第10讲.阅读理解之观点态度题

第十讲阅读理解之观点态度题

【考点说明】

阅读理解之观点态度题在考试中考察得比重不大，在有传统阅读题型的联盟考试（复旦千分考、北约、卓越同盟）中，一般观点态度题不超过一道题，有时不会出现，如复旦07年考了两道，但08年没有考察此类题型，09年再次出现。尽管这类题所占比重不大，掌握考试技巧也是必备的。

【题型特点分析】

通常作者的观点或者态度往往会在文章的措辞、文体和结构中得以反映。大多数文章采取比较客观和实事求是的态度，其写作意图是向读者提供信息。但有时会在文章中表现出一些个人的感情色彩，或批评，或讽刺，或感叹。要做对这类题，必须正确理解作者的真正观点，同时还要正确地推断作者的语气、态度，弄清作者写这篇文章的目的，作者的态度是肯定还是否定，以及文中的事实论据是否支持作者的论点等。同时还必须体会作者的用词和其它修辞手段，例如比喻和讽刺。

常见的题干表现形式有：

It’s the author’s view that…

What is the author’s attitude toward …?

The author’s attitude toward… could be described as…

Which of the following best describes the author’s tone in the passage?

【解题技巧】

1.阅读时注意区分不同的文体。议论文中，文章的主题句往往会暗示作者的态度，而记叙文则会通过

描述性的语言表达作者的某种倾向。

2.推断分析作者态度或观点时，还需要结合文章的中心思想或主旨，尤其要找出作者的观点。

3.文章中会有许多能够表达作者观点的具有感情色彩（如褒义词或贬义词）的词语，这些词语在一定

程度上是作者态度的反映。如果文章中出现较多的褒义词，那作者的态度可能是正面的；相反，如果文中出现了较多的贬义词，那么作者的观点可能就是负面的。

4.常见表示支持、赞同的词汇包括：

positive 肯定的，积极的；favorable 赞成的；approval 赞成的；enthusiastic 热情的；optimistic 乐观的；appreciative 欣赏的。

5.常见表示反对、否定的词汇包括：

negative 消极的，否定的；critical 批判的；disapproving 不赞同的；cynical 愤世嫉俗的；scornful 批判的；pessimistic 悲观的。

6.常见表示客观、中立的词汇包括：

neutral 中立的；impartial 无偏见的；impersonal 没有个人喜好的；objective 客观的。

备注：有些考察作者观点态度的题目选项中给出的不是评价态度的词汇，而是一些句子，其实表达目的是相似的，如：

The attitude of the author is that ______.

A. she hates a tradition of all-women schools

B. she calls on women in support of the protest

C. she dislikes the change and hopes to file a lawsuit

D. she objectively describes the new and uneasy coeducation

A选项中的hate显然表明作者的态度是反对的，B选项的call on sb. in support of表明作者的态度是支持的，C选项的dislike表示作者的态度是不喜欢，比A选项的hate程度稍微弱些，D选项的objectively是关键词，属于上面第六点提到的内容，表明作者客观中立的态度。因此，大家要学会灵活识别态度表达方式，可以

是单词，可以是短语，也可以是句子。

【典例精讲】

A

The fridge is considered a necessity. It has been so since the 1960s when packaged food first appeared with the label "store in the refrigerator".

In my fridgeless fifties childhood, I was fed well and healthily. The milkman came daily, the grocer, the butcher, the baker, and the ice-cream man delivered two or three times a week. The Sunday meat would last until Wednesday and surplus bread and milk became all kinds of cakes. Nothing was wasted, and we were never troubled by rotten food. Thirty years on, food deliveries have ceased, fresh vegetables are almost unobtainable in the country.

The invention of the fridge contributed comparatively little to the art of food preservation. A vast way of well-tried techniques already existed: natural cooling, drying, smoking, salting, sugaring, bottling ...

What refrigeration did promote was marketing —marketing hardware and electricity, marketing soft drinks, marketing dead bodies of animals around the globe in search of a good price.

Consequently, most of the world's fridges are to be found, not in the tropics where they might prove useful, but in the wealthy countries with mild temperatures where they are climatically almost unnecessary. Every winter, millions of fridges hum away continuously, and at vast expense, busily maintaining an artificially-cooled space inside an artificially-heated house —while outside, nature provides the desired temperature free of charge.

The fridge's effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been insignificant. If you don't believe me, try it yourself, invest in a food cabinet and turn off your fridge next winter. You may miss the hamburgers, but at least you'll get rid of that terrible hum.

Q: What is the author's overall attitude toward fridges?

A. Neutral.

B. Critical.

C. Objective.

D. Compromising.

【答案】B

【解析】这是一篇讲述冰箱给人们生活带来变化以及作者使用冰箱的想法的文章。文章虽然—开始就说The fridge is considered a necessity，但作者也迅速在第二段表明In my fridgeless fifties

childhood，I was fed well and healthily，并回忆了当年没有冰箱的生活。第三段的第一句The

invention of the fridge contributed comparatively little to the art of food preservation也明显带有作

者的观点。全文的诸多细节都可以看出作者的态度是批评的。

B

Engineering students are supposed to be examples of practicality and rationality, but when it comes to my college education, I am an idealist and a fool. In high school, I wanted to be an electrical engineer and of course, any sensible student with my aims would have chosen a college with a large engineering department, famous reputation and lots of good labs and research equipment. But that's not what I did.

I chose to study engineering at a small liberal-arts university that doesn't even offer a major in electrical engineering. Obviously, this was not a practical choice; I came here for more noble reasons. I wanted a broad education that would provide me with flexibility and a value system to guide me in my career. I wanted to open my eyes and expand my vision by interacting with people who weren't studying science or engineering. My parents, teachers and other adults praised me for such a sensible choice. They told me I was wise and mature beyond my 18 years, and I believed them.

I headed off to college sure I was going to have an advantage over those students who went to big engineering "factories" where they didn't care if you had values or were flexible, I was going to be a complete engineer: technical genius and sensitive humanist all in one.

Now I'm not so sure. Somewhere along the way my noble ideals crashed into reality, as all noble ideals eventually do. After three years of struggling to balance math, physics and engineering courses with liberal-arts courses, I have learned there are reasons why few engineering students try to reconcile engineering with liberal-arts courses in college.

The reality that has blocked my path to become the typical successful student is that engineering and the liberal arts simply don't mix as easily as I assumed in high school. Individually they shape a person in very different ways: together they threaten to confuse. The struggle to reconcile the two fields of study is difficult.

Q: The authors experience shows that he was .

A. creative

B. unrealistic

C. ambitious

D. irrational

【答案】B

【解析】这是一篇关于文科和工科互不兼容的说明文。作者用自己的亲身经历告诉我们他当时报考文科学校读工科的原因，并经过自己三年的挣扎，意识到工科和文科难以协调在同一个人身上，

文章不时流露出表达自己情感态度的语句。尤其在文章的最后The reality that has blocked my

path to become the typical successful student is that engineering and the liberal arts simply don't mix

as easily as I assumed in high school.更是点出作者当年的“不切实际”。

C

As soon as it was revealed that a reporter for Progressive magazine had discovered how to make a hydrogen bomb, a group of firearm fans formed the National Hydrogen Bomb Association, and they are now lobbying against any legislation to stop Americans from owning one.

"The Constitution," said the association’s spokesman, "gives everyone the right to own arms. It doesn't spell out what kind of arms. But since anyone can now make a hydrogen bomb, the public should be able to buy it to protect themselves."

"Don't you think it's dangerous to have one in the house, particularly where there are children around?"

"The National Hydrogen Bomb Association hopes to educate people in the safe handling of this type of weapon. We are instructing owners to keep the bomb in a locked cabinet and the fuse separately in a drawer. "

"'Some people consider the hydrogen bomb a very fatal weapon which could kill somebody."

The spokesman said, "Hydrogen bombs don't kill people —people kill people. The tomb is for self-protection and it also has a deterrent effect. If somebody knows you have a nuclear weapon in your house, they're going to think twice about breaking in. "

"But those who want to ban the bomb for American citizens claim that if you have one locked in the cabinet, with the fuse in a drawer, you would never be able to assemble it in time to stop an intruder. "

"Another argument against allowing people to own a bomb is that at the moment it is very expensive to build one. So what your association is backing is a program which would allow the middle and upper classes to acquire a bomb while poor people will be left defenseless with just handguns. "

Q: From the tone of the passage we know that the author is .

A. doubtful about the necessity of keeping H-bombs at home for safety

B. unhappy with those who vote against the ownership of H-bombs

C. not serious about the private ownership of H-bombs

D. concerned about the spread of nuclear weapons

【答案】D

【解析】这是一篇论述美国人是否应该拥有氢弹的说明文。短文第一段引入主题后提出自己的观点，但用了大量的篇幅来说明正反两方的观点，再结合文章的主题，我们不难知道作者对该事件

是非常关注的。

D

I’m usually fairly skeptical about any research that concludes that people are either happier or unhappier or more or less certain of themselves than they were 50 years ago. While any of these statements might be true, they are practically impossible to prove scientifically. Still, I was struck by a report which concluded that today's children are significantly more anxious than children in the 1950s. In fact, the analysis showed, normal children aged 9 to 17 exhibit a higher level of anxiety today than children who were treated for mental illness 50 years ago.

Why are America's kids so stressed? The report cites two main causes: increasing physical isolation —brought on by high divorce rates and less involvement in community, among other things —and a growing perception that the world is a more dangerous place.

Given that we can't turn the clock back, adults can still do plenty to help the next generation cope.

At the top of the list is nurturing a better appreciation of the limits of individualism. No child is an island. Strengthening social ties helps build communities and protect individuals against stress.

To help kids build stronger connections with others, you can pull the plug on TVs and computers. Your family will thank you later. They will have more time for face-to-face relationships, and they will get more sleep.

Limit the amount of viral violence your children are exposed to. It's not just radio games and movies, children see a lot of murder and crime on the local news.

Keep your expectations for your children reasonable. Many highly successful people never attended Harvard or Yale.

Make exercise part of your daily routine. It will help you cope with your own anxieties and provide a good model for your kids. Sometimes anxiety is unavoidable. But it doesn't have to ruin your life.

Q: The author thinks that the conclusions of any research about people's state of mind are

A. surprising

B. confusing

C. illogical

D. questionable

【答案】D

【解析】这是一篇关于美国儿童心理压力过大和如何帮助孩子处理这些压力的说明文。文章不仅在第二段简要说明了孩子心理压力大的两大根源，并且在第四段至第八段列举了五种帮助孩子克

服压力的方法，本题问的是作者对涉及人们心态研究的结论的态度，仔细阅读文章第一段的

头两句：I’m usually fairly skeptical about any research that concludes that people are either happier

or unhappier or more or less certain of themselves than they were 50 years ago. While any of these

statements might be true, they are practically impossible to prove scientifically.不难看出，作者的态

度是fairly skeptical和impossible to prove scientifically，因此说明作者对这些结论的态度是怀

疑的。

E

It's no secret that many children would be healthier and happier with adoptive parents than with the parents that nature dealt them. That's especially true of children who remain in abusive homes because the law blindly favors biological parents. It's also true of children who suffer for years in foster homes because of parents who can't or won't care for them but refuse to give up custody rights.

Fourteen-year-old Kimberly Mays fits neither description, but her recent court victory could eventually help children who do. Kimberly has been the object of an angry custody battle between the man who raised her and her biological parents, with whom she has never lived. A Florida judge ruled that the teenager can remain with the only father she's ever known and that her biological parents have "no legal claim" on her.

The ruling, though it may yet be reversed, sets aside the principle that biology is the primary determinant of parentage. That's an important development, one that's long overdue.

Shortly after birth in December 1978, Kimberly Mays and another infant were mistakenly switched and sent home with the wrong parents. Kimberly's biological parents Ernest and Regina Twigg, received a child who died of a heart disease in 1988. Medical tests showed that the child wasn't the Twiggs' own daughter, but Kimberly was, thus sparking a custody battle with Robert Mays. In 1989, the two families agreed that Mr. Mays would maintain custody with the Twiggs getting visiting rights. Those rights were ended when Mr. Mays decided that Kimberly was being harmed.

The decision to leave Kimberly with Mr. Mays rendered her suit debated. But the judge made clear that Kimberly did have standing to sue on her own behalf. Thus he made clear that she was more than just property to be handled as adults saw fit.

Certainly, the biological link between parent and child is fundamental. But biological parents aren't always preferable to adoptive ones, and biological parentage does not convey an absolute ownership that cancels all the rights of children.

Q: The author's attitude towards the judge's ruling could be described as .

A. doubtful

B. critical

C. cautious

D. supportive

【答案】D

【解析】这是一篇阐述许多儿童随养父母生活比亲生父母生活更健康、更幸福的议论文，作者开门见山提出论点，并通过Kimberly Mays的事例进一步论证。文中作者观点鲜明，态度明确。本题

问到作者对法官的裁决的态度，可以通过文章第三段看出：这种不把血缘关系作为决定父母

子女关系的唯一考虑的做法是一个重大的发展。由此可见，应该选D。

例题后的技巧总结：

1）通读全文，了解大致内容；

2）关注转折词（actually, in fact, however, but, etc.）后面的句子体现出的作者态度。

3）不要把自己的态度揉入其中，还要区分清楚作者本人的态度和作者引用别人的态度。

4）学会用排除法做题。

【真题模拟题训练】

（1）

Sarah Alexander celebrated the start of her last year at Wells College the way many other seniors before her have. She ran across the picturesque campus to the shores of Cayuga Lake, where she jumped into the water.

So did many of her fellow seniors. But dozens of students decided to stay away, especially the relatively few newly arrived male students.

Wells College, which since 1868 had educated only women, began accepting men this year in hopes of bolstering its dwindling enrollment. For many students and alumnae, it was a crushing decision. After the college announced last October that it would go coeducational, about half of the students protested and two filed a lawsuit, which they later dropped.

The students ---- 33 men and 383 women ---- came to campus late last month. Both sexes are now trying to navigate the new social landscape. Mr. Phillips said, “You can’t do guy stuff. Every time you want to sit and

watch sports or a game, it turns into a movie.” The women were “somewhat nasty”. I could see the dirty looks in their eyes.” He said, “But I was not going to let that stop me from coming.”

Wells was a place where women did not have to fuss over their appearance or fight to be taken seriously by their professor. They could enjoy the camaraderie of their campus sisters and their playful traditions. Besides jumping into the lake, the women dance around the maypole each May and kiss the feet of the statue of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, before exams.

Ms. Alexander said, “People told us we wouldn’t notice a difference, but from the moment men arrived on campus you could notice a difference. Women are waking up early to put on makeup, and that’s odd,” she said.

Henry Wells, a founder of Wells Fargo and a friend of Cornell’s benefactor, Ezra Cornell established this college, when women were not considered capable of higher learning. “Give her the opportunity,” he wrote.

The news that the college would go coed created ripples far beyond campus. One alumna wrote a letter to the college’s president, Lisa Marsh Ryerson, saying the founder would haunt her. “I believe Henry Wells would have haunted me if I let Wells College close,” said Ms. Marsh Ryerson, a Wells alumna herself.

The great-great-great-great granddaughter of Henry Wells, Stephanie Redmond, 18, of Washington State, said that earlier this year, a Wells student had tracked her down and asked her to support the protest. But Ms. Redmond said the move to admit men had encouraged her to enroll at Wells this year as a freshman. She plans on a career in engineering, a male-dominated field, and said attending an all-women’s college might have put her at a disadvantage. (复旦千分考2007)

52. The attitude of the author is that ______.

A. she hates a tradition of all-women schools

B. she calls on women in support of the protest

C. she dislikes the change and hopes to file a lawsuit

D. she objectively describes the new and uneasy coeducation

【答案】D

【解析】这是一篇阐述Wells大学招收男学生后引发的问题，本来Wells大学只招收女生，自从开始招生男学生后，学校里的女生反对这样做。乍一看上去，像是作者反对招收男生，但是仔细看

下面，就会发现作者也引用了支持招收男学生的人的观点，比如最后一段提到的Henry Wells

的孙女。一篇文章，作者既引用反对者的观点，也引用支持者的观点，显然作者在客观地阐

述一件事情。由此可见，应该选D。

Word bank---Dripping water penetrates the stone(滴水石穿)

Write down the words & phrases unfamiliar to you in this passage.

（2）

But what is teacher quality? How can one measure it reliably?

An analysis is issued on a sample of data from a Texas school district. Experts argue convincingly that teacher effectiveness should be measured by students’ gains on standardized tests: Mr. Smith is presumably a better teacher than Ms. Brown if his students consistently improve their test scores more than hers do.

Though this approach is appealing, there are tricky issues. For example, what if Ms. Brown teaches in a school where students score so high that there is little room for improvement?

The authors try to correct for this problem, as well as other sorts of measurement issues, to generate a measurement of teacher effectiveness. The paper is primarily concerned with how this measure is related to other observable characteristics.

The first finding is that there is a large variation in teacher effectiveness: some teachers consistently have a larger impact on their students’ achievement than others.

Second, easily observable characteristics like having a master’s degree or a passing score on the teacher certification exam are not correlated with teacher effectiveness.

Then what does matter? The most important single influence is experience: first-year teachers are much less effective than others. The second year is significantly better, and by the fourth year, most teachers hit their stride.

It is not entirely clear whether this experience effect is learning by doing (the more you teach, the more effective you become) or survival of the fittest (those who are not good at teaching tend to drop out early.) From my reading of the paper, both effects appear important and there is no simple answer. The data do suggest, however, that teacher effectiveness is pretty clear by the end of the second year, so the information to make an informed decision is available at that time.

The authors also investigate the contentious issue of racial matching of students and teachers. Here they find strong evidence that minority teachers tend to be more effective with minority students. Again, it is unclear whether this is because of a role model effect (students respond better to a teacher of their own race) or an empathy effect (teachers empathize better with students of their own race) or something else entirely.

The authors also look at teacher mobility. There is some evidence that teachers who quit teaching or switch schools tend to be below average in effectiveness. This is consistent with the survival-of-the-fittest model. (复旦千分考2007)

56. The author of this passage holds the view that ______.

A. teachers will perform better with time passing

B. ineffective teachers should leave earlier rather than later

C. teacher’s effectiveness is apparent after a couple of years

D. a master’s degree will improve teacher’s effectiveness

【答案】C

【解析】这篇文章虽然难度不大，但是选项很有迷惑性。乍看上去，只有D是最明显的错误，根据原文的“easily observable characteristics like having a master’s degree or a passing score on the

teacher certification exam are not correlated with teacher effectiveness.”就可以排除，学位、过往

的教师资格考试分数并不和老师的上课效果相关。原文中有个关键性的提示“The data do

suggest, however, that teacher effectiveness is pretty clear by the end of the second year, so the

information to make an informed decision is available at that time.”这里显然表明的是作者的观点：

在第二年的年底，教师授课效果评估就相当清楚。因此本题的答案是C。

方法小结：注意寻找总结和转折类连接词（therefore, however, nevertheless, in fact, etc.）的后面内容：作者进行的总结归纳和表明自己的观点态度。

Word bank---Dripping water penetrates the stone(滴水石穿)

Write down the words & phrases unfamiliar to you in this passage.

（3）

Thousands of teachers at the elementary, secondary, and college levels can testify that their students' writing exhibits a tendency toward superficiality: that wasn't seen, say, 10 or 15 years ago. It shows up, not only in their lack of analytical skills, but in poor command of grammar and rhetoric. I've been asked by a graduate student what a semicolon is! The mechanics of the English language have been tortured to pieces by TV. Visual, moving images which are the venue of television - can't be held in the net of careful language. They want to break out. They really have nothing to do with language, grammar, and rhetoric, and they have become fractured.

Recent surveys by dozens of organizations also suggest that up to 40% of the American public is functionally illiterate. The problem isn’t just in our schools or in the way reading is taught. TV teaches people not to read. It renders them incapable of engaging in an activity that now is perceived as strenuous, because it is not a passive hypnotized state.

Passive as it is, television has invaded our culture so completely that the mediums effects are evident in every quarter, even the literary world. It shows up in supermarket paperbacks, from Stephen King (who has a certain clever skill) to pulp fiction. These really are forms of verbal TV literature that is so superficial that those who read

it can revel in the same sensations they experience when watching television.

Even more importantly, the growing influence of television, Kernan says, has changed people's habits and values and affected their assumptions about the world. The sort of reflective, critical, and value-laden thinking encouraged by books has been rendered obsolete. In this context, we would do well to recall the Cyclops, the race of giants that, according to Greek myth, predated man.

Quite literally, TV affects the way people think. In Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television, Jerry Mander quotes from the Emery Report, prepared by the Center for Continuing Education at the Australian National University, Canberra, that when we watch television, "our usual processes of thinking and discernment are semifunctional at best." The study also argues that, "while television appears to have the potential to provide useful information to viewers and is celebrated for its educational function, the technology of television and the inherent nature of the viewing experience actually inhibit learning as we usually think of it." (北约自主招生模拟题)

55.The author's attitude toward TV is________.

A. positive

B. negative

C. not stated

D. indifferent

【答案】B

【解析】从文章的开头到结束，作者对电视的态度始终是否定的。

Word bank---Dripping water penetrates the stone(滴水石穿)

Write down the words & phrases unfamiliar to you in this passage.

（4）

Washoe, a female chimpanzee believed to be the first non-human to acquire human language, has died of natural causes at the research institute where she was kept.

The chimp died on Tuesday night, according to Roger and Deborah Fouts, co-founders of The Chimpanzee and Human Communications Institute in Washington, where she lived.

Washoe was born in 1965 in Africa, where she was captured by the Air Force and taken to the US for research use in the space program. In 1966, she left the program and began living with two scientists, Allen and Beatrix Gardner, who led a project to teach the chimp American Sign Language (ASL) in Washoe, Nevada, for which it was named. Washoe had been living on Central Washington University’s Ellensburg Campus since 1980. She had a vocabulary of about 250 words. Also, Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimps: Tatu, 31, Loulis, 29, and Dar, 31.

Primate researcher Jane Goodall, in Fouts’ book Next of Kin, noted the importance of the work with Washoe. “Roger, through his ongoing conversations with Washoe and her extended family, has opened a window into a chimpanzee’s mind,” Goodall said.

Though previous efforts to teach chimps spoken languages had failed, the researchers believed there was a better chance using signs. But Washoe’s language skills were disputed by scientists who believed that language is unique to humans. Among those who doubted that chimps could use language were linguist Noam Chomsky and Harvard scientist Steven Pinker. They believed primates simply learn to perform certain acts in order to receive rewards, and do not acquire true language.

必做题：观点态度题

1. In Goodall’s opinion, teaching Washoe ASL ______.

A. was not successful

B. led to the book Next of Kin

C. won honor for Fouts

D. made a difference

【答案】D

【解析】倒数第二段中“Roger, through his ongoing conversations with Washoe and her extended family, has opened a window into a chimpanzee’s mind”是对“the importance of the work with Washoe”的具体说

明。

选做题：非观点态度题

2. As for its first task, Washoe was involved with _______.

A. some space research

B. a study on African animals

C. an ASL project

D. the program of training the Air Force

【答案】A

【解析】从第三段第一句可知，Washoe的第一项任务是参与太空研究项目（research use in the space program）。

3. In the last paragraph, the underlined word “disputed” probably means “______”.

A. supported

B. studied

C. questioned

D. discussed

【答案】C

【解析】从“who believed that language is unique to humans”和“doubted”等词句可推知，科学家对Washoe’s language skills持质疑态度。

4. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The ASL project was first set up in Africa for the study on Washoe.

B. Washoe may communicate with other chimps by signing.

C. Washoe must have been able to speak 250 words or so.

D. The researchers will prove that most chimps could use language.

【答案】B

【解析】从第三段中最后一句可知，Washoe还教其它黑猩猩学习手势语，因此B项推理正确。

5. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Washoe was the first animal to be taught human language.

B. Washoe, the chimp, was named in honor of a place.

C. There were four chimps in total at Ellensburg Campus.

D. Chomsky believed primates only perform silent signs.

【答案】B

【解析】从“… in Washoe, Nevada, for which it was named”可知，Washoe是为纪念一个地名而起的。

Word bank---Dripping water penetrates the stone(滴水石穿)

Write down the words & phrases unfamiliar to you in this passage.

（5）

There are good reasons to be troubled by the violence that spreads throughout the media. Movies, Television and video games are full of gunplay and bloodshed, and one might reasonably ask what’s wrong with a society that presents videos of domestic violence as entertainment. Most researchers agree that the causes of real-world violence are complex. A 1993 study by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences listed “biological, individual, family, peer, school, and community factors” as all playing their parts.

Viewing abnormally large amounts of violent television and video games may well contribute to violent behavior in certain individuals.

The trouble comes when researchers downplay uncertainties in their studies or overstate the case for causality. Skeptics were dismayed several years ago when a group of societies including the American Medical Association tried to end the debate by issuing a joint statement: “At this time, well over 1,000 studies point overwhelmingly to a causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children.”

Freedom-of-speech advocates accused the societies of catering to politicians, and even disputed the number

of studies (most were review articles and essays, they said). When Jonathan Freedman, a social psychologist at the University of Toronto, reviewed the literature, he found only 200 or so studies of television-watching and aggression. And when he weeded out “the most doubtful measures of aggression”, only 28% supported a connection.

The critical point here is causality. The alarmists say they have proved that violent media cause aggression. But the assumptions behind their observations need to be examined. When labeling games as violent or non-violent, should a hero eating a ghost really be counted as a violent event? And when experimenters record the time it takes game players to read ‘aggressive’ or ‘non-aggressive’ words from a list, can we be sure what they are actually measuring? The intent of the new Harvard Center on Media and Child Health to collect and standardize studies of media violence in order to compare their methodologies, assumptions and conclusions is an important step in the right direction.

Another appropriate stir would be to tone down the criticism until we know more. Several researchers write, speak and testify quite a lot on the threat posed by violence in the media. That is, of course, their privilege. But when doing so, they often come out with statements that the matter has now been settled, drawing criticism from colleagues. In response, the alarmists accuse critics and news reporters of being deceived by the entertainment industry. Such clashes help neither science nor society.

必做题：观点态度题

1. What does the author think of the debate concerning the relationship between the media and violence?

A. More studies should be conducted before conclusions are drawn.

B. It should come to an end since the matter has now been settled.

C. The past studies in this field have proved to be misleading.

D. He more than agrees with the views held by the alarmists.

【答案】A

【解析】本题是对文章内容的理解的考察。答案根据文章最后一段第一句Another appropriate stir would be to tone down the criticism until we know more.可以推断得出。

选做题：非观点态度题

2. Why is there so much violence shown in movies, TV and video games?

A. There is a lot of violence in the real world today.

B. Something has gone wrong with today’s society.

C. Many people are fond of gunplay and bloodshed.

D. Showing violence is thought to be entertaining.

【答案】D

【解析】本题为细节题，根据第一段“Movies, Television and video games are full of gunplay and bloodshed, and one might reasonably ask what’s wrong with a society that presents videos of domestic violence as entertainment.”可以推断答案为D。

3. What is the skeptics (Line 2. Para.3) view of media violence?

A. Violence on television is a fairly accurate reflection of real-world life.

B. Most studies exaggerate the effect of media violence on the viewers.

C. A causal relationship exists between media and real-world violence.

D. The influence of media violence on children has been underestimated.

【答案】B

【解析】根据第三段第一句The trouble comes when researchers downplay uncertainties in their studies or overstate the case for causality.

4. The author uses the term “alarmists” (Line 1. Para.5) to refer to those who ______.

A. use standardized measurements in the studies of media violence

B. initiated the debate over the influence of violent media on reality

C. assert a direct link between violent media and aggressive behavior

D. use appropriate methodology in examining aggressive behavior

【答案】C

【解析】alarmist大惊小怪者。根据第五段前面The critical point here is causality. The alarmists say they have proved that violent media cause aggression. But the assumptions behind their observations need to be examined.可以推断得出。

5. In refuting the alarmists, the author advances his argument by first challenging____.

A. the source and amount of their data

B. the targets of their observation

C. their system of measurement

D. their definition of violence

【答案】D

【解析】本题根据第五段中间When labeling games as violent or non-violent, should a hero eating a ghost really be counted as a violent event? And when experimenters record the time it takes game players to read ‘aggressive’ or ‘non-aggressive’ words from a list, can we be sure what they are actually measuring?可以推断得出。

Word bank---Dripping water penetrates the stone(滴水石穿)

Write down the words & phrases unfamiliar to you in this passage.