Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
Chimpanzees(黑猩猩), human beings' closest animal relatives, share up to 98% of our genes. Yet humans and chimpanzees lead very different lives. Fewer than 300,000 wild chimpanzees live in a few forested corners of Africa today, while humans have colonized every corner of the globe. At more than 7 billion, human population dwarfs that of nearly all other mammals—despite our physical weaknesses.
What could account for our species' incredible evolutionary successes?
One obvious answer is our big brains. It could be that our raw intelligence gave us an unprecedented ability to think outside the box, innovating solutions to thorny problems as people migrated across the globe.
But a growing number of cognitive scientists and anthropologists (人类学家) are rejecting that explanation. They think that, rather than making our living as innovators, we survive and thrive precisely because we don't think for ourselves. Instead, people cope with challenging climates and ecological contexts by carefully copying others.
In a famous study, psychologists Victoria Horner and Andrew Whiten showed two groups of test subjects— children and chimpanzees—a mechanical box with a treat inside. In one condition, the box was opaque, while in the other it was transparent. The experimenters demonstrated how to open the box to retrieve the treat, but they also included the irrelevant step of tapping on the box with a stick.
Oddly, the children carefully copied all the steps to open the box, even when they could see that the stick had no practical effect. That is, they copied irrationally: instead of doing only what was necessary to get their reward, children slavishly imitated every action they'd witnessed.
Of course, that study only included three-and four-year-olds. But additional research has shown that older children and adults are even more likely to mindlessly copy others' actions, and infants are less likely to over- imitate—that is, to precisely copy even impractical actions.
By contrast, chimpanzees in the study only over-imitated in the opaque condition. In the transparent condition— where they saw that the stick was mechanically useless—they ignored that step entirely. Other research has since supported these findings.
When it comes to copying, chimpanzees are more rational than human children or adults.
Where does the seemingly irrational human preference for over-imitation come from? Anthropologist Joseph Henrich points out that people around the world rely on technologies that are often so complex that no one can learn them rationally. Instead, people must learn them step by step, trusting in the wisdom of more experienced elders and peers.
So the next time you hear someone arguing passionately that everyone should embrace nonconformity and avoid imitating others, you might laugh a little bit. We' re not chimpanzees, after all.
51. What might explain humans' having the largest population of almost all mammals?
A) They are equipped with raw strength for solving the most challenging problems.
B) They cope with the outside world more effectively than their animal relatives.
C) They possess the most outstanding ability to think.
D) They know how to survive everywhere on earth.
52. What accounts for humans’ evolutionary successes according to a growing number of cognitive scientists and anthropologists?
A) They are better at innovating solutions.
B) They thrive through creative strategies.
C) They are naturally adaptive to ecological contexts.
D) They meet challenges by imitating others carefully.
53. What does the author think is odd about the findings of the study by Victoria Horner and Andrew Whiten?
A) Children irrationally imitated every action of the experimenters.
B) Chimpanzees could tell the transparent box from the opaque one.
C) Chimpanzees could retrieve the treat more quickly than children did.
D) Children omitted the step of tapping on the box with a stick to open it.
54. What is anthropologist Joseph Henrich's explanation for the human preference for copying?
A) It originates in the rationality of people around the world.
B) It stems from the way people learn complex technologies.
C) It results from people distrusting their own wisdom.
D) It derives from the desire to acquire knowledge step by step.
55. What point does the author want to emphasize when he says“We' re not chimpanzees”?
A) It is arguable whether everyone should avoid imitation.
B) It is characteristic of human beings to copy others.
C) It is desirable to trust in more knowledgeable peers.
D) It is naive to laugh at someone embracing nonconformity.
答案解析：
51. 由题干中的关键词 "largest population" 定位到第一段及第二、三段。第一段指出人类数量远超几乎所有其他哺乳动物，第二段对这种进化成功的原因提出问题，第三段第二句解释原因，进化成功的原因是我们的原始智慧赋予了我们前所未有的创造性死亡能力，可知，人类是所以数量最多，是因为具有超出七天哺乳动物的思考能力，所以选C。
52. 由题干中的关键词 "cognitive scientists and anthropologists" 定位到第三段和第四段。第三段提到 "They think that... people cope with challenging climates and ecological contexts by carefully copying others."，说明这些科学家认为人类通过仔细模仿他人来应对挑战，从而获得成功，所以选D。
53. 由题干中的关键词 "odd" 和 "study by Victoria Horner and Andrew Whiten" 定位到第五段。第五段提到 "Oddly, the children carefully copied all the steps to open the box, even when they could see that the stick had no practical effect. That is, they copied irrationally..."，说明作者认为奇怪之处在于孩子们非理性地模仿了所有步骤，包括那个无效的步骤，所以选A。
54. 由题干中的关键词 "Joseph Henrich" 和 "explanation" 定位到第十一段。第十一段提到 "people around the world rely on technologies that are often so complex that no one can learn them rationally. Instead, people must learn them step by step..."，说明Henrich认为人类偏好模仿是因为他们需要通过一步步模仿来学习复杂的技术，所以选B。
55. 由题干中的关键词 "We' re not chimpanzees" 定位到最后一段。最后一段提到 "So the next time you hear someone arguing passionately that everyone should embrace nonconformity and avoid imitating others, you might laugh a little bit. We' re not chimpanzees, after all."，结合前文黑猩猩更理性而人类倾向于模仿的对比，作者说这句话是为了强调模仿是人类的特点，所以选B。
