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.
Sarcasm and jazz have something surprisingly in common: You know them when you hear them. Sarcasm is mostly understood through tone of voice, which is used to portray the opposite of the literal words. For example, when someone says, “Well, that's exactly what I need right now,” their tone can tell you it’s not what they need at all.
Most frequently, sarcasm highlights an irritation or is, quite simply, mean. If you want to be happier and improve your relationships, cut out sarcasm. Why? Because sarcasm is actually hostility disguised as humor.
Despite smiling outwardly, many people who receive sarcastic comments feel put down and often think the sarcastic person is rude, or contemptible. Indeed. it's not surprising that the origin of the word sarcasm derives from the Greek word “sarkazein” which literally means “to tear or strip the flesh off.” Hence, it's no wonder that sarcasm is often preceded by the word “cutting” and that it hurts.
What’s more, since actions strongly determine thoughts and feelings, when a person consistently acts sarcastically it may only serve to heighten their underlying hostility and insecurity. After all, when you come right down to it, sarcasm can be used as a subtle form of bullying — and most bullies are angry, insecure, or cowardly.
Alternatively, when a person stops voicing negative comments, especially sarcastic ones, they may soon start to feel happier and more self-confident. Also. other people in their life benefit even more because they no longer have to hear the emotionally hurtful language of sarcasm.
Now, I'm not saying all sarcasm is bad. It may just be better used sparingly—like a potent spice in cooking. Too much of the spice, and the dish will be overwhelmed by it. Similarly, an occasional dash of sarcastic wit can spice up a chat and add an element of humor to it. But a big or steady serving of sarcasm will overwhelm the emotional flavor of any conversation and can taste very bitter to its recipient.
So, tone down the sarcasm and work on clever wit instead, which is usually without any hostility and thus more appreciated by those you're communicating with. In essence, sarcasm is easy while true, harmless wit takes talent.
Thus, the main difference between wit and sarcasm is that as already stated, sarcasm is often hostility disguised as humor. It can be intended to hurt and is often bitter and biting. Witty statements are usually in response to someone's unhelpful remarks or behaviors, and the intent is to untangle and clarify the issue by emphasizing its absurdities. Sarcastic statements are expressed in a cutting manner; witty remarks are delivered with undisguised and harmless humor.
46. Why does the author say sarcasm and jazz have something surprisingly in common?
47. How do many people feel when they hear sarcastic comments?
48. What happens when a person consistently acts sarcastically?
49. What does the author say about people quitting sarcastic comments?
50. What is the chief difference between a Speaker’s wit and sarcasm?
Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
Variability is crucially important for learning new skills. Consider learning how to serve in tennis. Should you always practise serving from the exactly same location on the court aiming at the same spot? Although practising in more variable conditions will be slower at first, it will likely make you a better tennis player in the end. This is because variability leads to better generalisation of what is learned.
This principle is found in many domains, including speech perception and learning categories. For instance, infants will struggle to learn the category “dog” if they are only exposed to Chihuahuas, instead of many different kinds of dogs.
“There are over ten different names for this basic principle,” says Limor Raviv, the senior investigator of a recent study. “Learning from less variable input is often fast, but may fail to generalise to new stimuli.”
To identify key patterns and understand the underlying principles of variability effects, Raviv and her colleagues reviewed over 150 studies on variability and generalisation across fields including computer science, linguistics, categorization, visual perception and formal education.
The researchers discovered that across studies, the term variability can refer to at least four different kinds of variability, such as set size and scheduling. “These four kinds of variability have never been directly compared — which means that we currently don’t know which is most effective for learning,” says Raviv.
The impact of variability depends on whether it is relevant to the task or not. But according to the ‘Mr. Miyagi principle’ practising seemingly unrelated skills may actually benefit learning of other skills.
But why does variability impact learning and generalization? One theory is that more variable input can highlight which aspects of a task are relevant and which are not.
Another theory is that greater variability leads to broader generalisations. This is because variability will represent the real world better. including atypical examples.
A third reason has to do with the way memory works: when training is variable, learners are forced to actively reconstruct their memories.
“Understanding the impact of variability is important for literally every aspect of our daily life. Beyond affecting the way we learn language, motor skills, and categories, it even has an impact on our social lives,” explains Raviv. “For example, face recognition is affected by whether people grew up in a Small community or in a larger community. Exposure to fewer faces during childhood is associated with diminished face memory.”
“We hope this work will spark peoples curiosity and generate more work on the topic.” concludes Raviv. “Our paper raises a lot of open questions. Can we find similar effects of variability beyond the brain, for instance, in the immune system?”
51. What does the passage say about infants learning the category “dog” if they are exposed to Chihuahuas only?
52. What does Raviv say about the four different kinds of variability?
53. How does one of the theories explain the importance of variability for learning new skills?
54. What does the passage say about face recognition?
55. What does Raviv hope to do with their research work?
Answers & Explanations
46. A。解析：题干问作者为什么说讽刺和爵士乐有惊人的共同点。根据 Passage One 第一段 “Sarcasm and jazz have something surprisingly in common: You know them when you hear them.”（讽刺和爵士乐有着惊人的共同点：当你听到它们时，你就知道它们了）。对应选项 A (当听到时都能被认出来)。
47. B。解析：题干问许多人听到讽刺言论时的感受。根据 Passage One 第三段 “many people who receive sarcastic comments feel put down and often think the sarcastic person is rude, or contemptible.”（许多受到讽刺评论的人感到被贬低了，并且经常认为这个讽刺的人粗鲁或可鄙）。对应选项 B (他们感到被贬低和不受尊重)。
48. B。解析：题干问当一个人总是表现得尖酸刻薄时会发生什么。根据 Passage One 第四段 “when a person consistently acts sarcastically it may only serve to heighten their underlying hostility and insecurity.”（当一个人一贯表现出讽刺时，这可能只会加剧他们潜在的敌意和不安全感）。对应选项 B (他们感到越来越缺乏安全感和充满敌意)。
49. C。解析：题干问作者对放弃讽刺评论的人说了什么。根据 Passage One 第五段 “they may soon start to feel happier and more self-confident. Also. other people in their life benefit even more...”（他们可能很快就会开始感到更快乐和更自信。而且，他们生活中的其他人也会受益更多...）。对应选项 C (它不仅使自己受益，也使周围的人受益)。
50. D。解析：题干问说话者的机智和讽刺之间的主要区别是什么。根据 Passage One 最后一段 “It can be intended to hurt and is often bitter and biting... and the intent is to untangle and clarify the issue...”（它（讽刺）可能是为了伤害别人，通常是苦涩和尖刻的。（机智）目的是通过强调其荒谬来解开和澄清问题）。即主要区别在于是想伤害人还是澄清问题。对应选项 D (他们的意图)。
51. A。解析：题干问如果婴儿只接触吉娃娃，在学习“狗”这个类别时会怎样。根据 Passage Two 第二段 “infants will struggle to learn the category “dog” if they are only exposed to Chihuahuas...”（如果婴儿只接触吉娃娃，他们将很难学习“狗”这个类别）。对应选项 A (他们会遇到一定程度的困难，encounter some degree of difficulty 替换 struggle)。
52. D。解析：题干问 Raviv 对四种不同种类的可变性说了什么。根据 Passage Two 第五段 “These four kinds of variability have never been directly compared — which means that we currently don’t know which is most effective for learning”（这四种可变性从未被直接比较过——这意味着我们目前不知道哪一种对学习最有效）。对应选项 D (哪一个最有利于学习还有待确认)。
53. B。解析：题干问其中一种理论如何解释可变性对学习新技能的重要性。根据 Passage Two 第九段 “A third reason has to do with the way memory works: when training is variable, learners are forced to actively reconstruct their memories.”（第三个原因与记忆的工作方式有关：当训练是可变的时，学习者被迫主动重建他们的记忆）。对应选项 B (接受可变训练的学习者被迫重新组织他们的记忆)。
54. D。解析：题干问关于面部识别文章说了什么。根据 Passage Two 第十段 “For example, face recognition is affected by whether people grew up in a Small community or in a larger community.”（例如，人脸识别受人们在小社区还是大社区长大的影响）。对应选项 D (人们成长社区的规模影响他们的人脸识别能力)。
55. C。解析：题干问 Raviv 希望用他们的研究工作做什么。根据 Passage Two 最后一段 “We hope this work will spark peoples curiosity and generate more work on the topic.”（我们希望这项工作能激发人们的好奇心，并在这一主题上产生更多的工作）。对应选项 C (引起人们对可变性的兴趣，刺激对该主题的更多研究)。
核心搭配与高分句型
【核心搭配与高频短语】
in common：共同之处（have something surprisingly in common）
put down：贬低，使...难堪（feel put down）
come right down to it：归根结底（when you come right down to it）
generalisation of：...的概括/普遍化（better generalisation of what is learned）
have to do with：与...有关（has to do with the way memory works）
【亮点句型解析】
When 引导的时间状语从句与 Since 引导的原因状语从句嵌套：
"What’s more, since actions strongly determine thoughts and feelings, when a person consistently acts sarcastically it may only serve to heighten their underlying hostility and insecurity."
（此外，既然行动强烈地决定思想和情感，当一个人一贯表现出讽刺时，这可能只会加剧他们潜在的敌意和不安全感。）该句逻辑极其严密，先用 `since` 抛出大前提，再用 `when` 引入具体条件，最后得出顺理成章的结论。
"What’s more, since actions strongly determine thoughts and feelings, when a person consistently acts sarcastically it may only serve to heighten their underlying hostility and insecurity."
（此外，既然行动强烈地决定思想和情感，当一个人一贯表现出讽刺时，这可能只会加剧他们潜在的敌意和不安全感。）该句逻辑极其严密，先用 `since` 抛出大前提，再用 `when` 引入具体条件，最后得出顺理成章的结论。
Whether 引导的主语从句与被动语态：
"For example, face recognition is affected by whether people grew up in a Small community or in a larger community."
（例如，人脸识别受人们是在小社区还是大社区长大的影响。）介词 `by` 后面巧妙地接了一个由 `whether...or...` 引导的宾语从句作介词宾语，清晰地表达了社区规模对面部识别能力的决定性作用。
"For example, face recognition is affected by whether people grew up in a Small community or in a larger community."
（例如，人脸识别受人们是在小社区还是大社区长大的影响。）介词 `by` 后面巧妙地接了一个由 `whether...or...` 引导的宾语从句作介词宾语，清晰地表达了社区规模对面部识别能力的决定性作用。