Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension

　　Part A

　　Directions:

　　Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)

　　Text 1

　　Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto�瞤ilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting herd,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever�瞔hanging 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative implication.

　　So it seems paradoxical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation. But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

　　Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try—the more we step outside our comfort zone—the more inherently creative we become, both in the workplace and in our personal lives.

　　But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.

　　“The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind. “But we are taught instead to ‘decide,’ just as our president calls himself ‘the Decider.’” She adds, however, that “to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”

　　All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware, she says. Researchers in the late 1960 discovered that humans are born with the capacity to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, relationally (or collaboratively) and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that capacity, preserving only those modes of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.

　　The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought. “This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,” explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will...and Ms. Markova’s business partner. “That’s a lie that we have perpetuated, and it fosters commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.” This is where developing new habits comes in.

　　習慣是一種有趣的現象。我們無意識地養成了習慣，任由大腦自動操作，且不知不覺在熟悉的常規中感到輕松舒適。“并非選擇，而是習慣會控制那些沒有思想的人。”19世紀時，威廉·華茲華斯說。在千變萬化的21世紀，甚至“習慣”這個詞本身也帶有負面涵義。

　　因此，在創造和革新的背景下來談論習慣，似乎顯得有點矛盾。但大腦研究人員發現，當我們有意識地培養新的習慣，就創建了平行路徑，甚至是全新的腦細胞，可以讓我們思緒的列車跳轉到新的創新軌道上來。

　　我們不用因為自己是受習慣影響的一成不變的生物而否定自己，相反我們可以通過有意識的培養新習慣來指導改變。事實上，我們對新事物嘗試得越多，就會越遠地走出自己的舒適地帶，在職場及個人生活中變得越有創造性。

　　但是，不要白費力氣試圖戒除舊習慣;一旦這些慣有程序融進腦部，它們就會留在那里。相反，我們有意使之根深蒂固的新習慣會創建平行路徑，它們可以繞過原來那些路徑。

　　《開放思想》一書的作者達瓦納·馬克瓦說：“革新所需要的第一樣東西就是對好奇的著迷。然而我們被教導去做‘決定’，就像我們的總裁稱呼自己為‘決策者’那樣。”她接著說，“但是，決定意味著除了一種可能性外，其他的都被扼殺了。優秀的具有革新精神的思想家總是在探尋著許多其他的可能性。”

　　她說，我們都是通過一些自己沒有意識到的方法解決問題的。研究人員在20世紀60年代末發現人類天生主要用四種方法應對挑戰：分析法，程序法，相關法(或合作法)和創新法。但是在青春期結束，大腦關閉一半的能力，僅僅保留了那些大約在生命最開始的十幾年時間里似乎是最為寶貴的思維方式。

　　目前標準化測試主要強調分析法和程序法這兩種方式，也就是說，我們中很少有人會本能地使用創新和合作的思維方式。M.J.瑞恩是2006年出版的著作《今年我將……》一書的作者以及馬克瓦女士的商業合作伙伴，她解釋說：“這打破了美國信念體系里的主要規則—任何人都可以做任何事。這是一個我們已經使之永久化的謊言，這會造成平庸。了解你擅長什么，再多做一些就會成就卓越。”這正是培養新習慣的用武之地。

　　第一段中心句：In the ever�瞔hanging 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative connotation. 在千變萬化的21世紀，甚至習慣這個詞本身也帶有負面涵義。

　　第二段中心句:But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks. 但大腦研究人員發現，當我們有意識地培養新的習慣，就創建了平行路徑，甚至是全新的腦細胞，可以讓我們思緒的列車跳轉到新的創新軌道上。

　　第三段中心句:Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. 我們不用因為自己受習慣影響的一成不變的生物而否定自己，相反我們可以通過有意識的培養新習慣來指導改變。

　　第四段中心句:But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the hippocampus, they’re there to stay. 但是，不要白費力氣試圖戒除舊習慣;一旦這些慣有程序融進腦部，它們就會留在那里。

　　第五段中心句:“The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of “The Open Mind” and an executive change consultant for Professional Thinking Partners. 《開放思想》一書的作者達瓦納·馬克瓦說：“革新需要的第一樣東西就是對好奇的著迷。”

　　第六段中心句:All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware, she says. 她說，我們都是通過一些自己沒有意識到的方法解決問題的。

　　第七段中心句:The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought. 目前標準化測試主要強調分析法和程序法這兩種方式，也就是說，我們中很少有人會本能地使用創新和合作的思維方式。

　　【答案】C D A D A(解析略)