单选题 In these times of fast media and ever-growing Internet, we are under so many external influences that it is anything but easy to think for ourselves. Unless you are a cunning, very aware person, you most likely don't even know when your thinking is not your own.
Not that all outside influence is bad to form your own views, but being unable to think for yourself can make you miserable at best, or a puppet of someone else's programming, at worst.
Admittedly, we are all born into societies or cultures where the norms and customs are already established. We have little choice but to conform to what is already in place. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however, it can be confining and controlling if we accept everything blindly and never question the status quo.
Does this mean all of your ideas can be original and unlike everyone else's? Not at all!
Nor does it require being contrary and argumentative just to be defiant or stand out. To think for yourself means that whatever opinions you hold will be well thought out and arise from thorough investigation and thoughtful analysis. It means choosing not to compromise the facts for the sake of consensus or fitting in. It is not unlike critical thinking—it just brings about a broader scope of choices and decision-making in your life.
For example, how many of us feel the need to keep up with "the latest"? We wear clothes, listen to music and follow trends that the media tells us we should in order to be cool. Marketing companies create ads that tempt us into a herd mentality as we fall into debt, wear fashions that are unbecoming, and get caught up in a cycle of over-spending and then stressing out over it. We are living lives designed for us by the powers without our conscious participation.
Another trap we fall into when we don't think for ourselves is groupthink. Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that takes place within a group of people who try to avoid conflict and reach agreement without critically evaluating options or alternative ideas. The problem with groupthink is that it hinders finding the best solutions, impedes creative ideas and frustrates independent thinking. Wanting to be part of the crowd can certainly have its drawbacks!

单选题 It can be learned from the first paragraph that______.
A. it is necessary to take one's own interest into consideration
B. a clever person is always obedient and unselfish
C. independent thinking doesn't come easily to us
D. the Internet has made humans more thoughtful

单选题 Trying to conform to established ideas ______.
A. is something you can easily avoid doing
B. is sometimes what we can't help doing
C. can seldom do any good to you
D. rarely happens in modern society

单选题 The ability to think for yourself means that ______.
A. your ideas have to be novel and unique
B. your should never use critical thinking
C. you should try to be defiant and well-known
D. your opinions are based on facts and contemplation

单选题 Paragraph 6 is mainly concerned with ______.
A. what we must do to learn to think for ourselves
B. the prevalent outside influence on our lives
C. the numerous mistakes we make in daily life
D. the negative impact of TV commercials on us

单选题 From the last paragraph, it can be concluded that groupthink ______.
A. can lead to the loss of individual creativity
B. contributes little to group harmony and cohesion
C. cares about alternative or different ideas
D. encourages independent thinking eventually

单选题 The purpose in writing this passage is to ______.
A. define what is independent thinking
B. tell us how to develop original ideas
C. describe the consequence of groupthink
D. urge people to think for themselves