考博英语阅读练习试题与答案.docx

考博英语阅读练习试题与答案Americanstodaydon’tplaceaveryhighvalueonintellect.Ourheroesareathletes,entertainers,andentrepreneurs,notscholars.Evenourschoolsarewherewesendourchildrentogetapracticaleducation—nottopursueknowledgeforthesakeofknowledge.Symptomsofpervasiveanti-intellectualisminourschoolsaren’tdifficulttofind。“Schoolshavealwaysbeeninasocietywherepracticalismoreimportantthanintellectual,”sayseducationwriterDianeRavitch.“Schoolscouldbeacounterbalance。”Ravitch’slatestbock,LeftBack:ACenturyofFailedSchoolReforms,tracestherootsofanti-intellectualisminourschools,concludingtheyareanythingbutacounterbalancetotheAmericandistasteforintellectualpursuits。Buttheycouldandshouldbe.Encouragingkidstorejectthelifeofthemindleavesthemvulnerabletoexploitationandcontrol.Withouttheabilitytothinkcritically,todefendtheirideasandunderstandtheideasofothers,theycannotfullyparticipateinourdemocracy.Continuingalongthispath,sayswriterEarlShorris,“Wewillbecomeasecond-ratecountry.Wewillhavealesscivilsociety。”“Intellectisresentedasaformofpowerorprivilege,”writeshistorianandprofessorRichardHofstadterinAnti-IntellectualisminAmericanLife,aPulitzerPrizewinningbookontherootsofanti-intellectualisminUSpolitics,religion,andeducation.Fromthebeginningofourhistory,saysHofstadter,ourdemocraticandpopulisturgeshavedrivenustorejectanythingthatsmellsofelitism.Practicality,commonsense,andnativeintelligencehavebeenconsideredmorenoblequalitiesthananythingyoucouldlearnfromabook。RalphWaldoEmersonandotherTranscendentalistphilosophersthoughtschoolingandrigorousbooklearningputunnaturalrestraintsonchildren:“Weareshutupinschoolsandcollegerecitationroomsfor10or15yearsandcomeoutatlastwithabellyfulofwordsanddonotknowathing。”MarkTwain’sHuckleberryFinnexemplifiedAmericananti-intellectualism.Itsheroavoidsbeingcivilized—goingtoschoolandlearningtoread—sohecanpreservehisinnategoodness。Intellect,accordingtoHofstadter,isdifferentfromnativeintelligence,aqualitywereluctantlyadmire.Intellectisthecritical,creative,andcontemplativesideofthemind.In