Question

1．Our brains work in complex and strange ways．There are some people who can calculate the day of the week for any given date in 40，000 years，but who cannot add two plus two．Others can perform complex classical piano pieces after hearing them once，but they cannot read or write．
         Dr．J．Langdon Down first described this condition in 1887．He called these people idiot savants．An idiot savant is a person who has significant mental impairment （损伤），such as in autism or retardation．At the same time，the person also exhibits some extraordinary skills，which are unusual for most people．The skills of the savant may vary from being exceptionally gifted in music or in mathematics，or having a photographic memory．
         One of the first descriptions of a human who could calculate quickly was written in 1789 by Dr．Benjamin Rush，an American doctor．His patient，Thomas Fuller，was brought to Virginia as a slave in 1724．It took Thomas only 90 seconds to work out that a man who has lived 70 years，17 days，and 12 hours has lived 2，210，500，800 seconds．Despite this ability，he died in 1790 without ever learning to read or write．
         Another idiot savant slave became famous as a pianist in the 1860s．Blind Tom had a vocabulary of only 100 words，but he played 5，000 musical pieces beautifully．
         In the excellent movie Rain Man，made in 1988 and available on video cassette，Dustin Hoffman plays an idiot savant who amazes his brother played by Tom Cruise，with his ability to perform complex calculations very rapidly．
         Today we more clearly recognize that the idiot savant is special because of brain impairment．Yet not all brain impairment leads to savant skills．Some studies have shown that people who have purposeful interruption of the left side of the brain can develop idiot savant skills．However few people wish to participate in such experiments．There are many excellent reasons for not undergoing unnecessary experimentation on one's brain．The term idiot savant is outdated and inappropriate．Virtually all savants have a high degree of intelligence and are thus not idiots．
63．What does the passage mainly talk about？A
A．Idiot savants have areas of outstanding abilities．
B．Human Beings have complicated thinking process．
C．The brains of the idiot savants are partly impaired．
D．The reasons why people have wonderful skills vary．
64．Which of the following can be done by Rain Man？D
A．He can play wonderful pieces of classical music．
B．He can guess out exactly the length of a man's life．
C．He can memorize the contents of the pictures fast．
D．He can count matches dropped on the floor quickly．
65．What can you infer from the passage？C
A．Idiot savants have real talents for art and math．
B．Dr．Down is the first person who found idiot savants．
C．Few people wish to risk becoming savants by brain operations．
D．Intentional left brain impairments will surely lead to idiot savants．
66．Which of the following shows the structure of the passage？B

Answer 1

分析 本文为科普类说明文，文章首先提出了一个常见的现象：一些具有特殊才能者低能者；在随后的几段中作者分别列举事例，从最早1887年描述的案例到电影Rain Man中的idiot savant；最后作者分析了这种现象的原因：具有特殊才能者低能者往往是因为大脑受损；有研究表明，故意打断左侧大脑造就低能特才者；但是很少有人愿意参与这样的实验；毕竟所以的博学专家都不是低能者．

解答 63．答案是A．主旨大意题；本文围绕idiot savant展开说明，并列举具体的事例加以验证；最后对这种现象的原谅进行分析，故选A．
64．答案是D．细节理解题；由倒数第二段中"with his ability to perform complex calculations very rapidly"可知，他有着快速进行复杂计算的能力；故选D．
65．答案是C．推断题；由最后一段中"However few people wish to participate in such experiments．"可知，很少有人希望参与这样的实验，这里的such experiment指代上文的"have purposeful interruption of the left side of the brain can develop idiot savant skills故意打断左侧大脑造就低能特才者"，故选C．
66．答案是B．文章结构理解题；本文第一段首先引出主题"Idiot savant"，分两大部分分析：列举具有特才的低能者；最后一段分析原因；故选B．

点评 阅读要在整体理解文章的基础上，在做细节题时根据题干定位细节，在语境中正确理解原句，然后对照选项做出合理的判断；必要的时候要进行推理，透过句子表面看作者的真正意图．如果是主旨大意的判断要把握文章整体，避免以偏概全．