Section C: Reading Comprehension
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.
Why does social media trigger feelings of loneliness and inadequacy? Because instead of being real life, it is, for the most part, impression management, a way of marketing yourself, carefully choosing and filtering the pictures and words to put your best face forward.
Online “friends” made through social media do not follow the normal psychological progression of an interpersonal relationship. You share neither physical time nor emotional conversations over the Internet. You simply communicate photographs and catchy posts to a diverse group of people whom you have “friended” or “followed” based on an accidental interaction. This is not to say that your social media friends can’t be real friends. They absolutely can, but the two are not synonymous. Generally speaking, there are no unfiltered comments or casually taken photos on our social media pages. And, rightfully so, because it wouldn’t feel safe to be completely authentic and vulnerable with some of our “friends” whom we don’t actually know or with whom trust has yet to be built.
Social media can certainly be an escape from the daily grind, but we must be cautioned against the negative effects, such as addiction, on a person’s overall psychological well-being.
As humans, we yearn for social connection. Scrolling (滚动) through pages of pictures and comments, however, does not provide the same degree of fulfillment as face to face interactions do. Also, we tend to idealize others’ lives and compare our downfalls to their greatest accomplishments, ending in feelings of loneliness and inadequacy.
Social media can lead people on the unhealthy quest for perfection. Some people begin to attend certain events or travel to different places so that they can snap that “perfect” photo. They begin to seek validation through the number of people who “like” their posts. In order for it to play a psychologically healthy role in your social life, social media should supplement an already healthy social network. Pictures and posts should be byproducts of life’s treasured moments and fun times, not the planned and calculated image that one is putting out into cyberspace in an attempt to fill insecurities or unmet needs.
Ultimately, social media has increased our ability to connect with various types of people all over the globe. It has opened doors for businesses and allowed us to stay connected to people whom we may not otherwise get to follow. However, social media should feel like a fun experience, not one that contributes to negative thoughts and feelings. If the latter is the case, increasing face to face time with trusted friends, and minimizing time scrolling online, will prove to be a reminder that your social network is much more rewarding than any “like,” “follow” or “share” can be.
46. What does the author imply social media may do to our life?
47. Why do people post comments selectively on social media?
48. What are humans inclined to do according to the passage?
49. What is the author’s view of pictures and posts on social media?
50. What does the author advise people to do when they find their online experience unconstructive?
Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
Imagine that an alien species landed on Earth and, through their mere presence, those aliens caused our art to vanish, our music to homogenize, and our technological know-how to disappear. That is effectively what humans have been doing to our closest relatives–chimps (大猩猩).
Back in 1999, a team of scientists led by Andrew Whiten showed that chimps from different parts of Africa behave very differently from one another. Some groups would get each other’s attention by rapping branches with their knuckles (指关节), while others did it by loudly ripping leaves with their teeth. The team identified 39 of these traditions that are practiced by some communities but not others—a pattern that, at the time, hadn’t been seen in any animal except humans. It was evidence, the team said, that chimps have their own cultures.
It took a long time to convince skeptics that such cultures exist, but now we have plenty of examples of animals learning local traditions from one another.
But just when many scientists have come to accept the existence of animal cultures, many of those cultures might vanish. Ammie Kalan and her colleagues have shown, through years of intensive fieldwork, that the very presence of humans has eroded the diversity of chimp behavior. Where we flourish, their cultures wither. It is a bitterly ironic thing to learn on the 20th anniversary of Whiten’s classic study.
“It’s amazing to think that just 60 years ago, we knew next to nothing of the behavior of our sister species in the wild,” Whiten says.” But now, just as we are truly getting to know our primate (灵长类) cousins, the actions of humans are closing the window on all we have discovered.”
“Sometimes in the rush to conserve the species, I think we forget about the individuals,” says Cat Hobaiter, a professor at the University of St Andrews, “Each population, each community, even each generation of chimps is unique. An event might only have a small impact on the total population of chimps, but it may wipe out an entire community—an entire culture. No matter what we do to restore habitat or support population growth, we may never be able to restore that culture.”
No one knows whether the destruction of chimp culture is getting worse. Few places have tracked chimp behavior over long periods, and those that have are also more likely to have protected their animals from human influence.
Obviously conservationists need to think about saving species in a completely new way—by preserving animal traditions as well as bodies and genes. “Instead of focusing only on the conservation of genetically based entities like species, we now need to also consider culturally based entities,” says Andrew Whiten.
51. What does the author say we humans have been doing to chimps?
52. What is the finding of Andrew Whiten’s team?
53. What did Ammie Kalan and her colleagues find through their intensive fieldwork?
54. What does Cat Hobaiter think we should do for chimp conservation?
55. What does the author suggest conservationists do?
Answers & Explanations (答案与解析)
Passage One
46. C。解析：题干问“作者暗示社交媒体可能对我们的生活产生什么影响？” 文章第一段首句提出问题：“Why does social media trigger feelings of loneliness and inadequacy?”（为什么社交媒体会引发孤独和不胜任的感觉？） 第四段最后再次强调：“...ending in feelings of loneliness and inadequacy.”（以孤独和不足的感觉告终）。选项 C 中的 `isolated`（孤立的/孤独的）对应 `loneliness`，`incompetent`（无能力的/不胜任的）对应 `inadequacy`。因此选 C。
47. A。解析：题干问“为什么人们在社交媒体上有选择性地发布评论？” 第二段最后一句指出：“...because it wouldn’t feel safe to be completely authentic and vulnerable with some of our “friends” whom we don’t actually know or with whom trust has yet to be built.”（……因为在一些我们实际上并不认识或者尚未建立信任的‘朋友’面前完全真实和脆弱会感觉不安全）。这说明人们觉得并非所有的在线朋友都值得信任。因此选 A（他们觉得并非所有的在线朋友都值得信赖）。
48. C。解析：题干问“根据文章，人类倾向于做什么？” 第四段指出：“...we tend to idealize others’ lives and compare our downfalls to their greatest accomplishments...”（我们倾向于将他人的生活理想化，并将我们的挫折与他们最大的成就进行比较）。`idealize others' lives`（将他人的生活理想化）就等于选项 C 中的 `Paint a rosy picture of other people's lives`（描绘他人生活的美好画面）。因此选 C。
49. A。解析：题干问“作者对社交媒体上的图片和帖子的看法是什么？” 第五段倒数第二句指出：“Pictures and posts should be byproducts of life’s treasured moments and fun times...”（图片和帖子应该是生活珍贵时刻和快乐时光的副产品……）。`treasured moments`（珍贵时刻）对应选项 A 中的 `memorable moments`（难忘的时刻）。因此选 A（它们应该记录人们生活中难忘的时刻）。
50. D。解析：题干问“当人们发现他们的在线体验没有建设性时，作者建议他们怎么做？” 文章最后一段最后一句给出建议：“If the latter is the case, increasing face to face time with trusted friends, and minimizing time scrolling online, will prove to be a reminder that your social network is much more rewarding...”（如果是后一种情况（即社交媒体导致负面情绪），增加与信任的朋友面对面的时间，并减少在线滚动的时间……）。这说明应该加强现实生活中的联系。因此选 D（加强与现实生活中朋友的联系，而不是在乎他们的在线形象）。
Passage Two
51. A。解析：题干问“作者说我们人类一直对黑猩猩做什么？” 第一段开篇用外星人导致人类艺术消失、音乐同质化等作比喻，并在段末总结：“That is effectively what humans have been doing to our closest relatives–chimps.”（这实际上就是人类一直在对我们最亲近的亲戚——黑猩猩所做的事情）。艺术、音乐和技术诀窍代表了“文化”，这说明人类正在毁坏黑猩猩的文化。因此选 A（毁坏它们的文化）。
52. D。解析：题干问“安德鲁·怀滕团队的发现是什么？” 第二段指出，怀滕领导的团队表明非洲不同地区的黑猩猩行为差异很大：“Some groups would get each other’s attention by rapping branches... while others did it by loudly ripping leaves...”（一些群体通过敲击树枝来引起彼此的注意，而另一些群体则通过大声撕裂树叶来做到这一点）。这说明不同的黑猩猩群体有不同的交流方式。因此选 D（不同的黑猩猩群体在交流方式上有所不同）。
53. B。解析：题干问“阿米·卡兰和她的同事通过密集的野外工作发现了什么？” 第四段第二句指出：“Ammie Kalan and her colleagues have shown... that the very presence of humans has eroded the diversity of chimp behavior.”（阿米·卡兰和她的同事们表明……人类的存在侵蚀了黑猩猩行为的多样性）。行为多样性被侵蚀，意味着行为变得不再那么多样化。因此选 B（随着人类活动的增加，黑猩猩的行为变得不那么多变）。
54. B。解析：题干问“卡特·霍拜特认为我们在保护黑猩猩方面应该怎么做？” 第六段霍拜特指出我们在保护物种时经常忘记“个体”。她强调：“Each population, each community... is unique. An event... may wipe out an entire community—an entire culture. No matter what we do to restore habitat or support population growth, we may never be able to restore that culture.”（每一个种群、每一个社区……都是独一无二的。一个事件……可能会消灭整个社区——整个文化。无论我们做什么来恢复栖息地或支持人口增长，我们可能永远无法恢复那种文化）。这意味着保护工作不能只看总体数量，而必须致力于保护每一个独立的社区及其独特的文化。因此选 B（努力保护每一个单独的黑猩猩社区）。
55. C。解析：题干问“作者建议保护主义者做什么？” 最后一段首句给出明确建议：“Obviously conservationists need to think about saving species in a completely new way—by preserving animal traditions as well as bodies and genes.”（显然，保护主义者需要考虑以一种全新的方式拯救物种——在保护身体和基因的同时保护动物的传统）。`new way`（新方式）对应 `novel way`；同时保护传统、身体和基因，体现了 `all-round way`（全方位的方式）。因此选 C（以新颖且全方位的方式保护动物物种）。（注：A选项错在“entirely 完全集中于”，原文是“instead of focusing only on... 还要考虑...”，不能只顾一头）。
核心搭配与高分句型
【核心搭配与高频短语】
instead of：代替，而不是（instead of being real life）
yearn for：渴望，向往（yearn for social connection）
wipe out：彻底消灭，摧毁（wipe out an entire community）
close the window on：关闭...的窗口，使...不再可能（closing the window on all we have discovered）
next to nothing：几乎一无所知，几乎没有（knew next to nothing of the behavior）
as well as：既...又...，不仅...而且...（preserving animal traditions as well as bodies and genes）
【亮点句型解析】
Neither... nor... 否定并列结构（P1第二段）：
"You share neither physical time nor emotional conversations over the Internet."
（在互联网上，你们既不分享物理时间，也没有情感交流。）使用 `neither... nor...` 结构，使否定的表达更加干脆、全面。
"You share neither physical time nor emotional conversations over the Internet."
（在互联网上，你们既不分享物理时间，也没有情感交流。）使用 `neither... nor...` 结构，使否定的表达更加干脆、全面。
Where..., ... 引导地点状语从句表达对比（P2第四段）：
"Where we flourish, their cultures wither."
（在我们繁荣的地方，它们的文化却在枯萎。）极其简练的对比句。用 `where` 引导状语从句，把人类的 `flourish` 和黑猩猩的 `wither` 形成强烈的反差和讽刺（ironic）。
"Where we flourish, their cultures wither."
（在我们繁荣的地方，它们的文化却在枯萎。）极其简练的对比句。用 `where` 引导状语从句，把人类的 `flourish` 和黑猩猩的 `wither` 形成强烈的反差和讽刺（ironic）。