2004 T4

文章¶

第一段¶

Americans today don't place a very high value on intellect. Our heroes are athletes, entertainers, and entrepreneurs, not scholars. Even our schools are where we send our children to get a practical education—not to pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Symptoms of pervasive anti-intellectualism in our schools aren't difficult to find.

place a very high value on sth./sb. → 很重视某事物/某人
entertainer → n. 演艺人员，表演者
sake → n. 利益，好处；目的
for the sake of → 为了……的利益
pervasive → adj. 弥漫的，遍布的
写作应用:: 很重视某事物/某人 → place a very high value on sth./sb.

第二段¶

"Schools have always been in a society where practical is more important than intellectual," says education writer Diane Ravitch. "Schools could be a counterbalance." Ravitch's latest book. Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms, traces the roots of anti-intellectualism in our schools, concluding they are anything but a counterbalance to the American distaste for intellectual pursuits.

anything but → 绝不是，远远不是
distaste → n. v. 反感，不喜欢

第三段¶

But they could and should be. Encouraging kids to reject the life of the mind leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and control. Without the ability to think critically, to defend their ideas and understand the ideas of others, they cannot fully participate in our democracy. Continuing along this path, says writer Earl Shorris, "We will become a second-rate country. We will have a less civil society."

vulnerable → adj. （身体或精神）脆弱的，易受伤的
exploitation → n. 剥削，压榨；开发，开采；（出于私利、不公正的）利用
defend one's ideas → 捍卫某人的思想

第四段¶

"Intellect is resented as a form of power or privilege," writes historian and professor Richard Hofstadter in Anti-intellectualism in American Life, a Pulitzer-Prize winning book on the roots of anti-intellectualism in US politics, religion, and education. From the beginning of our history, says Hofstadter, our democratic and populist urges have driven us to reject anything that smells of elitism. Practicality, common sense, and native intelligence have been considered more noble qualities than anything you could learn from a book.

populist → adj. 平民主义的
native intelligence → 先天智力
noble qualities → 高贵的品质

第五段¶

Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Transcendentalist philosophers thought schooling and rigorous book learning put unnatural restraints on children: "We are shut up in schools and college recitation rooms for 10 or 15 years and come out at last with a bellyful of words and do not know a thing."Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn exemplified American anti-intellectualism. Its hero avoids being civilized—going to school and learning to read—so he can preserve his innate goodness.

rigorous → adj. 僵化的，严格的
put unnatural restraints on ... → 人为限制 ...
bellyful → n. 满腹；满肚子；过量

第六段¶

Intellect, according to Hofstadter, is different from native intelligence, a quality we reluctantly admire. Intellect is the critical, creative, and contemplative side of the mind. Intelligence seeks to grasp, manipulate, re-order, and adjust, while intellect examines, ponders, wonders, theorizes, criticizes, and imagines.

reluctantly → adv. 不情愿地
contemplative → adj. 沉思的，冥思的
grasp → v. 抓牢，握紧；理解，领会；抓住（机会）
manipulate → v. 操纵，摆布；运用
ponder → v. 仔细考虑，琢磨，沉思

第七段¶

School remains a place where intellect is mistrusted. Hofstadter says our country's educational system is in the grips of people who "joyfully and militantly proclaim their hostility to intellect and their eagerness to identify with children who show the least intellectual promise."

mistrust → v. n. 不信任，怀疑
in the grip of → 受……控制
joyfully → adv. 高兴地，喜悦地
militantly → adv. 好战地；好斗地；强硬地
proclaim → v. （正式）宣告，（公开）声明；强调，声称
hostility → n. 敌意，对抗；强烈的反对，愤怒反抗；战斗，战争行动
intellectual promise → 才智上的前途

题目¶

36¶

What do American parents expect their children to acquire in school?

[A] The habit of thinking independently.

[B] Profound knowledge of the world.

[C] Practical abilities for future career.

[D] The confidence in intellectual pursuits.

37¶

We can learn from the text that Americans have a history of .

[A] undervaluing intellect

[B] favoring intellectualism

[C] supporting school reform

[D] suppressing native intelligence

38¶

The views of Ravitch and Emerson on schooling are .

[A] identical

[B] similar

[C] complementary

[D] opposite

identical → adj. 完全相同的；同一的
complementary → adj. 相互补充的，相辅相成的

39¶

Emerson, according to the text, is probably .

[A] a pioneer of education reform

[B] an opponent of intellectualism

[C] a scholar in favor of intellect

[D] an advocate of regular schooling

40¶

What does the author think of intellect?

[A] It is second to intelligence.

[B] It evolves from common sense.

[C] It is to be pursued.

[D] It underlies power.

intellect → 才智（后天学习）
intelligence → 先天智力（与生俱来）
underlie → vt. 构成……的基础，为……的起因；位于……的下面
不能体现是第二，不是作者的观点。
无中生有
正确
无中生有

单词记忆¶

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