Imagine a world in which there was suddenly no emotion--a world in which human beings could feel no love or happiness, no terror or hate. Try to imagine the consequences of such a transformation. People might not be able to stay alive; knowing neither joy nor pleasure, neither anxiety nor fear, they would be as likely to repeat acts that hurt them as acts that were beneficial. They could not learn: they could not benefit from experience because this emotionless world would lack rewards and punishments. Society would soon disappear: people would be as likely to harm one another as to provide help and support. Human relationships would not exist: in a world without friends or enemies, there could be no marriage, affection among companions, or bonds among members of groups. Society's economic underpinnings would be destroyed: since earning $10 million would be no more pleasant than earning $10, there would be no incentive to work. In fact, there would be no incentives of any kind. For as we will see, incentives imply a capacity to enjoy them. In such a world, the chances that the human species would survive are next to zero, because emotions are the basic instrument of our survival and adaptation. Emotions structure the world for us in important ways. As individuals, we categorize objects on the basis of our emotions. True, we consider the length, shape, size, or texture, but an object's physical aspects are less important than what it has done or can do to us--hurt us, surprise us, anger us or make us joyful. We also use categorizations colored by emotions in our families, communities, and overall society. Out of our emotional experiences with objects and events comes a social feeling of agreement that certain things and actions are "good" and others are "bad", and we apply these categories to every aspect of our social life--from what foods we eat and what clothes we wear to how we keep promises and which people our group will accept. In fact, society exploits our emotional reactions and attitudes, such as loyalty, morality, pride shame, guilt, fear and greed, in order to maintain itself. It gives high rewards to individuals who perform important tasks such as surgery, makes heroes out of individuals for unusual or dangerous achievements such as flying fighter planes in a war, and uses the legal and penal system to make people afraid to engage in antisocial acts.
单选题
The reason why people might not be able to stay alive in a world without emotion is that______ A. they would not be able to tell the texture of objects B. they would not know what was beneficial and what was harmful to them C. they would not be happy with a life without love D. they would not know how to protect themselves and not to hurt each other
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第一段第三句“People might not be able to stay alive;knowing neitherjoy nor pleasure,neither anxiety nor fear,they would be as likely to repeat acts that hurt them as acts that were beneficial.”可知,人们将无法生活下去;不知道什么是喜悦或快乐,也不知道什么 是焦虑或恐惧,他们有可能像做对自己有利的事情一样做对自己有害的事情。换言之,人们 将无法分清利害。据此判断,答案是B。
单选题
According to the passage, people's learning activities are possible because they______ A. believe that emotions are fundamental for them to stay alive B. benefit from providing help and support to one another C. understand what is vital to the progress of society D. enjoy being rewarded for doing the right thing
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第一段第四句“They could not learn:they could not benefit from experience because this emotionless world would lack rewards and punishments.”可知,人们无 法学习:无法吸取经验教训,因为这个没有情感的世界没有奖励和惩罚。换言之,人们学 习行为之所以成为可能就是因为他们做对了事情可以有奖励。据此判断,答案是D。
单选题
It can be inferred from the passage that the economic foundation of society is dependent on ______ A. the capacity to compete for success B. the ability to work for pleasure C. the capacity to enjoy making money D. the ability to make money
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第一段最后三句“Society's economic underpinnings would be destroyed: since earning$10 million would be no more pleasant than earning$10.there would be no incentive to work.In fact,there would be no incentives of any kind.For as we will see,incentives imply a capacity to enjoy them.”可知,社会的经济支柱也将遭到破坏:因为挣1000万美元的感觉和 挣10美元的感觉没有什么区别,工作也就缺乏动力。事实上,做任何事情都会失去动力。如 我们所知,动力意味着享受它们的能力。A项表述没有紧扣“经济基础”;B项表述与原文兴 趣甚远;D项表述没有切中肯綮,根据原文,经济基础不是取决于挣钱的能力,而是对挣钱 多少的感觉。据此判断,答案是B。
单选题
Emotions are significant for man's survival and adaptation because ______ A. they provide the means by which people view the size or shape of objects B. they are the basis for the social feelings by which society is maintained C. they encourage people to perform courageous achievements D. they generate more love than hate among people
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第二段前两句“In such a world.the chances that the human species would survive are next to zero,because emotions are the basic instrument of our survival and adaptation. Emotions structure the world for us in important ways.”可知,在一个没有情感的世界,人类幸 存下来的几率几乎为零,因为情感是我们幸存下来并适应环境的基本工具。情感是我们认知 世界结构的重要途径。据此判断,答案是B。