单选题
People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviors are formed. It is not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive.
Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of questions. They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behaviors. There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from one another, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory. The controversy is often referred to as "nature/nurture".
Those who support the "nature" side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetics(遗传学) factors. That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behavior is central to this theory. Taken to an extreme, this theory maintains that our behavior is predetermined to such a degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts.
Proponents of the "nurture" theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claimed that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act. A behaviorist, B. F. Skinner, sees humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. The behaviorists" view of the human being is quite mechanistic; they maintain that, like machines, humans respond to environmental stimuli(刺激) as the basis of their behavior.
Either of these theories cannot yet fully explain human behavior. In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain.
单选题
Which one of the following statements would supporters of the "nature" theory agree with?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 从文章第三段开头提到“Those who support the "nature" side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetics(遗传学)factors.”可知C是正确答案。
单选题
Which one of the following statements would proponents of the "nurture" theory agree with?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 由文章第四段第一句“Proponents of the "nurture" theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claimed that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act.”可知在持“nurture”理论观点的人看来，环境决定我们的行为。因此选A。
单选题
B.F. Skinner ______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 第四段第二句提到“B. F. Skinner, sees humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings.”此题关键是读出被动句和shape的意思。文中的shape(塑造)与选项中的“play an important role in determing”是同义替换。
单选题
Concerning the nature/nurture controversy, the writer of this article ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 从文中第五段第二句“In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes.”可知D正确。
单选题
In the United States, Black people often score below White people on intelligence tests. With this in mind, which one of the following statements is NOT TRUE?