单选题 Three years ago I listened to a lecture on cognition (认知) that changed the way I think about intelligence. There are two types of cognition. The first is normal cognition: the ability to regain knowledge from memory. The second type of cognition is metacognition: the ability to know whether or not you know.
Does this affect intelligent? In traditional education, intelligence is measured by cognitive ability. Some people can easily produce everything they know on a test. But others are awarded with poor grades and considered inferior. But does this inability make them any less intelligent? If the question came up on a task, they could refer to a book or a quick Google search. In reality they"re just as effective as the people that ace a test. They just can"t prove it as easily.
Metacognition is more important to success than cognition. A person with poor cognitive ability, but great metacognition ability might do poorly in school, but when faced with a challenge, they understand their abilities and take the best course of action . For example, when face with a question, a person with strong metacognition ability will deal with it like this. If he knows the answer, but can"t come up with it, he can always do a bit of research. If he knows for sure that he doesn"t know, then he can start educating himself. Because he"s aware of his ignorance, he doesn"t act with foolish confidence. These people might not seem intelligent at first glance, but because they know what they know, they make better decisions and learn the most important things.
However, people with great cognitive ability but poor metacognition ability may be considered excellent at a young age for acing every test and getting great SAT scores. Unfortunately, they"ve been ruined by poor metacognition: they think they know everything but they really don"t. They are overconfident, fail to learn from mistakes, and don"t understand the slight differences of personal relationships, showing disregard for persons with lower cognitive ability. They may make the worst decisions.
The most important mental power is the ability to know what you don"t know. The recognition of a fault is the first step to improvement. Don"t try to hide a lack of knowledge. For intelligent people this is the toughest lesson to learn.
单选题 People with great cognitive ability tend to ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据第二段中“In traditional education, intelligence is measured by cognitive ability. Some people can easily produce everything they know on a test.”可知认知能力强的人考试考得好,故选A。
单选题 The underlined phrase "take the best course of action" probably means ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 语义题。从这段的最后一句话“These people might not...but because they know what they know, they make better decisions and learn the most important things.”可知元认知能力强的人能够意识到自己的弱点并会做出正确的决定,故选C。
单选题 People with poor metacognition may not succeed because they ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据第四段中“Unfortunately, they"ve been ruined by poor metacognition: they think they know everything but they really don"t.”可知元认知不好的人会因为对自己没有正确判断而失败,故选B。
单选题 The author probably supports the idea that ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。根据最后一段前两句话“The most important mental power is the ability to know what you don"t know. The recognition of a fault is the first step to improvement.”可知作者认为意识到自己的无知会有助于提高,故选D。
单选题 Which is TRUE according to the passage?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据第四段中“However, people with great cognitive ability but poor metacognition ability may be considered excellent at a young age for acing every test and getting great SAT scores. Unfortunately, they"ve been ruined by poor metacognition...They may make the worst decisions.”可知认知能力强但元认知不好的人可能会考试考得好,但可能会做出最差的决定,故选D。