单选题
A. mental B. promise C. kill D. avoid E. hope F. especially G. aid H. ordinary I. approval J. monetary K. generally L. improve M. challenging N. restore O. excellent Psychologists take opposing views of how external rewards, from warm praise to cold cash, affect motivation and creativity. Behaviorists, who study the relation between actions and their consequences, argue that rewards can 42 performance at work and school. Cognitive (认识派的) researchers, who study various aspects of mental life, maintain that rewards often destroy creativity by encouraging dependence on 43 and gifts from others. The latter view has gained many supporters, 44 among educators. But the careful use of small 45 rewards speaks creativity in grade school children, suggesting that properly presented inducements indeed 46 inventiveness, according to a study in the June Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 'If kids know they're working for a reward and can focus on a relatively 47 task, they show the most creativity,' says Robert Eisenberger of the University of Delaware in Newark. 'But it's easy to 48 creativity by giving rewards for poor performance or creating too much anticipation for rewards. A teacher who continually draws attention to rewards or who hands our high grades for 49 achievement ends up with uninspired students, Eisenberger holds. As an example of the latter point, he notes growing efforts at major universities to tighten grading standards and 50 failing grades. In early grades, the use of so-called token economies, in which students handle challenging problems and receive performance-based points to ward valued rewards, shows 51 in raising efforts and creativity, the Delaware psychologist claims.
【答案解析】空格处应填形容词。备选项为：A．mental“精神的”：H．ordinary“普通的”；J．monetary“货币的，财政的”；M．challenging“挑战的”；O．excellent“卓越的”。由But转折可知此句表明的观点与认知派研究专家(who study various aspects of mental life)的观点(物质奖励有害)相反，因此可以推断出此处应填的形容词是表示“物质奖励”的词，选项中只有monetary符合题意。故答案为J。
【答案解析】由it's easy to do的不定式结构可知，此处应填动词原形。备选单词为：C．kill“扼杀”；D．avoid“避免”；L．improve“改善，增进”；N．restore“恢复，还原”；E．hope“希望，期望”。由此句中的But转折与前一句中的show the most creativity“表现出最强的创造力”可以推断出，此处填的词应与show the most表达的意思相反，且与destroy意思相近，选项中只有kill符合题意。故答案为C。