People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviours are formed. It’s not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive. Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of questions. They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behaviours. There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from one another, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents (辩护者) of each theory. The controversy is often conveniently referred to as “nature/nurture”. Those who support the “nature” side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors. That our environment has little, if any, to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behaviour is central to this theory. Taken to an extreme, this theory maintains that our behaviour is predetermined to such a great degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts. Proponents of the “nurture” theory, or, as they are often called, behaviourists, claim that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act. A behaviourist, B. F. Skinner, sees humans as beings whose behaviour is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. The behaviourists’ view of the human being is quite mechanistic; they maintain that, like machines, humans respond to environmental stimulation as the basis of their behaviour. The social and political implications of these two theories are profound. In the United States, for example, blacks often score below whites on standardised intelligent tests. This leads some “nature” proponents to conclude that blacks are genetically inferior to whites. Behaviourists, in contrast, say that the differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often deprived of many of the educational and other environmental advantages that whites enjoy, and that, as a result, they do not develop the same responses that whites do. Neither of these theories can yet fully explain human behaviour. In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behaviour lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain. 1 Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? A Nature or Nurture B Cooperative or Competitive C Intelligence: Product of Experiences D Behaviour: Product of Instincts 2 In Paragraph 2, what does the author mean by saying “two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed”? A Two different schools have been established to study the matter. B Two different kinds of ideas about the formation of people’s personalities and behaviours have formed. C Two different schools are debating with each other. D There are two approaches and debates because of the two schools. 3 Behaviourists believe that ____ . A humans should behave mechanically B human behaviour patterns are based on biological and genetic factors C human behaviour is mainly determined by their surroundings D factors of the environment have little influence on people’s personalities 4 How does the author probably explain the different scores between blacks and whites in standardised intelligence tests? A Blacks are genetically inferior to whites. B Blacks don’t have the same opportunity for education as whites. C Blacks and whites develop different responses. D Both nature and nurture play a role in this matter. 5 The reason why the controversy will continue between nature supporters and nurture supporters for a long time is that ____ . A there are two schools working on it B the key to human behaviour is difficult to find C both theories make sense D either of the theories has gone to an extreme

People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviours are formed. It’s not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive.
Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of questions. They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behaviours. There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from one another, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents (辩护者) of each theory. The controversy is often conveniently referred to as “nature/nurture”.
Those who support the “nature” side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors. That our environment has little, if any, to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behaviour is central to this theory. Taken to an extreme, this theory maintains that our behaviour is predetermined to such a great degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts.
Proponents of the “nurture” theory, or, as they are often called, behaviourists, claim that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act. A behaviourist, B. F. Skinner, sees humans as beings whose behaviour is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. The behaviourists’ view of the human being is quite mechanistic; they maintain that, like machines, humans respond to environmental stimulation as the basis of their behaviour.
The social and political implications of these two theories are profound. In the United States, for example, blacks often score below whites on standardised intelligent tests. This leads some “nature” proponents to conclude that blacks are genetically inferior to whites. Behaviourists, in contrast, say that the differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often deprived of many of the educational and other environmental advantages that whites enjoy, and that, as a result, they do not develop the same responses that whites do.
Neither of these theories can yet fully explain human behaviour. In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behaviour lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain.
1 Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A Nature or Nurture
B Cooperative or Competitive
C Intelligence: Product of Experiences
D Behaviour: Product of Instincts
2 In Paragraph 2, what does the author mean by saying “two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed”?
A Two different schools have been established to study the matter.
B Two different kinds of ideas about the formation of people’s personalities and behaviours have formed.
C Two different schools are debating with each other.
D There are two approaches and debates because of the two schools.
3 Behaviourists believe that ____ .
A humans should behave mechanically
B human behaviour patterns are based on biological and genetic factors
C human behaviour is mainly determined by their surroundings
D factors of the environment have little influence on people’s personalities
4 How does the author probably explain the different scores between blacks and whites in standardised intelligence tests?
A Blacks are genetically inferior to whites.
B Blacks don’t have the same opportunity for education as whites.
C Blacks and whites develop different responses.
D Both nature and nurture play a role in this matter.
5 The reason why the controversy will continue between nature supporters and nurture supporters for a long time is that ____ .
A there are two schools working on it
B the key to human behaviour is difficult to find
C both theories make sense
D either of the theories has gone to an extreme