Passage 5
With its common interest in lawbreaking but its immense range of subject-matter and widely-varying methods of treatment, the crime novel could make a legitimate claim to be regarded as a separate branch of literature, or, at least, as a distinct, even though a slightly disreputable, offshoot of the traditional novel.
The detective story is probably the most respectable (at any rate in the narrow sense of the word) of the crime species. Its creation is often the relaxation of university scholars, literary economists, scientists or even poets. Disastrous deaths may occur more frequently and mysteriously than might be expected in polite society, but the world in which they happen, the village, seaside resort, college or studio, is familiar to us, if not from our own experience, at least in the newspaper or the lives of friends. The characters, though normally realized superficially, are as recognizably human and consistent as our less intimate acquaintances. A story set in a more remote African jungle or Australian bush, ancient China or gas-lit London, appeals to our interest in geography or history, and most detective story writers are conscientious in providing a reasonably true background. The elaborate, carefully-assembled plot, despised by the modern intellectual critics and creators of “significant” novels, has found refuge in the murder mystery, with its sprinkling of clues, its spicing with apparent impossibilities, all with appropriate solutions and explanations at the end. With the guilt of escapism from real life nagging gently, we secretly take delight in the unmasking of evil by a vaguely super-human detective, who sees through and dispels the cloud of suspicion which has hovered so unjustly over the innocent.
Though its villain also receives his rightful deserts, the thriller presents a less comfortable and credible world. The sequence of fist fights, revolver duels, car crashes and escapes from gas-filled cellars exhausts the reader far more than the hero, who, suffering from at least two broken ribs, one black eye, uncountable bruises and a hangover, can still chase and overpower an armed villain with the physique of a wrestler, He moves dangerously through a world of ruthless gangs, brutality, a vicious lust for power and money and, in contrast to the detective tale, with a near-omniscient arch-criminal whose defeat seems almost accidental. Perhaps we miss in the thriller the security of being safely led by our imperturbable investigator past a score of red herrings and blind avenues to a final gathering of suspects when an unchallengeable elucidation of all that has bewildered us is given and justice and goodness prevail. All that we vainly hope for from life is granted vicariously.
56. The crime novel is regarded by the author as _________________.
A. a not respectable form of the traditional novel
B. not a true novel at all
C. related in some ways to the historical novel
D. a distinct branch of the traditional novel
57. The creation of detective stories has its origin in _______________.
A. seeking rest from work or worries
B. solving mysterious deaths in this society
C. restoring expectations in polite society
D. preventing crimes
58. The characters of the detective stories are, generally speaking, _____________.
A. more profound than those of the traditional novels
B. as real as life itself
C. not like human beings at all
D. not very profound but not unlikely
59. The setting of the detective stories is sometimes in a more remote place because ___________.
A. it is more real
B. our friends are familiar with it
C. it pleases the readers in a way
D. it needs the readers’ support
60. The writer of this passage thinks _____________.
A. what people hope for from life can finally be granted if they have confidence
B. people like to feel that justice and goodness will always triumph
C. they know in the real world good does not prevail over evil
D. their hopes in life can only be fulfilled through fiction reading
Passage 6
Whenever we are involved in a creative type of activity that is self-rewarding, a feeling overcomes us—a feeling that we can call “flow.” When we are flowing we lose all sense of time and awareness of what is happening around us; instead, we feel that everything is going just right.
A rock dancer describes his feeling of flow like this: “If I have enough space, I feel I can radiate an energy into the atmosphere. I can dance for walls, I dance for floors. I become one with the atmosphere.” “You are in an ecstatic state to such a point that you don’t exist,” says a composer, describing how he feels when he “flows.” Players of any sport throughout the world are familiar with the feeling of flow; they enjoy their activity very much, even though they can expect little extrinsic reward. The same holds true for surgeons, cave explorers, and mountain climbers.
Flow provides a sort of physical sensation along with an altered state of being. One man put it this way: “Your body feels good and awake all over. Your energy is flowing.” People who flow feel part of this energy; that is, they are so involved in what they are doing that they do not think of themselves as being separate from their activity. They are flowing along with their enjoyment. Moreover, they concentrate intensely on their activity. They do not try to concentrate harder, however; the concentration comes automatically. A chess player compares this concentration to breathing. As they concentrate, these people feel immersed in the action, lost in the action. Their sense of time is altered and they skip meals and sleep without noticing their loss. Sizes and spaces also seem altered: successful baseball players see and hit the ball so much better because it seems larger to them. They can even distinguish the seams on a ball approaching them at 165 kilometers per hour.
It seems then that flow is a “floating action” in which the individual is aware of his actions but not aware of his awareness. A good reader is so absorbed in his book that he knows he is turning the pages to go on reading, but he does not notice he is turning these pages. The moment people think about it, flow is destroyed, so they never ask themselves questions such as “Am I doing well?” or “Did everyone see my jump?”
Finally, to flow successfully depends a great deal on the activity itself; not too difficult to produce anxiety, not too easy to bring about boredom; challenging, interesting, fun. Some good examples of flow activities are games and sports, reading, learning, working on what you enjoy, and even day-dreaming.
61. What is the main purpose of the article?
A. to illustrate the feeling of “flow”
B. to analyze the causes of a special feeling
C. to define the new psychological term “flow”
D. to lead people to acquire the feeling of “flow”
62. In this article, “flow” refers to a feeling which probably results from _____________.
A. awareness
B. ecstasy
C. unconsciousness
D. self-rewarding
63. The word “immersed” (in boldface) is closest in meaning to _____________.
A. occupied
B. engrossed
C. soaked
D. committed
64. What does one usually act while “flowing” in reading?
A. thinks what he is doing
B. wonders how fast he can read
C. turns the pages
D. minds the page number
65. The activity which can successfully bring about “flow” is most probably ____________.
A. gripping
B. difficult
C. boring
D. easy
通用考博英语精品课程【节选】-1元领!
摸清考试命脉,有技巧有方法有准备地进入到考博英语中。
资料下载
【必看】考博英语词汇10000例精解
发布时间:2020-09-02关注新东方在线服务号
回复【10000】免费获取
医学考博英语作文核心基础词汇整理
发布时间:2020-04-15关注新东方在线服务号
回复【医学考博】获取
医学考博英语阅读理解练习资料
发布时间:2020-04-15关注新东方在线服务号
回复【医学考博】获取
法学考博英语高频词汇word版
发布时间:2020-04-15关注新东方在线服务号
回复【医学考博】获取
医学博士英语统考真题及解析
发布时间:2019-12-26关注新东方在线服务号
回复【考博真题】获取
全国医学博士外语统一考试真题
发布时间:2019-12-26关注新东方在线服务号
回复【考博真题】获取
中科院考博英语复习备考实战经验分享
发布时间:2019-12-26关注新东方在线服务号
回复【考博经验】获取
中科院考博英语真题练习资料
发布时间:2019-12-26关注新东方在线服务号
回复【考博真题】获取
关注新东方在线服务号
关注新东方在线服务号,
免费获取考博必看干货资料
推荐阅读
更多>>2021考博英语作文词句素材:环保类话题常见词汇
2021考博英语作文词句素材:同义替换之名词篇
2021考博英语作文词句素材:同义替换之动词篇
2021考博英语作文词句素材:词义辨析
2021考博英语作文词句素材:倍数的表达
考博好课推荐
更多>>1节课解读博士考试,掌握备考秘诀!
价格 : ¥0元
基础薄弱,备考迷茫,送纸质资料
价格 : ¥2280元
资深教师,教学简明,直接有效!
价格 : 0元
资料下载
更多>>关注新东方在线服务号
回复【10000】免费获取
关注新东方在线服务号
回复【医学考博】获取
关注新东方在线服务号
回复【医学考博】获取
关注新东方在线服务号
回复【医学考博】获取
关注新东方在线服务号
回复【考博真题】获取
关注新东方在线服务号
回复【考博真题】获取
关注新东方在线服务号
回复【考博经验】获取
关注新东方在线服务号
回复【考博真题】获取
阅读排行榜
相关内容