Text 2

　　St. Paul didn’t like it. Moses warned his people against it. Hesiod declared it “mischievious” and “hard to get rid of it,” but Oscar Wilder said, “Gossip is charming.”

　　“History is merely gossip,” he wrote in one of his famous plays. “But scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.”

　　In times past, under Jewish law, gossipmongers might be fined or flogged. The Puritans put them in stocks or ducking stools, but no punishment seemed to have the desired effect of preventing gossip, which has continued uninterrupted across the back fences of the centuries.

　　Today, however, the much-maligned human foible is being looked at in a different light. Psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, even evolutionary biologists are concluding that gossip may not be so bad after all.

　　Gossip is “an intrinsically valuable activity,” philosophy professor Aaron Ben-Ze’ev states in a book he has edited, entitled Good Gossip. For one thing, gossip helps us acquire information that we need to know that doesn’t come through ordinary channels, such as: “What was the real reason so-and-so was fired from the office?” Gossip also is a form of social bonding, Dr. Ben-Ze’ev says. It is “a kind of sharing” that also “satisfies the tribal need—namely, the need to belong to and be accepted by a unique group.” What’s more, the professor notes, “Gossip is enjoyable.”

　　Another gossip groupie, Dr. Ronald De Sousa, a professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto, describes gossip basically as a form of indiscretion and a “saintly virtue”, by which he means that the knowledge spread by gossip will usually end up being slightly beneficial. “It seems likely that a world in which all information were universally available would be preferable to a world where immense power resides in the control of secrets,” he writes.

　　Still, everybody knows that gossip can have its ill effects, especially on the poor wretch being gossiped about. And people should refrain from certain kinds of gossip that might be harmful, even though the ducking stool is long out of fashion.

　　By the way, there is also an interesting strain of gossip called medical gossip, which in its best form, according to researchers Jerry M. Suls and Franklin Goodkin, can motivate people with symptoms of serious illness, but who are unaware of it, to seek medical help.

　　So go ahead and gossip. But remember, if (as often is the case among gossipers) you should suddenly become one of the gossipees instead, it is best to employ the foolproof defense recommended by Plato, who may have learned the lesson from Socrates, who as you know was the victim of gossip spread that he was corrupting the youth of Athens: When men speak ill of thee, so live that nobody will believe them. Or, as Will Rogers said, “Live so that you wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.”

　　46. Persons’ remarks are mentioned at the beginning of the text to ____.

　　[A] show the general disapproval of gossip

　　[B] introduce the topic of gossip

　　[C] examine gossip from a historical perspective

　　[D] prove the real value of gossip

　　47. By “Gossip also is a form of social bonding” (Para. 5), Professor Aaron Ben-Ze’ev means gossip ____.

　　[A] is a valuable source of social information

　　[B] produces a joy that most people in society need

　　[C] brings people the feel of being part of a group

　　[D] satisfies people’s need of being unusual

　　48. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

　　[A] everyone involved will not benefit from gossip.

　　[B] philosophers may hold different attitudes toward gossip.

　　[C] Dr. Ronald De Sousa regards gossips as perfectly advantageous.

　　[D] people are generally not conscious of the value of medical gossip.

　　49. We learn from the last paragraph that ____.

　　[A] gossipers will surely become gossipees someday

　　[B] Socrates was a typical example of a gossiper becoming a gossipee

　　[C] Plato escaped being a victim of gossip by no gossiping

　　[D] an easy way to confront gossip when subjected to it is to live as usual

　　50. The author’s attitude toward “gossip” can be best described as ____.

　　[A] neutral

　　[B] positive

　　[C] negative

　　[D] indifferent

　　Text 3

　　Efforts could potentially avoid at least some of the psychopathy (mental illness) that underlies school shootings, since medicine now can help even the most severely ill. And they would also benefit the many young people struggling with far less extreme brain disorders.

　　The U.S. Secret Service, which studies “targeted violence”, provides insight on the urgency of the need in its 2002 “Safe School Initiative” report: School attacks, instead of being the random impulsive acts of noisy and cruel fellows, are well-planned events mostly carried out by a single student—who is not evil but mentally ill. Except for being male, the 41 attackers studied fit no profile of family background，race，ethnicity，or even academic performance. Many were A and B students. Few had a history of violent or criminal behavior. But their thoughts were of violence, and their behavior was often intimidating. They frequently expressed violent themes in their writings, in one instance portraying killing and suicide as solutions to feelings of despair. The criminals often had telegraphed to other students and teachers their depression or desperation and either talked about or had attempted suicide. Feelings of persecution by others were common and led to growing resentment and anger.

　　Psychiatrists and psychologists recognize that these are red flags demanding medical intervention. Yet one of most striking findings in the report was that the vast majority of these students never had a mental-health evaluation. No wonder only 17 percent were diagnosed with a psychiatric illness—it wasn’t looked for. That alone points to a huge mental health gap: If the distress of these students didn’t trigger medical attention, it’s unlikely that less severe struggles that are seen in as many as 15 to 20 percent of other students will do so.

　　Only recently have we learned that these are neurodevelopmental disorders whose early signs might well be picked up in routine podiatric screening. For example, a classic behavior in a child that can precede psychosis later in 1ife is speaking to almost no one, even family, says Nasrallah.

　　Genes are known to confer vulnerability, but equally important is the environment. Stress or great disappointment can aggravate symptoms; Connecting with an adult in an ongoing relationship can do the opposite. Interventions like social-skills training combined with talk therapy and targeted medication can make a huge difference. Early treatment can lessen the frequency and intensity of psychotic episodes, leaving many patients with only the mildest of symptoms. And the younger the brain, the more malleable is. The ultimate goal is to not only modify evaluation of disease but keep it from arising in the first place. This is achievable, and the path to get there is becoming clear.

　　51. According to the US Secret Service, school attacks are characterized as .

　　[A] reactive

　　[B] revengeful

　　[C] plotted

　　[D] impulsive

　　52. One common characteristic of school attackers is that .

　　[A] they exhibit bad academic performances

　　[B] they have violent thoughts and intimidating behavior

　　[C] they regard homicide and suicide as ways of tackling despair

　　[D] they have records of violence and crimes

　　53. Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 3?

　　[A] There is a huge gap between human mentality.

　　[B] The school attackers have never had any mental health evaluation.

　　[C] Medical attention should be paid to the distress of school attackers.

　　[D] The findings of the report astonished psychiatrists and psychologists.

　　54. The word “malleable” (Line 5, Paragraph 5) is closest in meaning to .

　　[A] miserable

　　[B] adaptable

　　[C] vulnerab1e

　　[D] feeble

　　55. What can we conclude from the last paragraph?

　　[A] Both genes and environment should be improved to tackle brain disorders.

　　[B] Prevention is by far more important than treatment.

　　[C] Mental disorders are curable, and the earlier the better.

　　[D] Early treatment can reduce the sufferings and terminate all the symptoms.

考研

　　2012考研英语完型：学会寻找线索灵活答题

　　考试吧整理：2012考研英语核心词汇大全

　　2012考研英语完形：重在句子分析及词汇积累