There is plenty we don’t know about criminal behavior. Most crime goes unreported so it is hard to pick out trends from the data, and even reliable sets of statistics can be difficult to compare. But here is one thing we do know: those with a biological predisposition to violent behavior who is brought up in abusive homes are very likely to become lifelong criminals.
Antisocial and criminal behavior tends to run in families, but no one was sure whether this was due mostly to social-environmental factors or biological ones. It turns out both are important, but the effect is most dramatic when they act together. This has been illustrated in several studies over the past six years which found that male victims of child abuse are several time as likely to become criminals and abusers themselves if they were born with a less-active version of a gene for the enzyme monoamine oxidize A (MAO-A), which breaks down neurotransmitters crucial to the regulation of aggression.
Researchers recently made another key observation: kids with this “double whammy” of predisposition and an unfortunate upbringing are likely to show signs of what's to come at a very early age. The risk factors for long-term criminality一attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, low IQ, language difficulties一can be spotted in kindergarten. So given what we now know, shouldn’t we be doing everything to protect the children most at risk?
No one is suggesting testing all boys to see which variant of the MAO-A gene they have, but what the science is telling us is that we should redouble efforts to tackle abusive upbringing, and even simple neglect. This will help any child, but especially those whose biology makes them vulnerable. Thankfully there is already considerable enthusiasm in both the U. S. and the U. K. for converting the latest in behavioral science into parenting and social skills: both governments have schemes in place to improve parenting in families where children are at risk of receiving poor care.
Some people are uncomfortable with the idea of early intervention because it implies our behavior becomes “set” as we grow up, compromising the idea of free will. That view is understandable, but it would be negligent to ignore what the studies are telling us. Indeed, the cost to society of failing to intervene—in terms of criminal damage, dealing with offenders and helping victims of crime—is bound to be greater than the cost of improving parenting. The value to the children is immeasurable.
1.Researchers have come to a consensus: to explain violent behavior ( ).
2.When we say that antisocial and criminal behavior tends to run in families, as indicated by the recent findings, we can probably mean that ( ).
3.The recent observation implicated that to check the development of antisocial and criminal behavior ( ).
4.To defend the argument against the unfavorable idea, the author makes it a point to consider( ).
5.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
问题1选项
A.in terms of physical environment
B.from a biological perspective
C.based on the empirical data
D.in a statistical way
问题2选项
A.a particular gene is passed on in families
B.child abuse will lead to domestic violence
C.the male victims of child abuse will pass on the tendency
D.the violent predisposition is exclusively born of child abuse
问题3选项
A.boys are to be screened for the biological predisposition
B.high-risk kids should be brought up in kindergarten
C.it is important to spot the genes for the risk factors
D.active measures ought to be taken at an early age
问题4选项
A.the immeasurable value of the genetic research on behavior
B.the consequences of compromising democracy
C.the huge cost of improving parenting skills
D.the greater cost of failing to intervene
问题5选项
A.Parenting Strategies for Kids
B.The Making of a Criminal
C.Parental Education
D.Abusive Parenting
第1题:B
第2题:C
第3题:D
第4题:D
第5题:B
第1题:
【选项释义】
Researchers have come to a consensus: to explain violent behavior ____. 研究人员已经达成共识:解释暴力行为____。
A. in terms of physical environment A. 根据物理环境
B. from a biological perspective B. 从生物学的角度来看
C. based on the empirical data C. 基于经验数据
D. in a statistical way D. 用统计学的方法
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干信息可定位到第第一段最后一句“那些在受虐家庭中长大的具有生物暴力倾向的人很有可能成为终身罪犯。”,也就是说对暴力行为的解释是生物学的角度来看的,选项B正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“根据物理环境”,根据文章第二段第一句“但没有人确定这主要是由于社会环境因素还是生物因素。事实证明,两者都很重要,但当它们共同作用时,效果最为显著。”,可知应该是物理环境和生物因素共同作用的,该选项属于以偏概全;
C选项“基于经验数据”来自原文第一段,但是第一段第二句中明确提出it is hard to pick out trends from the data “很难从数据中获得趋势”,属于反向干扰;
D选项“用统计学的方法”,文中没有提及,该选项属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
When we say that antisocial and criminal behavior tends to run in families, as indicated by the recent findings, we can probably mean that ____. 当我们说反社会和犯罪行为倾向于家族遗传时,正如最近的研究结果所表明的那样,我们的意思可能是____。
A. a particular gene is passed on in families A. 一个特定的基因在家族中遗传
B. child abuse will lead to domestic violence B. 虐待儿童会导致家庭暴力
C. the male victims of child abuse will pass on the tendency C. 虐待儿童的男性受害者将会传递这种趋势
D. the violent predisposition is exclusively born of child abuse D. 暴力倾向完全是由虐待儿童造成的
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干信息可定位到第二段最后一句“这些研究发现,受到儿童虐待的男性受害者更有可能成为罪犯和施虐者”,也就是说虐待儿童的男性受害者可能更容易成为罪犯延续这种犯罪行为。对比选项C选项“虐待儿童的男性受害者将会传递这种趋势”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“一个特定的基因在家族中遗传”,文中提到“反社会和犯罪行为往往在家族中遗传”,但没有说一个基因会遗传,该选项属于无中生有;
B选项“虐待儿童会导致家庭暴力”,文中指的是受虐的男性受害者可能会成为施虐者,但没有说到家庭暴力,该选项属于无中生有;
D选项“暴力倾向完全是由虐待儿童造成的”,该选项曲解原文,属于过度推断。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The recent observation implicated that to check the development of antisocial and criminal behavior ____. 最近的观察表明,要遏制反社会和犯罪行为的发展____。
A. boys are to be screened for the biological predisposition A. 要对男孩进行生物倾向的筛选
B. high-risk kids should be brought up in kindergarten B. 高风险的孩子应该在幼儿园长大
C. it is important to spot the genes for the risk factors C. 发现致病基因是很重要的
D. active measures ought to be taken at an early age D. 积极的措施应该在很小的时候就采取
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干信息可定位到第三段最后一句“因此,鉴于我们现在所知道的,我们难道不应该尽一切努力保护最危险的儿童吗?”以及第四段“但科学告诉我们,我们应该加倍努力,解决虐待养育问题,甚至是简单的忽视问题。这对任何孩子都有帮助……两国政府都有适当的计划,以改善那些儿童有接受不良照顾风险的家庭的育儿。”由此可推断,在儿童时期就应该采取措施来保护他们。对比选项D选项“积极的措施应该在很小的时候就采取”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“要对男孩进行生物倾向的筛选”,文中第四段提到“没有人建议对所有男孩进行测试,看看他们拥有MAO-A基因的哪一种变体”,由此可知是不建议对男孩进行基因检测的,该选项与原文意思相反,属于反向干扰;
B选项“高风险的孩子应该在幼儿园长大”,文中提到“在幼儿园可以发现长期犯罪、注意力缺陷多动障碍、低智商、语言困难的危险因素。”只是说这些风险可以在幼儿园发现,并不是说高风险的孩子要在幼儿园长大,该选项属于过度推断;
C选项“发现致病基因是很重要的”,文中没有体现,该选项属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
To defend the argument against the unfavorable idea, the author makes it a point to consider ____. 为了反驳这个不利的观点,作者考虑到____。
A. the immeasurable value of the genetic research on behavior A. 基因研究对行为具有不可估量的价值
B. the consequences of compromising democracy B. 损害民主的后果
C. the huge cost of improving parenting skills C. 提高育儿技巧的巨大成本
D. the greater cost of failing to intervene D. 干预失败的更大成本
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据原文可知,这里的“unfavorable idea”指的是及早干预。可定位到文章最后一段“事实上,如果社会不进行干预——在刑事损害、处理罪犯和帮助犯罪受害者方面——所付出的代价肯定要比改善父母教育的代价更大。”作者通过说明不及时进行干预会造成更大代价来进行反驳。因此选D“干预失败的更大成本”。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“基因研究对行为具有不可估量的价值”,文中没有体现,该选项属于无中生有;
B选项“损害民主的后果”,文中提到“有些人对早期干预的想法感到不舒服,因为这意味着我们的行为会随着我们的成长而变得‘固定’,这损害了自由意志的想法。”,但是这是那些反对早期干预的人的想法,并不是作者的观点,该选项属于张冠李戴;
C选项“提高育儿技巧的巨大成本”,文中只提到改善父母教育的成本,该选项属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage? 下面哪个选项是这篇文章的最佳标题?
A. Parenting Strategies for Kids A. 孩子的养育策略
B. The Making of a Criminal B. 一个罪犯的形成
C. Parental Education C. 父母的教育
D. Abusive Parenting D. 虐待的父母
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】文章首段提出问题:那些在受虐家庭长大的有暴力倾向的人很可能成为终身罪犯;文章最后一段提出解决方法:事实上,如果社会不进行干预——在刑事损害、处理罪犯和帮助犯罪受害者方面——所付出的代价肯定要比改善父母教育的代价更大。这对孩子们的价值是无法估量的。就是说要在儿童时期进行干预。也就是说如果不在早期进行干预,受害者儿童有可能会变成罪犯。结合两者可知,本文讨论的是受害者儿童易有暴力倾向变成罪犯。因此B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“孩子的养育策略”,文中没有提到养育策略,该选项属于无中生有;
C选项“父母的教育”,文中提到“如果社会不进行干预——在刑事损害、处理罪犯和帮助犯罪受害者方面——所付出的代价肯定要比改善父母教育的代价更大。”只是简单说到如果不进行干预父母的教育成本会更大,该选项属于以偏概全;
D选项“虐待的父母”,文中没有体现,该选项属于无中生有。
【参考译文】
我们对犯罪行为还有很多不了解的地方。大多数犯罪都没有报告,因此很难从数据中发现趋势,即使是可靠的统计数据也很难进行比较。但有一点我们是知道的:那些在虐待家庭中长大、具有暴力行为生理倾向的人很有可能成为终身罪犯。
反社会行为和犯罪行为往往是家族遗传,但没有人确定这主要是由于社会环境因素还是生物因素。事实证明,两者都很重要,但当两者共同作用时,效果最为显著。过去六年来的几项研究都说明了这一点,这些研究发现,如果受虐待儿童中的男性生来就带有一种活性较低的单胺氧化酶A基因,那么他们成为罪犯和施虐者的几率就会高出几倍,单胺氧化酶A能分解对攻击性调节至关重要的神经递质。
研究人员最近还发现了另一个重要现象:具有这种倾向性和不幸成长经历的“双重打击”的孩子很可能在很小的时候就表现出未来的迹象。长期犯罪的风险因素——注意缺陷多动障碍、低智商、语言障碍——在幼儿园就能被发现。因此,鉴于我们现在所了解的情况,难道我们不应该尽一切努力保护风险最大的儿童吗?
没有人建议对所有男孩进行检测,看他们的单胺氧化酶A基因是哪种变体,但科学告诉我们的是,我们应该加倍努力,解决虐待性的教养方式,甚至是简单的忽视。这对任何孩子都有帮助,尤其是那些因为生理原因而容易受到伤害的孩子。值得庆幸的是,在美国和英国,人们已经对将最新的行为科学成果转化为养育子女和社会技能抱有相当大的热情:两国政府都制定了相关计划,以改善那些儿童有可能受到不良照顾的家庭的养育方式。
有些人对早期干预的想法感到不舒服,因为这意味着我们的行为会随着我们的成长而“定型”,从而损害了自由意志的观念。这种观点是可以理解的,但如果忽视研究告诉我们的东西,那就是玩忽职守了。事实上,如果不进行干预,社会所付出的代价——在刑事损害、处理犯罪者和帮助犯罪受害者方面——必然大于改善养育方式所付出的代价。这对儿童的价值是无法估量的。