Thinking is something you choose to do as a fish chooses to live in water. To be human is to think. But thinking may come naturally without your knowing how you do it. Thinking about thinking is the key to critical（批判性的）thinking. When you think critically, you take control of your thinking processes（过程）. Otherwise, you might be controlled by the ideas of others. Indeed, critical thinking is at the heart of education.
The word "critical" here has a special meaning. It does not mean taking one view against another view, as when someone criticizes another person for doing something wrong. The nature of critical thinking is thinking beyond the easily seen—beyond the pictures on TV, the untrue reports in the newspapers, and the faulty reasoning (错误的推理).
Critical thinking is an attitude as much as an activity. If you are curious about life and desire to dig deeper into it, you are a critical thinker; if you find pleasure in deep thinking about different ideas, characters, and facts, you are a critical thinker.
Activities of the mind and higher-order reasoning are processes of deep and careful consideration. They take time, and do not go hand in hand with the fast speed in today's world, fast foods, instant coffee, and self-developing film. If you are among the people who believe that speed is a measure of intelligence, you may learn something new from a story about Albert Einstein. The first time Banish Hoffman, a scientist, was to discuss his work with Albert Einstein, Hoffman was too nervous to speak. But Einstein immediately put Hoffman at ease by saying, "Please go slowly, I don't understand things quickly."Critical thinking is important to us because if we do not think critically,__________.
| A．it will be hard for us to think naturally and fast |
| B．we will follow the ideas of others naturally |
| C．we might be controlled by other people's ideas |
| D．we might be fooled by other people's ideas |
If you are a critical thinker, you will________.
| A．criticize other people for their mistakes | B．trust the reports in the newspapers |
| C．take one view against another view | D．think deeply about different ideas |
In the last paragraph, "something new" suggests that________.
| A．the smarter you are, the faster you do things |
| B．intelligence is not decided by speed |
| C．speed can improve intelligence |
| D．the faster you do things, the smarter you become |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Understanding Critical Thinking | B．Thinking and Critical Thinking |
| C．Thinking Natural and Human | D．Thinking Fast Means Intelligence |
He's an old cobbler （修鞋匠） with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris．When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: "I haven't time．Take them to the other fellow on the main street; he'll fix them for you right away．"
But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman (手艺人). "No," I replied, "The other fellow can't do it well."
"The other fellow" was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys "while-U-wait" -- without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap (鞋带) ,you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped his hands on his blue apron (围裙), looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, "Come back in a week."
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boot off a shelf.
"See what I can do " he said with pride. "Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work."
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, an old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his pride in his craft.
These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it "pays", when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption (消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period,it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.Which of the following is true about the old cobbler?
| A．He was equipped with the best repairing tools. |
| B．He was the only cobbler in the Marais. |
| C．He was proud of his skills. |
| D．He was a native Parisian. |
The sentence "He was something out of an ancient legend." ( paragraph 7 ) implies that .
| A．nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him |
| B．it was difficult to communicate with this man |
| C．the man was very strange |
| D．the man was too old |
According to the author, many people work just to.
| A．realize their abilities | B．gain happiness |
| C．make money | D．gain respect |
This story wants to tell us that.
| A．craftsmen make a lot of money | B．whatever you do, do it well |
| C．craftsmen need self-respect | D．people are born equal |
For the person keeping a journal, whatever he experiences and wants to hold he can write down. But to get it down on paper begins another adventure. For he has to focus on what he has experienced, and to be able to say what, in fact, the experience is. What of it is new? What of it is remarkable because ofassociations in the memory it stirs up? It is a good or bad thing to have happened? And why, specifically? The questions multiply (增多) themselves quickly. As one tries to find the words that best represent this discovery, the experience becomes even clearer in its shape and meaning.
Beyond the value of the journal as record, there is the value of the discipline it teaches. The journalist begins to pay closer attention to what happened to and around himself. He develops and sharpens his skills of observation. He learns the usefulness of languages as a means of representing what he sees, and gains skill and certainty in the expression of his experiences. To have given up one’s experience to words is to have begun marking out the limits and potential of its meaning. In the journal that meaning is developed and clarified (澄清、阐明) to oneself. When the intention of the development ofthat meaning is the consideration of another reader, the method of the journal redirects itself and it becomes the essay.According to the author, keeping a journal is good for ________.
| A．observation and expression |
| B．certainty and discipline |
| C．experience and adventure |
| D．consideration and development |
By keeping a journal, one can ________.
| A．develop the usefulness of language |
| B．develop his memory |
| C．clarify the consideration to everyone |
| D．have a thorough understanding of his experience |
Which of the following statements is NOT correct?
| A．The journalist can express what has happened. |
| B．A journal can serve as a record of the past happening. |
| C．The journalist must be able to observe closely. |
| D．Writing helps develop the consideration of others. |
The passage is mainly about ________.
| A．how to write a journal |
| B．the expressions of a journal |
| C．the values of keeping a journal |
| D．how to solve the problems in a journal |
The small unframed painting called “Fisherman” was signed by a little-known Italian artist, Maveleone (1669-1740). When it was sold recently in New York for $27,000, the seller, Mr. Oliver Pitt, was asked to explain how the picture had come into his possession.
Pitt said, “I didn’t know it was so valuable. I’m not an art expert. Photography is my hobby. I bought ‘Fisherman’ in Italy in 1970 for $140. The picture was dirty, and I couldn’t see the artist’s signature. But anyway it wasn’t the picture that I liked. I bought it because of the frame. ”
“It’s a most unusual frame, made of tiny, silvery sea-shells. They are set in such a way that they reflect perfect light onto the surface of a picture. I now have a photograph of my wife in that frame, and I’ll never part with it.”
“When I returned to New York I showed the painting in its frame to a customs officer. I told him that I had paid $140 for it but admitted I didn’t know its actual worth. The customs man valued it at $140, and I was asked to pay duty on that value. I did so, there and then. ”
“Later, I took off the frame, and that uncovered Maveleone’s signature. My wife suggested in fun that the painting might be a valuable one, so I cleaned it and put it up for sale.”
As a result of this explanation, Oliver Pitt had to appear in court. He was accused of knowingly making a false statement of the value of a picture so as to cheat the Customs Department.
Pitt was not happy. “I told the truth as I knew it then,” he said, “What else could I say?”
And then the judge agreed with him. “The Customs Department is to be responsible,” he said, “for making a true valuation of goods brought into the country, so that the correct amount of duty may be charged. Mr. Pitt did not cause or try to cause the mistake that was made. He paid the duty that was demanded. If, now, the Customs Department finds that its valuation was not correct, it cannot be allowed to have another try. Pitt is not guilty”.When Oliver Pitt bought the picture, ________.
| A．it was unframed | B．Maveleone signed the deal |
| C．he suggested that it was valuable | D．it was the frame that attracted him |
From the passage we can infer that if Maveleone had been a well-known artist, _.
| A．the painting would have cost much more than $ 140 |
| B．he wouldn’t have sold his painting |
| C．the customs officer wouldn’t have been cheated |
| D．Pitt wouldn’t have had the intention to buy any of his paintings |
Pitt took off the frame probably in order to _.
| A．clean the painting to put it up for sale |
| B．look for the artist’s signature |
| C．use it for his wife’s photograph |
| D．find the painting’s true value |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the story?
| A．In the end Pitt was asked to pay the correct amount of duty. |
| B．In the end Pitt sold the frame of the painting at an even higher price. |
| C．In the end the Customs Department had no right to revalue the painting. |
| D．In the end Pitt’s wife was regarded as an expert because of her wise suggestion. |
For several years, scientists have been testing a substance called interferon(干扰素), a possible wonder drug that is proving to be effective in treating a variety of diseases, including virus infections, bacterial infections, and cancers. To date, the new drug has no side effect of great influence to discourage its use. But in spite of its success, last year only one gram was produced in the entire world.
The reason for the shortage lies in the structure of interferon. A special protein, the interferon produced from one animal species cannot be used in treating another animal species. In other words, to treat human beings, only interferon produced by human beings may be used. The drug is produced by infecting white blood cells with a virus. Fortunately, it is so effective that the amount given to each patient each time is very small.
Unlike antibiotics (抗生素), interferon does not attack germs directly. Instead, it protects healthy cells from being infected, and prevents the reproduction of viruses within cells.
As you might conclude, one of the most special uses of interferon has been in the treatment of cancer. Dr. Hans Strander, a research physician at Sweden’s famous Karolinska Institute, has treated more than one hundred cancer patients with the new drug. Among a group of selected patients who had received operations for advanced cancer, half were given traditional treatments and the other half were given interferon. Among those treated with interferon 70 percent of them remained alive over three years, as compared with only 10 to 30 percent among those who had received the traditional treatments.
In the United States, a large-scale project supported by the American Cancer Society is now under way. If the experiment were successful, interferon could become one of the greatest medical discoveries of our time.What is the difference between antibiotics and interferon?
| A．Interferon has serious side effects, while antibiotics do not. |
| B．Antibiotics kill germs by attacking them directly, while interferon does not. |
| C．Antibiotics are very effective, while the effect of interferon is limited. |
| D．They are different in structure, although they are both proteins. |
According to the passage, if 170 cancer patients received interferon treatment, how many of them would remain alive over three years?
| A．About 30. |
| B．About 50. |
| C．About 120. |
| D．About 70. |
The passage tells us that ________.
| A．it is difficult to produce interferon in large quantities because of its special structure. |
| B．interferon is produced widely in lots of countries. |
| C．few of the patients who had received traditional treatments remained alive. |
| D．most of the patients who received interferon also needed traditional treatments. |
While in Banff, make time for a walk around town. A special treat is to go up the mountainside on the Banff Gondola for a surprising view of the valley below. Here is The pines, whose cook has developed a special way of mixing foreign food such as caribou, wild boar, and reindeer with surprising sauces.
Best time to visit is during the off-season, from early May to mid-June, or in October. This way you can avoid sharing the high way with mobile homes which can be pulled by cars. But whatever the season, take some lunch with you from Banff, because there are only a few food stops on the road.
Forty minutes north of Banff, side by side with the Banff National Park, sits world-famous Lake Louise. This surprisingly small body of water is attractive with towering mountains around it. Glaciers, huge masses of ice, moving very slowly against rocks, produce what is called glacier rock flour, making its water dark to see. It is worth taking a walk around the grounds of the Chateau Lake Louise, another beauty, proud of its early 20th century history.
Back on the road, and it’s time to continue north past the astonishing Columbia Icefield, then turn off the highway and take the short road to the base of the Athabaska Glacier. You can rent ice cleats (夹板) and do some climbing or do a more pleasant snowmobile tour. Either way, you can enjoy endless beautiful sights.
Finally you’ll reach Jasper, the usual turning around the place for the Banff-Jasper loop (回路). It’s worth riding the Jasper Skytram, and be sure to visit the wonderful Jasper Park Lodge, also dating back to the 1920s. If you can have lunch there, do it. The restaurant has an adventurous menu and their wine list would put a smile on any visitor’s face.According to the passage, The Pines is a ________.
| A．place in which you can see many mobile homes |
| B．mountain where you can get a good view of the valley |
| C．town which happens to be near the Banff National park |
| D．restaurant where you can ask for some special kinds of food |
What will probably happen when visitors come at the end of June?
| A．They may have trouble finding a restaurant. |
| B．They may come across traffic jams. |
| C．They may travel more easily with cars. |
| D．They may do much more sightseeing. |
Similar to the Chateau Lake Louise, ________.
| A．the Banff National Park is to the west of Banff |
| B．the Columbia Icefield lies between Lake Louise and the Banff National Park |
| C．the Jasper Skytram has a history of more than 80 years |
| D．the Jasper Park Lodge was built in the 1920s |
Besides the beautiful sights in Jasper Park Lodge, visitors to Jasper can enjoy themselves by ________.
A. taking the Jasper Skytram and eating in the restaurant
B. taking the Banff-Jasper loop and Jasper Skytram