考研英语阅读Unit-18.docVIP

Unit 18 Adversity makes a man wise, not rich. 逆境出人才。 学习内容 题材 数 建议时间 得分统计 做题备忘 Part A Text 1 /10 Text 2 商业经济 477 /10 Text 3 社会生活 406 /10 Text 4 文化教育 451 /10 Part B 商业经济 617 /10 Part C 科普知识 363 /10 Part A Directions：Read the following texts. Answer the questions blow each text by choosing [A],[B],[C] or [D]. Text 1The desire for achievement is one of life’s great mysteries. Social scientists have devoted lifetimes to studying the drives that spur us out of bed in the morning, compel us to work or study hard and spark all manner of human endeavor. Indeed, a 1992 textbook actually documents 32 distinct theories of human motivation. Given this diversity of thought, it’s easy to forget that for a half century, American society has been dominated by the psychological school known as behaviorism，or Skinnerian psychology. Although behaviorism and its fundamental principle of “positive reinforcement” have long since lost their way in academic circles, the Skinnerian legacy remains powerful in every realm of trash. Tired out? Do it, and you can go to the movies Friday night. Not in the mood for work? Keep plugging away, and you might get a bonus. Not interested in calculus? Strive for an A in the class, and you will make the honor roll. The theory may be bankrupt, but incentives and rewards are so much a part of American culture that it’s hard to imagine life without them. Yet that’s exactly what a growing group of researchers are advocating today. A steady stream of research has found that rather encouraging motivation and productivity, rewards actually can undermine genuine interest and diminish performance. “Our society is caught in a whopping paradox,”asserts Alfie Kohn, author of the new book Rewards (published by Houghton Mifflin), which surveys recent research on the effectiveness of rewards, “We complain loudly about declining productivity, the crisis of our school and the distorted values of our children. But the very strategy we use to