英语专四 短文听力 Passage 8-3

 短文

Questions 17 to 20 are based on the following passage.

People appear to born to compute¹. The counting skills of children develop so that it is easy to imagine (18) an internal clock of computing² guiding their growth. (19) Not long after learning to walk and talk, they can set the table with impressive accuracy— one knife，one spoon，one fork，for each of the five chairs. Soon they are capable of anything that they have placed five knives, spoons and forks on the table, and a bit later amounts to fifteen pieces of silverware.

Of course, the truth is not so simple. This century, the work of psychologists has explained the subtle forms of daily learning on which intellectual progress depends. Children were observed as they slowly grasped concepts that adults take for granted—quantity is unchanged as water pours from a short glass into a tall thin one. Psychologists have since demonstrated that (17) young children，asked to count the pencils in a pile, readily report the number of blue or red pencils，but must be led to find the total.

Such studies have suggested that the introduction of mathematics is mastered gradually, and with effort. They have also suggested that the (20) very concept of abstract numbers that applies to any class of objects and is a factor for doing anything more mathematical and demanding than setting a table—is far from born to be.

 

题目

Passage 8

Questions 17 to 20 are based on the following passage. At the end of the passage，you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions ?

Now, listen to the passage.

17. What does the pencil counting experiment suggest?

A. Children are capable of counting complex numbers.

B. Children are hard to report the number of blue or red ones.

C. Children cannot count the blue and red ones separately.

D. Children cannot find the total number without directions.

18. According to the passage，what is guiding children’s growth?

A. A biological clock of human body.

B. An internal clock of computing.

C. Children’s self-consciousness.

D. The introduction of mathematics.

19. When can children set the table with impressive accuracy?

A. After they learn to walk and talk.

B. After they could count things.

C. Before they could walk and talk.

D. Before they could count things.

20. What is the passage mainly about?

A. To explain that people are born to compute.

B. To illustrate³ children’s counting skills.

C. To prove that people gradually learn to compute.

D. To suggest the ways to learn computing.

 

答案解析

Passage 8

17. D本题考查的是听力的内容，根据听力材料，可知小孩子很容易数出蓝色或者红 色的铅笔，但需要指导才能算出总数。因此，选项D为正确答案。

18. B本题考査的是短文细节，根据听力材料可知内在的“计算钟”在引导儿童的成 长。因此，选项B为正确答案。

19. A本题考查的是短文的内容，根据听力材料可知在学习走路和说话不久后，他们 能准确地摆出餐具。因此，选项A为正确答案。

20. C本题考査的是短文主旨.根据听力材料可知文章旨在证明计算不完全是天生 的，还需要后天的指导和学习。因此，选项C为正确答案。

1 compute   

v./n.计算，估计

参考例句：

• I compute my losses at 500 dollars.我估计我的损失有五百元。
• The losses caused by the floods were beyond compute.洪水造成的损失难以估量。

2 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

3 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。