C
A large body of research has been developed in recent years to explain many aspects of willpower. Most of the researchers exploring self-control do so with an obvious goal in mind: How can willpower be strengthened? If willpower is truly a limited resource, as the research suggests, what can be done to make it stay strong?
Avoiding temptation(诱惑) is an effective method for maintaining self-control, which is called the “out of sight, out of mind” principle. One recent study, for instance, found office workers are less attracted to candy in the desk drawer than that on top of their desks, in plain sight.
The research suggesting that we possess a limited reservoir of self-control raises a troubling question. When we face too many temptations, are we to fail? Not necessarily. Researchers don’t believe that one’s willpower is ever completely exhausted. Rather, people appear to hold some willpower in reserve, saved for future demands. The right motivation allows us to tap into those reserves, allowing us to carry on even when our self-control strength has been run down. High motivation might help overcome weakened willpower—at least to a point.
Willpower may also be made less vulnerable(脆弱) to being exhausted in the first place. Researchers who study self-control often describe it as being like a muscle that gets tired with heavy use. But there is another aspect to the muscle comparison, they say. While muscles become exhausted by exercise in the short term, they are strengthened by regular exercise in the long term. Similarly, regular practices of self-control may improve willpower strength.
The evidence from willpower-exhaustion studies also suggests that making a list of resolutions on New Year’s Eve is the worst possible approach. Being exhausted in one area can reduce willpower in other areas, so it makes more sense to focus on a single goal at a time. In other words, don’t try to quit smoking, adopt a healthy diet and start a new exercise plan at the same time. Taking goals one by one is a better approach. Once a good habit is in place, Baumeister says, you’ll no longer need to draw on your willpower to maintain the behavior. Eventually healthy habits will become routine, and won’t require making decisions at all.
Many questions about the nature of self-control remain to be answered by further research. Yet it seems likely that with clear goals, good self-monitoring and a little practice, you can train your willpower to stay strong in the face of temptation.
63. From the studies in the passage we learn that ______. A. people have unlimited self-control B. high motivation ensures one’s success C. willpower is hardly completely exhausted D. too many temptations often lead to failure
64. The underlined phrase “tap into” in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______. A. make use of
B. run out of
C. build
D. increase
65. The author compares self-control to muscles ______. A. to prove the long-term effects of willpower B. to show the significance of regular exercise C. to argue that self-control can be easily used up D. to explain the benefits of practicing self-control
66. To develop a good habit, which of the following does the author prefer? A. “I will give up dessert and do exercise.”
B. “I will set three goals this new semester.” C. “I will keep myself from any temptation.” D. “I will read an English novel every month.”
D
The aggressive spread of market economics and communication technologies—often under the control of Western multinational companies—brings new challenges to local cultures and values in non-Western societies. Sometimes it seems as if a tidal wave of the worst Western culture is creeping across the globe like a giant strawberry milkshake spill out and over the planet, with a flavor that is distinctly sweet, sickly and apparently homogeneous(同质的).
For some, especially the young, change may mean escape from oppressive traditions. It may also bring new opportunities for cultures to be combined in creative ways. However, there is genuine cause for concern about the rate at which cultures are being worn away in such a globalized world.
Perhaps by far the most important far-reaching effect of cultural globalization is the commercialization of culture, which has a disturbing impact on local people’s existing values. They are increasingly bombarded with new images, new music, new clothes and new values. The familiar and old are to be abandoned. While there was cultural change long before globalization, there is a danger that much will be lost simply because it is not valued by global markets. In West Africa for example, traditional values have been overtaken by Coca-Cola culture which the local people don't yet have the values to deal with successfully.
Another common aspect of the globalized culture is that it pursues(追求) the same \The result of this cultural process of homogenization is that a large section of the world's population dreams of living like Cosby & Co. or like the characters in any other stereotype American soap opera. In addition, the dream of living a better life causes thousands of people to move to already overcrowded cities whose population has boomed by millions within the last decades. The majority of these new immigrants end up in slums leading to poverty, pollution and misery.
Such gradual aggression against people's existing values and cultures has a destructive impact on their sense of who they are, what they want and what they respect. It attacks spiritual values and faith traditions. The accumulative(累积的) effect in non-Western societies is a crisis of cultural confidence, combined with the increased economic uncertainty and crime which global integration(一体化) may bring. This creates real problems for social stability, whether it is at the level of nation, community or family.
In conclusion, cultural globalization, or worldwide McDonaldization, destroys diversity and displaces the opportunity to sustain decent life through a mixture of many different cultures. It is more a consequence of power concentration in the global media and manufacturing companies than the people's own wish to abandon their cultural identity and diversity.
67. It can be learned from Paragraph 1 that _________.
A. non-Western societies willingly accept economic globalization B. Western culture unites the world's economies and technologies C. the booming of Western culture destroys non-Western societies D. despite its appeal, westernization shows an unpleasant uniformity
68. Which best serves as an example of the “one size fits all” principle in non-Western nations? A. McDonald receives more criticism abroad than at home. B. Many Africans dream of a middle class American lifestyle. C. Chinese food wins great approval in the United Kingdom. D. Some western young people fancy a visit to African countries. 69. What is the writer’s attitude towards cultural globalization? A. Cautious.
B. Critical.
C. Positive.
D. Neutral.
70. The passage is mainly about ______.
A. cultural diversity in globalization B. challenges to non-Western cultures C. drawbacks of cultural globalization D. disappearance of non-Western cultures
第二节（共5小题；每小题2分，共10分）
If you were like most kids, your mother told you there were three no-no’s when it came to your fingers: Don’t put them in an electrical outlet, don’t stick them up your nose (at least not in public), and don’t use them when you are counting. 71 But experts in education and cognition now believe that using your fingers to do math is not only a perfectly good idea but may even help children become superior students.
It certainly makes sense. When children count on their fingers, they take an abstract concept—
mathematics—and translate it into the most basic and visual form. 72 Even when we aren’t actually counting on them, they still can help us on math problem.
73 It activates when we respond to heat, pressure, pain, or the use of a given finger. Studying brain scans, researchers discovered that when students aged 8 to 13 work on subtraction(减法) equations, this region “lights up” on the scans, even if the students aren’t using their fingers. The more complex the problem, the more activities are detected.
The connection between finger use and math ability has been proved on old-fashioned math tests as well. With their eyes closed, first graders were asked to identify which of their fingers a researcher was touching. 74 When college students were given the same quiz, the highest scores once again performed best on calculation tests.
So what does all this mean? For one thing, parents and teachers shouldn’t discourage children from counting on their fingers. 75 Memorizing the multiplication tables may help, but it is not the best option. “I would like to see interesting and creative representations of ideas.” says Jo Boaler, a professor of math education.
Recently, a series of activities have been designed to strengthen students’ perception of their fingers. Maybe in the near future, there will be only two no-no’s regarding the use of fingers.
A. The first two laws of fingers are as true as ever.
B. There is a section of the brain, called the somatosensory finger area. C. Researchers also stress that students simply learn better using visual tools. D. Researchers are unimpressed by those students who finish quickly as well.
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