高考英语真题阅读（26）

Who is a genius? This question has greatly interested humankind for centuries.

Let’s state clearly: Einstein was a genius. His face is almost the international symbol for genius. But we want to go beyond one man and explore the nature of genius itself. Why is it that some people are so much more intelligent or creative than the rest of us? And who are they?

In the sciences and arts, those praised as geniuses were most often white men, of European origin. Perhaps this is not a surprise. It’s said that history is written by the victors, and those victors set the standards for admission to the genius club. When contributions were made by geniuses outside the club—women, or people of a different color or belief—they were unacknowledged and rejected by others.

A study recently published by Science found that as young as age six, girls are less likely than boys to say that members of their gender (性别) are “really, really smart”. Even worse, the study found that girls act on that belief: Around age six they start to avoid activities said to be for children who are “really, really smart”. Can our planet afford to have any great thinkers become discouraged and give up? It doesn’t take a genius to know the answer: absolutely not.

Here’s the good news. In a wired world with constant global communication, we’re all positioned to see flashes of genius wherever they appear. And the more we look, the more we will see that social factors (因素) like gender, race, and class do not determine the appearance of genius. As a writer says, future geniuses come from those with “intelligence, creativity, perseverance (毅力), and simple good fortune, who are able to change the world”.

1.What does the author think of victors’ standards for joining the genius club?

A They’re unfair.

B They’re conservative.

C They’re objective.

D They’re strict.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据题干victors’ standards for joining the genius club定位到第三段第三四句，即：据说历史是由胜利者书写的，而这些胜利者为天才俱乐部设定了准入标准。当俱乐部外的天才——女性、不同肤色或信仰的人——做出贡献时，他们得不到认可，也会被其他人拒绝。可推断作者认为胜利者的标准是不公平的，故选A。

2.What can we infer about girls from the study in Science?

A They think themselves smart.

B They look up to great thinkers.

C They see gender differences earlier than boys.

D They are likely to be influenced by social beliefs.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。根据题干girls from the study in Science定位到第四段第一二句，即：研究发现在六岁时，女孩比男孩更不可能说自己的性别成员“真的，真的很聪明”，更糟糕的是，女孩们的行为都是基于这样的信念：在六岁左右，她们开始避免从事那些所谓“非常聪明”的孩子们的活动。推断女孩有可能被社会错误的信念影响，故选D。

3.Why are more geniuses known to the public?

A Improved global communication.

B Less discrimination against women.

C Acceptance of victors’ concepts.

D Changes in people’s social positions.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据题干more geniuses known to the public定位最后一段第二句可知更多的天才被公众所知道的原因在于全球通信的改善，故选A。

4.What is the best title for the text?

A Geniuses Think Alike

B Genius Takes Many Forms

C Genius and Intelligence

D Genius and Luck

解析：选B。B 主旨大意题。A项（天才的想法相同）文章没有涉及；C项（天才和智力）只是文章的一个细节不能作为文章的主旨；D项（天才和运气）也只是在文章的最后稍微提起。根据文章的最后一句可知，正如一位作家所说，未来的天才来自那些具有“智慧、创造力、毅力和简单好运”，能够改变世界的人。纵观全文可知，天才具有多样性，故选B。