主旨大意题

本刊试题研究中心

Task 1

Passers-by can see a fridge by a sidewalk in a corner of Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn. It hums quietly —indicating it's working， and not abandoned. The fridge is painted purple and sports a face with arched green eyebrows and a playful curl down its forehead. Beneath the face is a written message： “Free food for all！ Take some， leave some， keep it clean！” Inside， on its shelves， is fresh produce， left there by caring neighbors and supportive passers-by， or bought with donations made to Playground Coffee Shop， a community-minded cafe run by Zenat Begum. Everything inside the fridge is free.

In a little over a week， Begum and her team of Playground employees， volunteers， and friends have set up three such fridges—with the hope to install more in the coming weeks. The premise is simple： functioning fridges， filled with fresh fruits and vegetables for the taking.“We're only encouraging people to give fresh produce because that's what the war is on，” Begum said. Most of the fridges are also set up near local independent businesses， in the hope that they'll also receive some of the attention the fridges attract. “We're using our own sidewalks to do this because that's where the people are at.”

Begum had been toying with the idea of offering free produce for a while， but it wasn't until Priscilla Aguilar， a friend， offered an extra fridge that the idea started to take form. From there， the Playground team and its volunteers scoured the Web for other fridges， called for produce on Instagram， and sought out friends with cars to move their nascent（萌芽的） project， literally. “People were helping us clean. It's almost organic and such a synthesis of people coming together that it doesn't feel like any work. Except for the fact that we just have to keep this going—the maintenance is definitely going to be the hardest part，” said Begum.

The Playground team takes care to keep the fridges clean. “City regulations can often become a roadblock，” Begum said. “While in other countries public fridges have undergone legal pushback， there has yet to be any in New York.”

1. Who helped Begum put her idea into practice？

A. Her employers. B. Her parents.

C. Her customers. D. Her friend.

2. What can we infer about the fridge？

A. It is easy to maintain.

B. It is forbidden by law.

C. It is usually placed by the sidewalk.

D. It is recycled from the abandoned fridges.

3. Why did Begum set up the fridge？

A. To promote the local business.

B. To offer more job opportunities.

C. To attract the attention of passers-by.

D. To provide free food to the locals.

4. What could be the best title for the text？

A. Volunteering in the community

B. Recycling of abandoned fridges

C. Making the best of old fridges is urgent

D. Community fridges provide free food for locals

Task 2

Curiosity is what drives us to keep learning， keep trying， keep pushing forward. But how does one generate（產生） curiosity， in oneself or others？ George Loewenstein， a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University， offered an answer in the classic 1994 paper， The Psychology of Curiosity.

“Curiosity arises，” Loewenstein wrote，“when attention becomes focused on a gap in one's knowledge. Such information gaps produce the feeling of deprivation（缺乏） labeled curiosity. The curious individual is motivated to obtain the missing information to reduce the feeling of deprivation.” Loewenstein's theory helps explain why curiosity is such a force： it's not only a mental state but also an emotion， a powerful feeling that drives us forward.

Scientist Daniel Willingham notes that teachers are often “so eager to get to the answer that we do not devote enough time to developing the question”. Yet it's the question that stimulates（刺激） curiosity; being told an answer stops curiosity before it can even get going.

In his 1994 paper， George Loewenstein noted that curiosity requires some basic knowledge. We're not curious about something we know nothing about. But as soon as we know even a little bit， our curiosity is aroused and we want to learn more. In fact， research shows that curiosity increases with knowledge： the more we know， the more we want to know. To get this process started， Loewenstein suggests， take steps with some interesting but incomplete information.

Language teachers have long used communication in exercises that open an information gap and then require learners to communicate with each other in order to fill in it. For example， one student might be given a series of pictures for the beginning of the story， while the student's partner is given a series of pictures showing how that same story ends. Only by speaking with each other （in the foreign language they are learning， of course） can the students fill in each others' information gaps.

1. When one notices a gap in his knowledge， he______________.

A. desires to fill in it

B. tends to be afraid

C. might get tired and sad

D. will become focused on his learning

2. What does Daniel Willingham imply in the text？

A. Answers are more important than questions.

B. Teachers should be eager to get to the answer.

C. Teachers know how to stimulate students' curiosity.

D. Teachers are partly to blame for students' hating school.

3. According to George Loewenstein's paper， curiosity occurs only when you_____________.

A. have read a lot of books

B. know little about something

C. have some related information

D. are given incomplete information

4. What is the text mainly about？

A. Why students hate school.

B. Why curiosity is important.

C. How to stimulate curiosity.

D. What makes people hungry for knowledge.

Task 3

When I sent my daughter， Emma， off for her freshman year of college a few years ago， I found myself affected by an unbelievable feeling of melancholy. Clearly， I'm not alone. Just last week， The Wall Street Journal reported that more than 90 percent of colleges offer to help moms and dads who are “struggling with the change”.

Between Thanksgiving， winter holiday， spring break and summer break， the first one out of my nest has come fluttering back home nearly every month of the year since she has been away. Good friends like to joke that they see more of her now than they did when she was a senior in high school. In the meantime， Emma calls， texts or e-mails me almost every day.

Given all this， missing Emma seems kind of silly; I've never really gotten the chance. So why， then， have I still felt on some level that I've experienced a great loss？

All summer long before Emma left that first year， I took Emma out for countless mother-daughter breakfasts， lunches， coffees and walks. At the same time， I seemed to find fault with Emma all the time. In my eyes， Emma had spent the weeks leading up to school and going out with her friends too much， staying out way too late， making too big a mess， not working enough and， for goodness' sake， certainly not spending enough time with me！

Although it's taken quite a while to realize what was happening， I now understand that my unhappiness and anxiety are not a reflection of how much time Emma and I spend together. Regardless of how often she comes home， or how many times a day we chat or text， Emma has now gone in a far grander sense. She is well on the road to adulthood， and from this， she will never return.

1. What does the underlined word “melancholy” in paragraph 1 refer to？

A. Fierce anger. B. Deep sadness.

C. Extreme excitement.   D. Great satisfaction.

2. Why does it seem silly for the author to miss her daughter？

A. They keep in touch frequently.

B. Friends like to make fun of her.

C. Emma has grown into an adult.

D. Other parents don't behave like this.

3. What actually made the author overly worried？

A. The untidiness of Emma's room.

B. The passing of Emma's childhood.

C. Taking Emma out all too often.

D. Spending little time with Emma.

4. What is the best title for the text？

A. Changes in the parent-child relationship

B. The most concerned parents of all time

C. Growing pains for college students

D. Struggling to let go of my daughter