Man is endlessly inventive
来源 :焚题库 2020-06-10
中Man is endlessly inventive. But his greatest invention is non-invention, the skill of transmitting intact and unchanged from one generation to the next the fundamental ways of doing things which he learned from the generation which preceded him. Children are conceived and reared, houses built, fish caught, and enemies killed in much the same way by most of the members of any society; and these patterns are maintained for relatively long periods of time. From the perspective of those in each new generation, and for the society as an enduring, historical entity, this process of cultural transmission yields enormous economy. Thanks to it, each generation need not rediscover at great cost in time and subject to great risk of failure, what those coming before have already learned. Not only is knowledge thus conserved, but the basis for communal life, resting on common information and understanding is thus established. Since all those in each generation receive more or less the same cultural heritage from the preceding generation, they can more easily relate to one another and more effectively coordinate their actions.
The grand total of all the objects, ideas, knowledge, ways of doing things, habits values, and attitudes which each generation in a society passes on to the next is what the anthropologist often refers to as the culture of a group. The transmission of culture is man's substitute for the instincts whereby most other living creatures are equipped with the means for coping with their environment and relating to one another. Yet it is more flexible than instinct, and can grow; that is, it can store new information, infinitely more rapidly than the process of mutation and biological evolution can enrich the instinctual storehouse of any other species.
单选题第1题What does the passage mainly discuss?
A.The relation between culture and invention.
B.The transmission of human culture.
C.The history of human civilization.
D.The biological evolution of man.
参考答案：B
试题解析
主旨题。通读全文可发现，文中多处提到transmitting，cultural transmission，the transmission of culture 等关键词。故B项正确。试题解析
主旨题。通读全文可发现，文中多处提到transmitting，cultural transmission，the transmission of culture 等关键词。故B项正确。单选题第2题Which of the following is NOT included in the meaning of culture according to the passage?
A.Knowledge of various disciplines.
B.Production technology.
C.Ways of living, life habits and values.
D.Biological instincts,
参考答案：D
试题解析
细节题。根据短文第二段第一句“The grand total of all the objects，ideas， knowledge，ways of doing things，habits values，and attitudes which each generation in a society passes on to the next is what the anthropologist often refers to as the culture of a group。”，可知 A、B、C 三项中提到的知识、生产技术、生活方式价值观念都属于文化概念的范畴。而D项生物本能不属于文化范畴。故本题选D。试题解析
细节题。根据短文第二段第一句“The grand total of all the objects，ideas， knowledge，ways of doing things，habits values，and attitudes which each generation in a society passes on to the next is what the anthropologist often refers to as the culture of a group。”，可知 A、B、C 三项中提到的知识、生产技术、生活方式价值观念都属于文化概念的范畴。而D项生物本能不属于文化范畴。故本题选D。单选题第3题The word “heritage” as used in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to______.
A.history
B.civilization
C.tradition
D.feature
参考答案：C
试题解析
词汇题。根据句子意思并且联系上下文可知，可传给下一代的并且与文化有关的事物很可能是“文化遗产或传统习俗”。故C项正确。试题解析
词汇题。根据句子意思并且联系上下文可知，可传给下一代的并且与文化有关的事物很可能是“文化遗产或传统习俗”。故C项正确。单选题第4题According to the first paragraph, all of the following statements can be accepted EXCEPT that______.
A.man is always inventive
B.learning from the preceding generation saves much effort
C.non-invention is a technique of learning skills from the preceding generation
D.non-invention is always contrary to invention
参考答案：D
试题解析
细节题勺短文第一段第一、二句指出“Man is endlessly inventive. But his greatest invention is non-invention，the skill of transmitting intact and unchanged from one generation to the next the fundamental ways of doing things which he learned from the generation which preceded him。”，由此可知 A、B、C三项均符合文中表述，故本题选D。试题解析
细节题勺短文第一段第一、二句指出“Man is endlessly inventive. But his greatest invention is non-invention，the skill of transmitting intact and unchanged from one generation to the next the fundamental ways of doing things which he learned from the generation which preceded him。”，由此可知 A、B、C三项均符合文中表述，故本题选D。单选题第5题In the last sentence of the passage, the author implies, but does not directly state, that______.
A.human culture can further develop and grow
B.biological evolution can improve the instinct of creatures
C.culture transmission is more flexible and can grow more rapidly than instinct
D.the instinct of living creatures may also grow, but at a much slower pace
参考答案：D
试题解析
推断题。从短文最后一段最后一句“Yet it is more flexible than instinct，and can grow；that is，it can store new information，infinitely more rapidly than the process of mutation and biological evolution can enrich the instinctual storehouse of any other species。”可以看出 A、B、C 三项表述的内容都 是作者明确指出的，而D项，作者并没有明确提出，只是一种暗示，故本题选D。试题解析
推断题。从短文最后一段最后一句“Yet it is more flexible than instinct，and can grow；that is，it can store new information，infinitely more rapidly than the process of mutation and biological evolution can enrich the instinctual storehouse of any other species。”可以看出 A、B、C 三项表述的内容都 是作者明确指出的，而D项，作者并没有明确提出，只是一种暗示，故本题选D。
