英语四级阅读（10.25）最新一期
阅读原文：
Imagine being a slave in ancient Rome. Now remember being one. The second task, unlike the first, is crazy. If, as I'm guessing, you never were a slave in ancient Rome, it follows that you can't remember being one-but you can still let your imagination go around freely. With a bit of effort one can even imagine the impossible, such as discovering that Dick Cheney and Madonna are really the same person. It sounds like a platitude(陈词滥调） that fiction is the realm of imagination, fact the realm of knowledge.
Why did humans evolve the capacity to imagine alternatives to reality? Was story-telling in prehistoric times like the peacock's tail, of no direct practical use but a good way of attracting a mate? It kept Scheherazade alive through those one thousand and one nights-in the story. On further reflection, imagining turns out to be much more reality-directed than the stereotype implies. If a child imagines the life of a slave in ancient Rome as mainly spent watching sports on TV, with occasional household chores, he is imagining it wrong. That is not what it was like to be a slave. The imagination is not just a random idea generator. The test is how close you can come to imagining the life of a slave as it really was, not how far you can deviate from reality.
A reality-directed faculty of imagination has clear survival value. By enabling you to imagine all sorts of scenarios, it alerts you to dangers and opportunities. You come across a cave. You imagine wintering there with a warm fire----opportunity. You imagine a bear waking up inside--danger. Having imagined possibilities, you can take account of them in contingency (偶然) planning. If a bear is in the cave, how do you deal with it? If you winter there, what do you do for food and drink? Answering those questions involves more imagining. which must be reality-directed.
阅读问题：
21.
What can we learn from the first paragraph
A) Being a slave in ancient Rome is crazy
B) Humans' memory is limitless
C) Humans' imagination is powerful
D) The impossible is beyond imagination
22.
Why does the author mention the peacock's tail?
A) To tell us some knowledge about peacocks
B)To tell us it has no direct practical use
C) To tell us story-telling is just like the peacock's tail
D) To explore the impacts of imagination.
23.
According to the passage, what is the stereotype about imagination?
A) It has little to do with reality.
B) It has much to do with reality
C) It is fully reality-directed
D) It is not a random idea generator.
24.
What is the value of the reality-directed faculty of imagination?
A) It tells people how to survive
B) It warns people of risks and chances
C) It shows people how to escape from a cave
D) It tells people how to be away from bears.
25.
What is the author's attitude towards reality-directed imagination?
A) Positive
B) Negative
C) Neutral
D) Indifferent
答案详解（原创解析）：
21 C：本题明确告知是第一段，但是第一段很长，此时就需要找到第一段的关键词“but”，原文“but you can still let your imagination go around freely”，本句话意思非常明确，简单的说“你可以自由的想象”，仅凭这句话轻松选出C，意思是“人们的想象力强大”，A与本句话无关，B中“memory”指的是记忆并非想象，D无法想象不可能的事情，不符合定位句的含义，且定位句后面说道“ can even imagine the impossible”，因此ABD均不对，本题简单。
22 D： mention意思是“提到；提及”，由题干中的“peacock's tail”定位在第二段的此句“Was story-telling in prehistoric times like the peacock's tail, of no direct practical use but a good way of attracting a mate?” 本题有难度因为定位句很抽象，因此要细心分析一下这个句子，这里有两个关键词：
第一个“like”表示“像...”，“A like B ”，指的是A与B一样，但是重点指的是前面的A，所以这里的重点并不是说“peacock's tail”，而是指“story-telling ”讲故事，也就是“想象力”，同学们可能不明白什么意思，下面我举一个例子：
一句脏话，“你就像猪一样，只知道吃喝”，相信大家都明白，这里强调的不是猪，而是“你只知道吃喝”。
第二个“but”，原文“ but a good way of attracting a mate”，不明白什么意思不要紧，但是你一定认识a good way，也就是“好方式”，也就是指“story-telling”的作用。
综合两个关键词，选出D选项应该不难
23 A：由题干“stereotype”，定位原文“On further reflection, imagining turns out to be much more reality-directed than the stereotype implies”，本题同学们极易选B，原因在于不会翻译，其实细心分析一下，题目问的是“stereotype”，表示“通常情况下”，其实不会翻译也没关系，定位句有“ than”，“A than B”，在阅读中，说白了就是“B不如A”
这里than前面是“much more reality-directed”，而“stereotype”在“than”后面，轻松选A
24 B：根据题干“ value of the reality-directed faculty of imagination”定位第三段开头“A reality-directed faculty of imagination has clear survival value. By enabling you to imagine all sorts of scenarios, it alerts you to dangers and opportunities.”，关键词“alerts ”表示“警示，告诫”即告知同学们下面就是结论“dangers and opportunities”与B 同义替换。
25 A：态度题问的是“reality-directed imagination”以现实为依据的想象，对于此24题已经做出解释，“A reality-directed faculty of imagination has clear survival value”，简单的说就是“reality-directed imagination有明确的存在价值”，轻松选A。
总结：通篇文章没有过于难为诸位同学，考查的是对于细节的理解，只要熟悉套路，对于核心词汇有所掌握，完全能够做对，本篇文章将四级阅读常用的套路展现的淋漓尽致，是一篇不错的四级文章，值得诸位同学提炼一下做题技巧！
文章翻译：
想象一下自己成为古罗马的一名奴隶。现在记住自己就是一名奴隶。与第一个任务不同,第二个任务是疯狂的。如果像我猜想的那样,你从来没在古罗马做过奴隶,那么你就无法把自己当成奴隶,但是你仍然可以让你的想象力自由发挥。稍微努力一下,人们甚至可以想象那些不可能的事情,比如发现 Dick Cheney和 Madonna其实是同一个人。下面这句话听上去像是陈词滥调:小说是想象力的领域,而事实是知识的领域。
为什么人类慢慢演化出这样的能力,即把一些虚幻的事情想象成事实?在史前时代,讲故事是不是就像孔雀的尾巴一样,没有什么直接并且实际的作用,但是一个用来吸引异性的好办法?在故事中,正是想象力使 Scheherazade度过一千零一夜,幸免一死。进一步思考一下,想象力并非像人们惯常认为的那样,它在很大程度上都以事实为导向。如果一个孩子把他在古罗马当奴隶的生活想象成主要是看体育节目,偶尔做点家务,那么他就想错了。当奴隶不是这样的。想象力并不仅仅是随意地产生一些想法。这里的考验是你的想象力到底能够在多大程度上接近一名奴隶真实的生活,而不是你到底能背离事实多远。
以事实为导向的想象力有其明确的存在价值。通过使你能想象各种各样的场景,它可以警示你危险和机遇。假如遇到一个岩洞,如果你想象有一堆温暖的篝火让你在那里度过冬天,这就是机遇。如果你想象在岩洞中有只熊醒来,这就是危险。在想象出这些可能性之后,你可以据此作出一些应变计划。如果洞中有熊,你该如何应对?如果在里面过冬,你该怎么做才能让自己有食物吃,有水喝。回答这些问题需要更多的以事实为导向的想象力。
