In 1990,22-year-old Christopher McCandless gave up his career plans，left behind everyone he knew，donated all his savings to charity，and went off on an adventure，hiking his way through America to Alaska．

Of course,this is an unusual story most college graduates would not do so. However，studies show that in teenage years, people are more likely to try out new experiences.For example，instead of working his way up the same organization like his grandfather did，a 15-year-old may dream about becoming a traveller一only to find in his early 20s that this attraction of new places is fading and change is less attractive．

The reason why people become less keen to change as they get older may be that people

generally have similar life patterns and demands．Most people aim to find a job and a partner. As they get older，they may have young children and elderly family members to look after. These responsibilities cannot be achieved without some degree of steadiness，which means that new experiences and ideas may not have a place in the person’s life．New experiences may bring excitement as well as insecurity,and so most people prefer to stay with the familiar.

However，not every individual is the same. A child may want to play a different game every day and get fed up if nothing changes at the kindergarten．Another may play with the same children and toys on every visit. Young children who avoid new experiences will grow up to be more traditional than others. Psychologist argue that those who have more open personalities as children are more open than others might be when they are older and that young men have a greater interest in novelty than women，although as they age，this desire for new experiences fades more quickly than it does in women．

【1】 The first paragraph serves as a(n）             ．

A. introduction   B．explanation

C. comment         D. background

【2】What does the author think is the key factor that prevents people trying out new experiences?（    ）

A. Age                  B. Partner

C. Responsibility       D. Education

【3】The underlined phrase“interest in novelty”most probably means               ．

A. independence     B. curiosity

C. security         D.excitement

【4】According to the passage, we can infer that_______.

A. a child who likes different games may not like to change after growing up

B. a teenager is not interested in a new start before graduation

C. women are more likely to try new things than men of the same age

D. as one gets older, he prefers the old patterns of life

答案

【1】A

【2】C

【3】B

【4】D

解析

试题分析: 克里斯托弗22岁时将自己的所有积蓄捐赠给了慈善机构,之后去北美大陆徒步旅行。这件事引起极大反响。每个人都能放下一切去追逐梦想吗？文章分析了其中的原因。

【1】A推理判断题。下文主要针对人们是否能放弃现状开始尝试新生活展开讨论，因此作者在首段用McCandless的故事引出文章的主题，故选A项。

【2】C细节理解题。根据第三段As they get older，they may have young children and elderly family members to look after. 随着年龄的增长,他们可能有小孩和老人的家庭成员需要照顾。和These responsibilities cannot be achieved without some degree of steadiness没有稳定的生活，这些责任难以担当。故选C项。

【3】B词义猜测题。根据下文的 this desire for new experiences可知是好奇心，故选B项。

【4】D细节理解题。根据第三段people become less keen to change as they get older随着年龄的增长，人们越来越不愿意改变，可知选D项。