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
Have you ever wondered how acceptable it is to hug or touch someone? While it may sound safe to avoid all physical contact so as not to offend anyone, the lack of touching might imply cold attitudes or indifference in interpersonal relationships. So, what should we do? The simple answer is to thoroughly learn unique cultural norms for physical contact. In nonverbal communication terminology (术语), physical contact and the study of touching are generally referred to as haptics.
Haptics in communication often suggest the level of intimacy. They are usually classified into two groups: high-contact and low-contact. Asia and quite surprisingly the United States, Canada and Britain belong to low-contact cultures. People from the rest of the world, such as Latin America, are considered to be in high-contact cultures, where they tend to expect touching in social interactions and feel more comfortable with physical closeness.
Despite the classification, there are more complex factors such as relational closeness, gender, age, and context that can affect how someone views physical contact. One common French custom of greetings is cheek-kissing, but it is mostly restricted to friends, close acquaintances and family members. While cheek-kissing for Latin Americans is also a universal greeting form, it does not require such a high degree of relational closeness. However, gender matters more for them because cheek-kissing often only happens between women or a man and a woman but not two men.
In contrast, in certain Arabian, African, and Asian countries, men can publicly hold hands or show physical affection as signs of brotherhood or friendship while these behaviors may suggest a romantic relationship in other parts of the world. Although men's touching is more normal in these cultures, physical contact between persons of opposite sexes who are not family members is negatively perceived in Arabian countries.
These factors could definitely affect the degree to which someone is comfortable with tactile (触觉的) communication and physical intimacy. Therefore, if you are someone who loves to show physical affection, you should not be afraid to show it or drastically change your behaviors—just ask for consent beforehand!
46. What does the author say in the first paragraph about physical contact?
47. What does physical contact in communication suggest?
48. What do we learn about people in high-contact cultures?
49. What do we learn about social customs in Arabian countries?
50. What does the author tell us to do concerning tactile communication?
Passage Two
From climate change to the ongoing pandemic and beyond, the issues facing today's world are increasingly complex and dynamic. Yet solving problems like these requires new approaches that extend beyond traditional ways of thinking. A study led by Yale Professor of Psychology, Paul O'Keefe, found that having a growth mindset of interest may spark this type of innovation.
Professor O'Keefe established in earlier studies that people hold different beliefs about the nature of interest. Those with a growth mindset of interest tend to believe that interests can be developed and cultivated, while those with a fixed mindset of interest tend to believe that interests are inherent and simply need to be 'found.' Building on these findings, the latest research examined how a growth mindset of interest can boost integrative thinking across the traditional disciplinary boundaries of arts and sciences.
For example, in one task, research participants were instructed to create new college majors by combining two or more existing academic Arts or Science programs at their university. After coding and analyzing the ideas they generated, the team found that people with a growth mindset of interest were more likely to bridge programs across the arts and sciences to create new majors like computational economics rather than creating majors that drew from only one of those areas, like computational chemistry.
As Professor O'Keefe pointed out, 'This research provides a useful direction for organizations whose products and services call for integrated and creative solutions. Take smartphones for example. You need not only computer science and engineering knowledge, but also an understanding of psychology and visual design to create a better product. Employees with a growth mindset may be more likely to devise innovative ideas that bridge multiple areas of knowledge to achieve better solutions.'
The benefits of a growth mindset of interest may also extend to those seeking employment. This is a pressing issue because many people are becoming unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Having a growth mindset of interest can help job seekers expand their interests and become more adaptable to different fields, and take the initiative to learn new skills.
51. What does the author say about the world today?
52. What did Professor O'Keefe find in his earlier studies?
53. What is the focus of Professor O'Keefe's recent research?
54. What does the author want to illustrate with the example of smartphones?
55. What is the author's suggestion to those who are seeking employment?
Answers & Explanations
Passage One: The Art of Touching (Haptics)
46. C。解析：第一段第二句指出 lack of touching might imply cold attitudes or indifference（缺乏触摸可能暗示冷淡的态度或冷漠），对应选项 C (Its absence might suggest a lack of warmth 缺乏触摸可能暗示缺乏温暖)。
47. D。解析：第二段首句提到 Haptics in communication often suggest the level of intimacy（交际中的触觉学常暗示亲密程度），对应选项 D (How close the communicators' relationships are)。
48. B。解析：第二段末尾指出在高接触文化（high-contact cultures）中，人们 tend to expect touching in social interactions（在社交互动中倾向于期待身体接触），即将其视为一种文化规范，对应选项 B。
49. A。解析：第四段首句指出在某些阿拉伯国家，men can publicly hold hands... as signs of brotherhood or friendship（男性可以公开牵手...作为兄弟情或友谊的象征），对应选项 A。
50. D。解析：文章末尾建议 show physical affection（表达身体情感）时，要 ask for consent beforehand（事先征得同意），即要考虑对方的偏好，对应选项 D。
全文翻译
你有没有想过拥抱或触碰某人在多大程度上是可接受的？虽然为了不冒犯任何人而避免所有身体接触听起来很安全，但缺乏触碰可能在人际关系中意味着冷淡的态度或漠不关心。那么，我们该怎么办？简单的答案是彻底学习每种文化中关于身体接触的独特规范。在非语言沟通术语中，身体接触及其研究通常被称为触觉学。沟通中的触觉学通常暗示着亲密的程度。它们通常被分为两类：高接触和低接触。亚洲，以及令人惊讶的美国、加拿大和英国，属于低接触文化。世界其他地方的人，如拉丁美洲，被认为是高接触文化，在那里的社交互动中人们倾向于期待身体接触，并对身体上的亲近感到更舒适。尽管有这样的分类，还有更复杂的因素，如关系亲密度、性别、年龄和情境，会影响一个人如何看待身体接触。法国一个常见的问候习俗是贴面吻，但这主要限于朋友、熟人和家庭成员之间。而贴面吻对拉丁美洲人来说也是一种普遍的问候形式，它不需要如此高程度的关系亲密度。然而，性别对他们来说更重要，因为贴面吻通常只发生在女性之间或男女之间，而不是两个男性之间。相比之下，在某些阿拉伯、非洲和亚洲国家，男人可以公开牵手或通过肢体接触表达兄弟情谊或友谊，而这些行为在世界其他地方可能暗示恋爱关系。尽管男性的触碰在这些文化中更正常，但在阿拉伯国家，非家庭成员异性之间的身体接触是被负面看待的。这些因素肯定会影响到某人对触觉沟通和身体亲密感到舒适的程度。因此，如果你是一个喜欢展示身体爱意的人，你不应该害怕表达它或彻底改变你的行为——只是事先征求同意就好！
Passage Two: Growth Mindset of Interest
51. A。解析：文章首句指出 issues facing today's world are increasingly complex and dynamic（当今世界面临的问题日益复杂且多变），对应选项 A (problems that are getting more varied and complicated)。
52. C。解析：第二段首句提到人们对兴趣的本质持有不同的信念（hold different beliefs），即在这个问题上有分歧，对应选项 C (People are divided about the nature of interest)。
53. D。解析：第二段末尾明确指出最新的研究 examines how a growth mindset of interest can boost integrative thinking across... disciplinary boundaries（研究兴趣成长型思维如何促进跨学科的综合性思考），对应选项 D。
54. C。解析：第四段通过智能手机的例子说明，创造好产品不仅需要计算机和工程知识，还需要心理学和视觉设计知识，即需要多学科知识（multidisciplinary knowledge），对应选项 C。
55. B。解析：最后一段指出成长型思维可以帮助求职者 expand their interests（拓展他们的兴趣），从而更具适应性，对应选项 B (Broadening their interests)。
核心短语与亮点句型
【核心搭配与高频短语】
- interpersonal relationships：人际关系
- cultural norms：文化规范
- nonverbal communication：非语言交际
- level of intimacy：亲密程度
- ask for consent：征得同意
- growth/fixed mindset：成长型/固定型思维模式
- integrative thinking：综合性思维
- disciplinary boundaries：学科边界
- take the initiative：采取主动
【亮点句型解析】
- While... so as not to... (退让与目的)：
"While it may sound safe to avoid all physical contact so as not to offend anyone, the lack of touching might imply cold attitudes..."
（虽然为了不冒犯任何人而避免所有身体接触听起来很安全，但缺乏接触可能暗示着冷淡的态度...）`While` 引导让步状语从句，`so as not to` 表示目的，这种句式在辩论中非常平衡。 - Not only... but also... (并列强调)：
"You need not only computer science and engineering knowledge, but also an understanding of psychology..."
（你不仅需要计算机科学和工程知识，还需要对心理学的理解...）这种结构是强调“跨学科/多方面要求”的经典写法。
全文翻译
从气候变化到持续的大流行及其他，当今世界面临的问题日益复杂和动态化。然而，解决这类问题需要超越传统思维方式的新方法。耶鲁大学心理学教授 Paul O'Keefe 领导的一项研究发现，拥有兴趣成长型思维模式可能激发这种创新。
O'Keefe 教授在早期研究中证实，人们对兴趣的本质持有不同的信念。具有兴趣成长型思维的人倾向于相信兴趣可以被发展和培养，而具有兴趣固定型思维的人倾向于相信兴趣是与生俱来的，只需被"发现"。在这些发现的基础上，最新研究考察了兴趣成长型思维如何能促进跨越传统文理科界限的整合性思维。
例如，在一项任务中，研究参与者被要求通过组合他们大学现有的两个或更多学术文理科项目来创建新的大学专业。在对他们产生的想法进行编码和分析后，团队发现具有兴趣成长型思维的人更有可能跨越文理科项目来创建新专业，如计算经济学，而不是仅从其中一个领域抽取来创建专业，如计算化学。
正如 O'Keefe 教授指出的，"这项研究为那些产品和服务需要整合性和创造性解决方案的组织提供了有益的方向。以智能手机为例，你不仅需要计算机科学和工程知识，还需要理解心理学和视觉设计才能创造出更好的产品。具有成长型思维的员工可能更有可能设计出跨越多个知识领域的创新想法来实现更好的解决方案。"
兴趣成长型思维的好处也可能延伸到那些求职的人。这是一个紧迫的问题，因为许多人因新冠疫情而失业。拥有兴趣成长型思维可以帮助求职者拓展兴趣，变得对不同领域更具适应性，并主动学习新技能。