Passge 1

We often think of drawing as something that takes inborn talent, but this kind of thinking stems from our misclassification of drawing as, primarily, an art form rather than a tool for learning.

Fir:我们经常将绘画视作为需要天赋的东西，但这种想法源于我们对绘画的误解，它首先是一种艺术形式而不是一种要学习的工具。

stem from 源自，基于 stem （花草的）茎；柄

Sec:我们常常认为绘画是一件需要天赋的事情，但这种想法源于我们错误地将绘画主要归类为一种艺术形式，而不是一种学习工具。

Researchers, teachers, and artists are starting to see how drawing can positively impact a wide variety of skills and disciplines.

Fir:学者，老师还有艺术家们开始着眼于绘画是怎样对各种各样的技能和学科产生积极作用的。
Sec:研究人员、教师和艺术家们正逐渐认识到绘画如何对各种技能和学科产生积极的影响。

Most of us have spent some time drawing before, but at some point, most of us stop drawing. There are people who don’t, obviously, and thank god for that: a world without designers and artists would be a very shabby one indeed.

Fir:我们大部分人以前都画过画，但到了某个时候，我们就不再画画了。显然有些人没有放弃，谢天谢地：一个世界如果没有设计师和艺术家，将会变得非常寒酸。

indeed 确实；的确；真正地 shabby 破旧的；破败的

Sec:我们大多数人以前都花过一些时间画画，但到了某个时候，我们大多数人都停止画画了。很明显，有些人没有这么做，感谢上天：一个没有设计师和艺术家的世界将是一个非常糟糕的世界。

Some argue that so many adults have abandoned drawing because we’ve miscategorized it and given it a very narrow definition. In his book, Stick Figures: Drawing as a Human Practice, Professor D. B. Dowd argues that we have misfiled the significance of drawing because we see it as a professional skill instead of a personal capacity. We mistakenly think of “good” drawings as those which work as recreations of the real world, as realistic illusions. Rather, drawing should be recategorized as a symbolic tool.

Fir:一些观点认为很多成年人因为对绘画进行了错误的分类并且给了它一个非常片面的定义而放弃了绘画。在D. B. Dowd教授的《 Stick Figures: Drawing as a Human Practice》书中，他认为我们误解了绘画的重要性，因为我们把它当作一种职业技能而不是个人能力。我们误认为“好”的画是那些现实生活中的娱乐，是现实的幻想。相反，绘画应该被重新归类为一种象征性的工具。

misfile 归错文挡 recategorize 把…重新归类 symbolic 象征性的；符号的

Sec:有人认为，这么多成年人放弃了绘画，是因为我们对它进行了错误分类，给它下了一个非常狭隘的定义。在他的《 Stick Figures: Drawing as a Human Practice》一书中，他认为，我们错误归档了绘画的意义，因为我们把它看作是一种专业技能，而不是个人能力。我们错误地认为“好”的绘画是真实世界的再现，是现实的幻觉。相反，绘画应该被重新归类为一种符号工具。

Human beings have been drawing for 73,000 years. It’s part of what it means to be human. We don’t have the strength of chimpanzees (大猩猩） because we’ve given up animal strength to manipulate subtle instruments, like hammers, spears, and—later—pens and pencils. The human hand is an extremely dense network of nerve endings. In many ways, human beings are built to draw.

Fir:人类在73,000年前就学会了绘画。这是意味着成为人类的一部分。我们没有大猩猩的力量，因为我们为了精巧地操控工具而放弃了动物的力量，比如锤子、长矛，还有后来的钢笔和铅笔。人类的手是一个极其密集的神经末梢网络。在从各种方面上来看，人类就是为画画而生的。

subtle 精巧的；细微的；精细的 hammer 锤子
spear 长矛 dense 浓厚的；密度大的；笨拙的 nerve 神经；勇气，胆量 in many ways 在许多方面上

Sec:人类绘画已有73000年的历史。这是人类意义的一部分。我们没有大猩猩的力量，因为我们已经放弃了野兽的力量而去操纵精细的工具，比如锤子、长矛，以及（后来的）钢笔和铅笔。人类的手是一个极其密集的神经末梢网络。从许多方面而言，人类生来就是画画的。

Some researchers argue that doodling (涂画） activates the brain’s so-called default circuit essentially, the areas of the brain responsible for maintaining a baseline level of activity in the absence of other stimuli. Because of this, some believe that doodling during a boring lecture can help students pay attention. In one study, participants were asked to listen to a list of names while either doodling or sitting still. Those who doodled remembered 29 percent more of the names than those who did not.

Fir:一些研究人员认为涂画激发大脑中所谓的默认基础回路，即在缺少外部刺激的情况下大脑负责保持活动的基本水平的区域。因此，一些人认为在一个无聊的讲座期间画画可以帮助学生集中精神。在一项研究中，要求参与者在听到一列名字时可以画画也可以做坐着不动。那些在画画的人记住的名字要比什么都没做的人多29%。

so-called 所谓的 essentially 本来；实质上；基本地 essential 基本的；必需的 stimuli 外部刺激 lecture 讲座；报告；讲演

Sec:一些研究人员认为涂鸦能激活大脑所谓的默认回路——本质上是指在没有其他刺激的情况下，负责维持活动基本水平的大脑区域。正因如此，一些人认为在枯燥的讲座中涂鸦可以帮助学生集中注意力。在一项研究中，参与者被要求在涂鸦或静坐时听一张名单。涂鸦的人比没有涂鸦的人多记住29%的名字。

There’s also evidence that drawing talent is based on how accurately someone perceives the world.The human visual system tends to misjudge size, shape, color, and angles but artists perceive these qualities more accurately than non-artists. Cultivating drawing talent can become an essential tool to improve people’s observational skills in fields where the visual is important.

Fir:这是绘画天赋基于人们对世界的感知的精确度的证据。人类视觉系统容易误判大小、形状、颜色和角度，但是艺术家们的感知效果远比非艺术家精确。在一个对视觉有很高要求的领域内，培养绘画天赋可以作为改善人们观察能力的基本工具。

perceive 感知；理解；感觉
accurate 正确的；精密的 observe 观察；看到

Sec:也有证据表明，绘画天赋是基于一个人感知世界的准确程度。人类视觉系统往往会错误判断大小、形状、颜色和角度，但艺术家比非艺术家更能准确感知这些特征。在视觉发挥重要作用的领域，培养绘画天赋可以成为提高人们观察能力的必要工具。

Rather than think of drawing as a talent that some creative people are gifted in, we should consider it as a tool for seeing and understanding the world better一one that just so happens to double as an art form. Both absent-minded doodling and copying from life have been shown to positively affect your memory and visual perception, so complain loudly the next time your school board slashes the art department’s budget.

Fir:与其把绘画当作某些具有创造力的人天赋，我们更愿意认为它是让我们更好的观察并理解世界的工具——作为一种艺术形式，起到1+1=2的作用。心不在焉的涂画和生活中的重复都展现出了对你的记忆和视觉感知的积极作用，所以大声地抱怨下一次教育局削减艺术部的经费吧。

complain 抱怨，诉苦 school board 教育局；学校委员会

Sec:与其把绘画看作是一些有创造力的人所具有的天赋，不如把它看作是一种更好地观察和理解世界的工具——一种恰巧兼为艺术形式的工具。心不在焉的涂鸦和对生活的复现都已被证实会对你的记忆力和视觉感知缠上积极的影响，所以下次学校董事会削减艺术系的预算时，大声抱怨吧。

  1. What do people generally think about drawing?//人们一般如何看淡绘画 A
    A) It is a gift creative people are endowed with. //这是有创造力的人拥有的天赋C) It is an art form that is appreciated by all.//这是一种被所有人欣赏的艺术形式
    B) It is a skill that is acquired with practice.//这是一种通过练习获得的技能 D) It is an ability everyone should cultivate.//这是一种每个人都应该培养的能力
  2. What do we learn about designers and artists?//我们从设计师和艺术家中了解到了什么 C
    A) They are declining gradually in number.//他们的数量正逐渐减少
    B) They are keen on changing shabby surroundings.//他们热衷于改善破败的环境
    C) They add beauty and charm to the world.//他们给世界增添了美和魔力
    D) They spend most of their lives drawing.//他们将自己的大半生献给了绘画
  3. What does Professor D. B. Dowd argue in his book?//D. B. Dowd教授在他的书中主张什么 A
    A) Everybody is born with the capacity to draw.//每个人生而具有绘画能力
    B) Drawing is a skill that requires special training.//绘画是需要特殊训练的能力
    C) The value of drawing tends to be overestimated.//绘画的价值往往被高估
    D) Drawing should be redefined as a realistic illusion.//绘画应该被重新定义为一种现实幻想
  4. What have some researchers found from one study about doodling? //研究人员从一项涂画的研究中发现了什么 D
    A) It is a must for maintaining a base level of brain activity.//它是维持大脑基本活动水平的必要条件。
    B) It can turn something boring into something interesting.//它可以把无聊的事情变得有趣
    C) It is the most reliable stimulant to activate the brain.//它是激活大脑最可靠的兴奋剂
    D) It helps improve concentration and memory.//它有助于提高注意力，改善记忆力
  5. What is characteristic of people with drawing talent?//具备绘画天赋的人有怎样的特点 D
    A) Sensitivity to cognitive stimulation.//对认知刺激很敏感 C) Accuracy in categorization.//精准的分辨能力
    B) Subtlety of representation. //表达的精细 D) Precision in visual perception.//视觉感知的精准

Correct！

endow 资助；捐赠；赋予 shabby 破旧的；破败的 charm 魅力，魔力 argue 主张；辩论；说服 capacity 容量；产量；能力 stimulant 刺激物；兴奋剂 accuracy 准确度；精度 subtlety 精妙；巧妙；精细； representation 表现；展现；代理人 perception 感觉；认知；理解


Passge 2

The car has reshaped our cities. It seems to offer autonomy for everyone. There is something almost delightful in the detachment from reality of advertisements showing mass-produced cars marketed as symbols of individuality and of freedom when most of their lives will be spent making short journeys on choked roads.

Fir:汽车重构了我们的城市。它似乎给了我们每个人的自主权。当大部分人的生活在堵塞的道路上做短途旅行时，脱离现实的广告中却把所展示的大批生产的汽车市场作为个性和自由的标志，不禁使人莞尔。

autonomy 自治；自主；自主权 delightful 令人愉快的；宜人的 detachment 分离；支队；超然；客观 individuality 个性 choke 堵塞；窒息

Sec:汽车重塑了我们的城市。它似乎赋予了每个人自主性。超脱现实的广告展示了被宣传为象征个性和自由的大批量生产的汽车，这几乎是一件令人愉快的事，但人们大多数驾驶时间都将耗在拥堵的短途旅程上。

For all the fuss made about top speeds, cornering ability and acceleration, the most useful gadgets on a modern car are those which work when you’re going very slowly: parking sensors, sound systems, and navigation apps which will show a way around upcoming traffic jams. This seems to be one of the few areas where the benefit of sharing personal information comes straight back to the sharer: because these apps know where almost all the users are, and how fast they are moving almost all the time, they can spot traffic congestion (堵塞） very quickly and suggest ways round it.

Fir:对于所有大惊小怪的最高速度、过弯以及加速能力来说，当你走得很慢时，在如今汽车上最有用的配件：停车感应器，音响系统还有导航软件这些东西会在即将来临的堵车中展现出用处。这看起来好像是少数的好处直接返给分享者的个人信息共享的区域之一：因为这些软件知道大概所有的用户地点，还有他们几乎所有时间段的移动速度，他们可以非常快速的标记交通堵塞地点并且推荐给你绕过的道路。

fuss 大惊小怪 sensor 传感器；感应器 upcoming 即将来临的

Sec:尽管人们高度关注汽车的最高速度、转弯能力和加速能力，现代汽车上最有用的却是那些可以在车速很慢的情况下可以发挥作用的设备，如停车传感器、音响系统，以及在将要发生交通拥堵的可以为司机重新规划路线的导航应用程序。这些导航软件似乎是共享者能从共享个人信息中直接得到好处的少数几个地方之一。因为这些应用程序知道几乎所有用户的位置，以及他们几乎每时每刻的移动速度，所以它们可以非常迅速地发现交通堵塞状况，并提出绕道方案。

The problem comes when everyone is using a navigation app which tells them to avoid everyone else using the same gadget. Traffic jams often appear where no one has enough information to avoid them. When a lucky few have access to the knowledge, they will benefit greatly. But when everyone has perfect information, traffic jams simply spread onto the side roads that seem to offer a way round them.

Fir:当所有人都在使用导航软件通知他们躲避每个同样使用相同配件的人时，问题就出现了。交通堵塞经常出现在没人有足够信息可以规避的地方。当一些幸运儿获得了信息，他们就会从中获益。但当人人都有漂亮的信息时，交通堵塞自然就传播到看起来能绕过它的辅路上了。
Sec:当每个人都在使用导航应用程序时，问题就出现了——导航会告诉他们避开其他使用相同设备的人。在没人有足够信息避开其他人的地方，拥堵经常发生。少数幸运儿若能获取这些信息，将受益良多。但是，当每个人都拥有完备的信息时，交通拥堵的情况就会蔓延到那些本可以让司机绕道而行的小路上。

This new congestion teaches us two things. The first is that the promises of technology will never be realised as fully as we hope; they will be limited by their unforeseen and unintended consequences. Sitting in a more comfortable car in a different traffic jam is pleasant but hardly the liberation that once seemed to be promised. The second is that self-organisation will not get us where we want to go. The efforts of millions of drivers to get ahead do not miraculously produce a situation in which everyone does better than before, but one in which almost everyone does rather worse. Central control and collective organisation can produce smoother and fairer outcomes, though even that much is never guaranteed.

Fir:新型堵塞教给我们两件事。第一件是技术的功能永远不会像我们所希望的那样充分地实现；他们会被他们不可预知并且出乎意料的运行结果所限制。在不同的交通堵塞中坐在比较舒服的汽车里是一件幸事，但几乎没有曾经承诺过的自由。第二件事是自行组织将不会知道我想去哪里。数以万计的司机的努力没有神奇地产生一种所有人比以前做的更好的局面，但一个人不一定比每个人做的更糟。中心控制和集体组织可以产生更流畅更公平的结果，但即便如此也没法保证。

relize 意识到；认识到；理解；领悟 （relised为过去分词 intend 企图；意欲；准备 hardly 几乎没有；几乎不 get ahead 进步；超过；走在前面 miraculous 奇迹般的，不可思议的 collective 集体的；共有的 smooth 流畅；平坦的 outcome 产出；结果

Sec:这种新的拥堵现象告诉我们两个道理。首先，技术承诺能带来的好处永远不会像所希望的那样完全实现；它们将被不可预见和意想不到的后果所限制。在不同的交通拥堵路段，坐在一辆更舒适的汽车里的确令人愉快，但这并不是技术似乎曾经承诺的自由。第二，自我安排不能保证我们可以去自己想去的地方。数以万计的司机的努力没有神奇地产生一种所有人比以前做的更好的局面，反而可能让几乎每个人陷入更糟糕的状况中。中心控制和集体组织可以产生更流畅更公平的结果，但即使是这种结果也没法得到保证。

Similar limits can be foreseen for the much greater advances promised by self-driving cars. Last week, one operated by the taxi company Uber struck and killed a woman pushing her bicycle across a wide road in Arizona. This was the first recorded death involving a car which was supposed to be fully autonomous. Experts have said that it suggests a “catastrophic failure” of technology.

Fir:可以预见，自驾车带来的更大的进步也会受到相似的限制。上周，亚利桑那州的一个优步公司的出租车撞死一名推着自行车穿过宽阔道路的女士。这是第一个被记录的涉及全自动驾驶汽车的死亡事件。专家表示，这是技术的灾难性故障。

record 记录，记载 supposed 假定的，据说的；应当的；预期的 catastrophic 灾难性的；极糟的

Sec:可以预见，自驾车承诺的的更大的进步也会受到相似的限制。上周，亚利桑那州的一个优步公司的出租车撞死一名推着自行车穿过宽阔道路的女士。这是第一个被记录的涉及全自动驾驶汽车的死亡事件。专家表示，这是技术的灾难性故障。

Increasingly, even Silicon Valley has to acknowledge the costs of the intoxicating (令人陶醉的） hurry that characterises its culture. What traffic teaches us is that reckless and uncontrolled change is as likely to harm us as it is to benefit us, and that thoughtful regulation is necessary for a better future.

Fir:越来越多，甚至硅谷也承认令人陶醉的快速消费定义了它的文化。交通情况教育我们，不计后果和不加管制的变化对我们既有利也有害，为了更美好的明天，周密的法规是必须的。

increasingly 越来越多地；不断增加地 acknowledge 承认；认识；感谢；致谢 reckless 鲁莽的，不计后果的 is likely to 有可能 thoughtful 体贴入微的，考虑周到的；沉思的，思考的

Sec:渐渐地，甚至硅谷也不得不承认令人陶醉的急躁文化特点所带来的代价。交通情况教育我们，不计后果和不加管制的变化对我们既有利也有害，为了更美好的明天，周密的法规是必须的。

  1. What does the author say about car advertisements?//对于汽车广告，作者说了什么？ A-B/B
    A) They portray drivers who enjoy speed on the road.//他们描绘了驾驶员享受公路上的速度的景象
    B) They present a false picture of the autonomy cars provide.//他们展示了一个自动驾驶汽车提供的错误照片
    C) They pursue individuality and originality in design concept.//他们在设计层面上追求个性和独创
    D) They overestimate the potential market of autonomous cars.//他们高估了自动驾驶的潜在市场
  2. What does the author imply about the various gadgets on cars?//作者对汽车上多种多样的配件有什么暗示？ A/C
    A) They can help to alleviate traffic jams.//它们有助于缓解交通堵塞
    B) Most of them are as effective as advertised.//它们大部分像广告上一样有效
    C) Only some can be put to use under current traffic conditions.//只有一部分可以在如今的交通状况下使用
    D) They are constantly upgraded to make driving easier and safer.//它们持续的更新可以使驾驶变得更方便更安全
  3. What does the author say about the use of navigation apps?//作者如何看待导航软件的用途 B-A/A
    A) It is likely to create traffic jams in other places.//这可能在其他地方引发了交通堵塞
    B) It helps a great deal in easing traffic congestion.//它很好的缓解了交通堵塞
    C) It sharply reduces the incidence of traffic accidents.// 它大大降低了交通事故的发生率
    D) It benefits those who are learning to drive.//它对正在学习开车的人有帮助
  4. What does the author say about technology?//作者对科技的看法如何 B/B
    A) Its consequences are usually difficult to assess.//它的后果经常难以评估
    B) It seldom delivers all the benefits as promised.//它很少像承诺的那样带来所有的益处
    C) It depends on the required knowledge for application.//它依赖于应用所需要的知识
    D) Its benefits are guaranteed by collective wisdom.//集体的智慧保证了他的益处
  5. What key message does the author try to convey in the passage?//作者在这篇文章中想要传达的中心思想是什么 C/C
    A) The consequences of technological innovation need not be exaggerated.//科技创新的后果不需要夸大
    B) There is always a price to pay to develop technology for a better world.//为了发展科技迎接更美好的明天，总要付出一定的代价
    C) Technological innovation should be properly regulated.//应该更恰当的管控科技创新
    D) The culture of Silicon Valley ought not to be emulated.//硅谷文化不应该被模仿

    advertisement 广告 individuality 个体性；个性化；个别性 potential 潜在的；可能的 gadget 小配件；小工具 sharp 锋利的；锐利的 seldom 不常，很少 guarantee 保证；担保 emulate 仿效；模拟