英语六级阅读理解练习附详解:人文知识

　　Proponents of the "nurture" theory, or, as they are often called. behaviorists. claim that ourenvironmentis more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we willact. Behaviorists see humans as being whose behavior is almost completely shaped by theirsurroundings. Their view of the human being is quite mechanistic; they maintain that likemachines. humans respond to environmental stimuli as the basis of their behavior.

　　The social and political implications or these two theories are profound. In the United Stares,for example, blacks often score below whites on standardized intelligent test. This leads some"nature" proponents to conclude that blacks are genetically interior to whites. Behaviorists, incontrast. say that the differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often deprived ofmany of the educational and other environmental advantages that white enjoy. and that. as aresult. they do not develop the same responses thatwhites do.

　　Neither of these theories can yet fully explain human behavior. In fact, it is quite likely that thekey to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the controversy willcontinue for a long time is certain.

　　[1]人们长期以来一直想弄清楚，他们的性格和行为是怎样形成的。为什么一个人聪明而另一个人却不聪明，或者为什么一个人有协作精神而另一个人却有竞争意识，要解释这些可不容易。

　　社会科学家当然对这类问题特别感兴趣。[1]他们希望解释为什么我们具有某些性格并显现某些行为。对此，迄今还没有明确的答案，但已经产生了两个截然不同的思想流派。正如人们所料，两派观点存在巨大差异，[2]各自理论的支持者之间存在着巨大的争议。分歧通常被称为“天性论”对“教养论”。

　　[3]争议双方中支持“天性论”的那些人认为，我们的性格和行为模式大部分取决于生物和遗传因素。 这一理论的核心是，我们的环境跟我们的能力、性格和行为即使有什么关系的话，也是很少的。[3]说得极端一点，这一理论坚持认为，我们的行为在很大程度上由先天决定，以致我们几乎完全是受本能控制的。

　　[2]那些支持“教养论”的人，即通常所谓的行为主义者声称，在决定我们的行为上，环境比以生理为孤本能更重要。行为主义者认为，作为生物的人类，其行为几乎完全由环境塑。[4]他们的观点几乎完全是机械的;他们坚持认为人类就像机器一样，对环境的刺激所做出的反应就是人类行为的基础。

　　[5]这两种理论有着深刻的社会涵义和政治涵义。例如在美国，在标准智力测试中黑人得分常常低于白人。由此导致一些“天性论”支持者得出结论，认为黑人在遗传上劣于白人。相反，行为主义者认为成绩的差异是由于黑人往往被剥夺了白人在教育和其他环境方面所享有的许多有利条件，由此产生的结果是，他们做出的反应和白人不一样。

　　[1]这两种理论无论哪一种都仍未能充分解释人类的行为。事实上，很可能我们行为的关键因素存在于这两个极端之间。但分歧会持续很长时间——这一点却是肯定的。

　　1. The author is mainly concerned about solving the problem__________________.

　　A) why one's behaviors differ from others'

　　B) what makes different stages of intelligence

　　C) how social scientists form different theories

　　D) what causes the "nature/nurture" controversy

　　2. The word "proponents" can best be replaced by _____.

　　A) approaches

　　B) advocates

　　C) principles

　　D) characters

　　3. Which of the following statements may be supported by the "nature" school?

　　A) We are born will certain personalities and behaviors.

　　B) Environment has nothing to do with our personalities.

　　C) Abilities and characteristics are revealed by behaviors.

　　D) Only extreme behaviors are determined by instinct.

　　4. What can we learn about the behaviorists?

　　A) They believe human beings are mechanical.

　　B) They compare our behaviors to the machines.

　　C) They suggest that we react to the environment as the machines do.

　　D) They uphold that the mechanistic theory can be applied on us as well.

　　5. The "nature” theorists believe that the blacks' low scores____________.

　　A) are the result of the educational disadvantages

　　B) are a manifestation of the blacks' poor intelligence

　　C) have nothing to do with their true intelligence

　　D) have nothing to do will factors other than heredity