单选题 Like so many things of value, truth is not always easy to come by. What we regard as true shapes our beliefs, attitudes, and actions. Yet we can believe things that have no basis in fact. People are capable of embracing horrific precepts that seem incredible in retrospect. In Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler had millions of followers who accepted his delusions about racial superiority. As Voltaire put it long before Hitler's time, "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. "
We are surrounded by illusions, some created deliberately. They may be subtle or may affect us profoundly. Some illusions, such as films and novels, we seek out and appreciate. Others can make us miserable and even kill us. We need to know if particular foods that taste perfectly fine can hurt us in the short term (as with Salmonella contamination) or in the long term (cholesterol), whether a prevalent virus is so dangerous that we should avoid public places, and what problems a political candidate may cause or resolve if elected. Gaining insights about the truth often is a challenge, and misconceptions can be difficult to recognize.
We often believe stories because they are the ones available. Most people would identify Thomas Edison as the inventor of the incandescent light bulb. Although Edison perfected a commercially successful design, he was preceded in the experimentation by British inventors Frederick de Moleyns and Joseph Swan, and by American J. W. Starr.
The biggest enemies of truth are: people whose job is to sell us incomplete versions of the available facts, our willingness to believe what we want and the simple absence of accurate information. Companies advertising products on television do not describe the advantages of their competitors' products any more than a man asking a woman to marry him encourages her to date other men before making up her mind. It is a social reality that people encourage one another to make important decisions with limited facts.
Technology has simplified and complicated the fact-gathering process. The Internet allows us to check facts more easily, but it also disburses misinformation. Similarly, a belief that videos and photos necessarily represent reality ignores how easily they can be digitally altered. Unquestioning reliance on such forms of media makes us more susceptible to manipulators: those who want to deceive can dazzle us with a modern version of smoke and mirrors.

单选题 According to Voltaire, ______.
A. Hitler was obsessed with violence
B. irrational ideas may be spread widely
C. irrational ideas may lead to violence
D. Hitler was misled by racism

单选题 Paragraph 2 show that ______.
A. truth is hard to get due to misconceptions
B. public health deserves much attention
C. political elections have profound impact
D. illusions are helpful in gaining new insights

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文中第二段的内容可知，我们的周围充满了各种各样的假象，其中的一些是有人蓄意制造出来的。它们也许难以捉摸，或会对我们产生深刻的影响。有些假象(如电影和小说)值得我们探索并欣赏；而另外一些假象却可能给我们带来不幸，甚至使我们丧命。我们需要知道的是，某些尝起来非常美味的食物是否会在短期内(如沙门氏菌污染)或在长期内(如胆固醇)对我们的健康有害；某种正在流行的病毒非常危险，我们是否应该避免出入公共场所；如果某位政党候选人当选的话，可能会引起或解决什么问题。洞悉真理的过程是一种挑战，错误的观点可能难以辨认。据此可知，A项“错误想法致使真理难以获得”正确。

单选题 By mentioning Thomas Edison, the author seems to emphasize that ______.
A. business successes may cover the truth
B. commercial activities may involve cooperation
C. irrational ideas may influence technological progress
D. misconceptions may be due to lack of information

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文中第三段的“We often believe stories because they are the ones available．Most people…by American J.W.Starr.”可知，我们常常相信那些能够得到的信息。爱迪生只是成功地完善了白炽灯的商业化设计，但大多数人会认为白炽灯的发明者是托马斯·爱迪生。在他之前，英国的发明者弗雷德里克·德·莫林斯和约瑟夫·斯万，还有美国的J·W·斯塔尔已经开始了白炽灯的实验。据此可知，通过引用托马斯·爱迪生的事例，作者是想强调信息缺乏可能会导致错误的想法。D项正确。

单选题 Advertising and making a marriage proposal are similar in that both ______.
A. encourage fair competition B. give partial information
C. attack their enemies D. take advantage of people's hesitation

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文中第四段的内容可知，真理最大的敌人是：向我们兜售真相的不完整版本的那些人，我们愿意相信自己需要的事物，以及准确信息的缺乏。在电视上为其产品做广告宣传的公司决不会描述竞争对手产品的优点，正如向女人求婚的男人决不会在她作出决定之前就鼓励她去和别的男人约会。人们依据有限的真实信息促使彼此作出重要决定，这是一种社会现实。据此可知，文中例举广告与求婚的原因是两者存在相似之处，即提供的信息都不全面。B项正确。

单选题 The boldfaced word "disburses" in Paragraph 5 probably means "______. "
A. spreads B. disturbs C. falsifies D. corrects

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文中第五段的“Technology has simplified and complicated the fact-gathering process．The Internet allows us to check facts more easily，but it also disburses misinformation．”可知，科技既使收集资料的过程简单化，同时也使其复杂化。互联网让我们容更易核查事情的真相，但是它也会发布错误信息。据此可知，第五段的单词disburses意为“分配，支出”，因此A项spreads“(使)传播，(使)散布”正确。

单选题 The drawback brought by technology is that it makes people prone to ______.
A. be addicted B. be taken in C. show off D. decide hastily

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文中最后一段的内容可知，科技既使收集资料的过程简单化，同时也使其复杂化。互联网让我们容更易核查事情的真相，但是它也会发布错误信息。与此类似，有人相信视频和照片必然代表真实的事物，却忽略了对它们进行数码处理是多么容易。对这类媒体不加怀疑的依赖令我们更易受人操纵，那些想要实施欺骗的人可以利用现代版的欺骗手段来迷惑我们。据此可知，科技的缺点是它使人们容易受骗。be taken in意为“受骗，中计”，B项正确。