单选题
The human thirst for knowledge is the driving force behind our successful development as a species. But curiosity can also be dangerous, leading to setbacks or even downfalls. Given curiosity’s complexity, scientists have found it hard to define. While pinning down a definition has proven tricky, the general consensus is it’s some means of information gathering. Psychologists also agree curiosity is intrinsically (内在的) motivated. Curiosity covers such a large set of behaviors that there probably isn’t any single "curiosity gene" that makes humans wonder about and explore their environment. That said, curiosity does have a genetic component. Genes and the environment interact in many complex ways to shape individuals and guide their behavior, including their curiosity. Regardless of their genetic makeup, infants have to learn an incredible amount of information in a short time, and curiosity is one of the tools humans have found to accomplish that gigantic task. Hundreds of studies show that infants prefer novelty. It’s what motivates non-human animals, human infants and probably human adults to explore and seek out new things before growing less interested in them after continued exposure. But curiosity often comes with a cost. In some situations, the stakes are low and failure is a healthy part of growth. For instance, many babies are perfectly proficient crawlers, but they decide to try walking because there’s more to see and do when they stand upright. But this milestone comes at a small cost. A study of 12- to 19-month-olds learning how to walk documented that these children fell down a lot. Seventeen times per hour, to be exact. But walking is faster than crawling, so this motivates expert crawlers to transition to walking. Sometimes, however, testing out a new idea can lead to disaster. For instance, the Inuit people of the Arctic regions have created incredible modes to deal with the challenges of living in northern climates, but what we forget about are the tens of thousands of people that tried and failed to make it in those challenging landscapes.
单选题
What is the general understanding of curiosity?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】由题干中的the general understanding of curiosity定位到第二段第一句。细节辨认题。定位句提到，虽然事实证明给好奇心下定义很难，但大家普遍认为好奇心是一种收集信息的手段。由此可知，好奇心可以激励人类去寻找信息，故答案为A)。文章第三段提到，好奇心涵盖了如此多的行为，以至于很可能没有任何一种单一的“好奇心基因”能让人类对自己的环境感到好奇和探索。这就是说，好奇心确实有基因成分，但并未提及好奇心能改变人类基因，B)的表述错误，故排除；文章第一段提到，好奇心虽然是人类成功发展背后的驱动力，但也可能是危险的，所以说好奇心对人类有利有弊，但并没有提及是否利大于弊，故排除C)；D)“它是所有人类行为的基础”在文中未提及，故排除。
单选题
What do we learn about how genes shape people’s behavior?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】由题干中的we learn about how genes shape people’s behavior定位到第三段第三句。细节辨认题。定位句指出，基因和环境以许多复杂的方式相互作用，塑造个体并指导他们的行为，包括他们的好奇心。由此可见，基因之所以可以影响人类的行为，是与环境相互作用的结果，故答案为D)。A)和B)在文中均未提及，故排除；第四段提到婴儿必须在短时间内学习大量的信息，而好奇心是人类完成这一巨大任务的工具之一。也就是说，是好奇心而不是基因使人们能够承担艰巨的任务，故排除C)。
单选题
What do numerous studies show about infants?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】由题干中的numerous studies show about infants定位到第五段第一句。细节辨认题。第五段第一句提到，数百项研究表明，婴儿更喜欢新奇的事物。这是促使非人类动物、人类婴儿，甚至可能是人类成年人探索和寻找新事物的动力，而在持续接触之后，他们对新事物的兴趣会减弱。由此可见，婴儿比成年人更喜欢追求新奇的东西，故答案为B)。文章第五段第一句提到，婴儿更喜欢新奇事物，但是文中并没有提及婴儿比成年人更具好奇心，故排除A)；第五段第二句提到，这是促使非人类动物、人类婴儿，甚至可能是人类成年人探索和寻找新事物的动力，而在持续接触之后，他们对新事物的兴趣会减弱，由此可见，在好奇心方面，婴儿、非人类动物以及成年人可能是一样的，故排除C)；D)文章并未提及，故排除。
单选题
What does the example of the Inuit people of the Arctic regions illustrate?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】由题干中的the lnuit people of the Arctic regions定位到最后一段。推理判断题。最后一段第二句中的For instance说明该句是例证，主要说明第一句的观点。第一句指出，有时候测试一个新想法可能会导致灾难。由此可见，驱使人类不断进行探索的好奇心也会给人类带来负面的影响，故答案为A)。最后一段第二句指出，北极地区的因纽特人创造了令人难以置信的模式来应对生活在北方的气候的挑战，但我们忘记的是成千上万的人曾试图在这具有挑战性的环境中生存而未能成功。由此可见，寒冷天气确实十分严酷，但是这并不是提及该例子的原因，故排除B)；文中未提及C)和D)，故排除。