的”，由此可推断斯金纳会认为环境在决定性格方面起着重要的作用，所以正确答案为B选项。
【干扰项排除】A、C、D选项均属于曲解原文。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Concerning the nature/nurture controversy, the writer of this article ______. 关于先天/后天的争论，本文作者______。
A. supports the nature theory A. 支持先天理论
B. supports the nurture theory B. 支持后天理论
C. believes both are completely wrong C. 认为两者都是完全错误的
D. thinks that the correct explanation of human behavior will take ideas from both theories D. 认为对人类行为的正确解释将从这两种理论中吸取观点
【答案】D
【考查点】观点态度题。
【解题思路】根据最后一段前两句内容“这两种理论都不能完全解释人类行为。事实上，我们行为的关键很可能介于这两个极端之间”可知作者的看法是将两个理论结合起来，正确答案为D选项。
【干扰项排除】A、B、C选项均属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
In the U.S, black people often score people on intelligence tests. With this in mind, which one of the following statements is not true? 在美国，黑人经常在智力测试中给人打分。考虑到这一点，下面哪个陈述是不正确的？
A. Nature proponents would say that whites are genetically superior to blacks. A. 先天理论的支持者会说白人在基因上比黑人优越。
B. Nurture proponents would disagree that blacks are biologically inferior to whites. B. 后天理论的支持者不同意黑人在生物学上比白人低人一等的说法。
C. Supporters of the nature theory would say that whites score well because they have a superior environment. C. 先天理论的支持者会说，白人得分高是因为他们有优越的环境。
D. Behaviorists would say that blacks often lack the educational and environmental advantages that whites enjoy. D. 行为主义者会说，黑人往往缺乏白人享有的教育和环境优势。
【答案】C
【考查点】判断推理题。
【解题思路】“先天”理论认为影响我们的是生物学因素和遗传因素；“后天”理论认为环境的影响大于生物学因素的影响。由此可知C选项“先天理论的支持者会说，白人得分高是因为他们有优越的环境”表述错误，符合题干，所以正确答案为C选项。
【干扰项排除】A、B、D选项均属于反向干扰。
