1995年考研英语阅读第二篇解析—本文从心理学角度看待个人成长

There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process. People have generally viewed personal growth as an external result or product that can easily be identified and measured.

The worker who gets a promotion, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner

who learns a new language — all these are examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts.

By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since by definition it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way.

The process is not the road itself, but rather the attitudes and feelings people have, their caution or courage, as they encounter new experiences and unexpected obstacles. In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try,new challenges to accept.

In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to confront the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first.

How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is essential to our ability to grow. Do we perceive ourselves as quick and curious? If so, then we tend to take more chances and to be more open to unfamiliar experiences. Do we think we’re shy and indecisive?

Then our sense of timidity can cause us to hesitate, to move slowly, and not to take a step until we know the ground is safe. Do we think we’re slow to adapt to change or that we’re not smart enough to cope with a new challenge? Then we are likely to take a more passive role or not try at all.

These feelings of insecurity and self-doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow. If we do not confront and overcome these internal fears and doubts, if we protect ourselves too much, then we cease to grow. We become trapped inside a shell of our own making.

15.

[答案]A

[解析]本题考核的知识点是：推理引申题。

文章第一段谈到，人们对待成长有两种基本看法：将之视为结果和将之视为过程。该段第二句明确指出前者是人们通常持有的看法，即认为成长是一种外在的结果或成果，易于衡量。可以从该段最后作者给出的一系列例子去理解什么是外在结果。此外，最后一句中的“have measurable results to show for their efforts”表明这种观点认为个人成长也是通过努力取得的结果。这样答案就显而易见了。只有[A]选项既是经过努力又是可以衡量的外在结果，故为正确答案。

[B]、[C]和[D]选项都属于过程中付出的努力，结果却不可测量，故都不对。

命题意图是要求考生熟悉类比题的一种变相出法，即，不直接对文中内容提问，而是要求考生在正确理解文中的例子后，从选项中选出与之类似的情况。解题关键在于能够把握原来例子的实质。

16.

[答案]C

有关视成长为过程的的论述主要集中在第二段。这种观点认为成长是一段旅程，而不是具体的标记。人们应该看重的是成长过程中的态度和情感而非点滴的成功标记。[C]选项就是一种遭遇困难时的态度，也与第二段末句 “new challenges to accept”观点一致，为正确答案。

[A]选项是结果，而非过程。[B]选项显然是从结果的角度去看待人的发展。[D]选项仍然是追求有“标志”的成功结果。因此都可以排除。

17.

[解析] 本题考核的知识点是：词义题。

题干中

的短语出自第三段第二句中的how we see ourselves as we try a new way of being。该句之后，作者一连提出并列的三个问题，并给予了回答。三个问句及其回答分别是人由于对自身看法的不同而产生的不同处世方法：how we see ourselves是对三个问题的概括，而a new way of being这个关键词则应该涵盖三个回答的内容。[A]选项是简练、全面的概括，为正确答案。being相当于existing，意为：处世生存方式。首先排除[C]，它涉及的是问句的内容，[B]和[D]选项虽然都在该段被提及，但是不具有概括性，应该排除。

18.

[答案]D

[解析] 本题考核的知识点是：作者观点题。

第三段首句提到，为了成长，人们需要乐于冒险、勇于面对未知事物、接受“失败”。接下来的一系列设问句说明了“快捷、有好奇心、抓住更多的机会、体验不熟悉的事情、对付新挑战”等的重要性，因此[A]、[B]和[C]选项都在文中提到。而第四段首句“这些不安全感和自我怀疑不仅是无法避免的，而且是必要的”充分表明作者对这些态度的肯定。由此可知，[D]选项与作者观点不一致，而且从第四段第二句作者用的两个假设也可看出他对躲避态度的否定，综上所述可以推出[D]选项为正确答案。