Question

【题目】 Public Speaking and Critical thinking

What is critical thinking? To a certain degree, it’s a matter of logic (逻辑)— of being able to spot weakness in other people’s arguments and to avoid them in your own. 【1】

In the broad sense, critical thinking is focused, organized thinking——the ability to see clearly the relationships among ideas. 【2】 The greatest thinkers, scientists, and inventors have often taken information that was really available and put it together differently to produce new ideas. That, too, is critical thinking.

If you are wondering what this has to do with your public speaking class, the answer is quite a lot. As the class goes on, for example, you will probably spend a good deal of time organizing your speeches. 【3】 If the structure of your speech is loose (松散的) and confused, chances are that your thinking is also disordered and confused. If, on the other hand, the structure is clear, there is a good chance your thinking is too. Organizing a speech is not just a mater of arranging your ideas you already have. Rather, it is an important part of shaping the ideas themselves.

【4】 The skills you learn in your speech class can help you become a more effective thinker in a number of ways. As you work on expressing your ideas in clear accurate language, you will improve your ability to think clearly and accurately. As you study the role of evidence and reasoning in speechmaking, you will see how they can be used in other forms of communication as well. As you learn to listen critically to speeches in class, you will be better able to assess the ideas of speakers in a variety of situations.

【5】 This is one reason public speaking has been regarded as a vital part of education since the days of ancient Greece.

根据材料内容，从下面五个选项中选出能填入文中空缺处的最佳选项，使短文意思通顺，内容完整。

A.While this may seem like a purely mechanical (机械的) exercise, it is closely connected with critical thinking.

B.If you take full advantage of your speech class, you will be able to develop your skills as a critical thinker in many situations.

C.What is true of organization is true of many aspects of public speaking.

D.It also includes related skills such as distinguishing (区分) fact from opinion and assessing (评估) the soundness of evidence (证据).

E.It has often been said that there are few new ideas in the world, only reorganized ideas.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】E

【3】A

【4】C

【5】B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，讲述了有关公开演讲和批判性思维的一些联系。

【1】根据“it’s a matter of logic (逻辑)”可知批判性思维不仅包含逻辑思考，还包含了相关技能如从观点中区分事实等，这些都是关于批判性思维。故选D。

【2】根据“…was really available and put it together differently to produce new ideas”可知他们也是以不同的方式组合，再产生新的观点，可以说是重新组织的思想。故选E。

【3】根据“you will probably spend a good deal of time organizing your speeches.”和“that your thinking is also disordered and confused.”可知花大量的时间去组织演讲有点机械化，但是不会使你的演讲思维混乱。故选A。

【4】根据“The skills you learn in your speech class can help you become a more effective thinker in a number of ways.”在演讲课学到的东西有利于有效的思考，所以演讲和思考是相关联的。故选C。

【5】根据“This is one reason public speaking has been regarded as a vital part of education since the days of ancient Greece.”可知演讲对于思考的重要性，只要你的演讲技能提高了，你的批判性思维也会提高。故选B。