Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
Trust is a tricky business. On the one hand, it’s a necessary condition ___1___ many worthwhile things: child care, friendships, etc. On the other hand, putting your ___2___ in the wrong place often carries a high ___3___.
___4___ why do we trust at all? Well, because it feels good. ___5___ people place their trust in an individual or an institution, their brains release oxytocin, a hormone that ___6___ pleasurable feelings and triggers the herding instinct that prompts humans to ___7___ with one another. Scientists have found that exposure ___8___ this hormone puts us in a trusting ___9___: In a Swiss study, researchers sprayed oxytocin into the noses of half the subjects; those subjects were ready to lend significantly higher amounts of money to strangers than were their ___10___ who inhaled something else.
___11___ for us, we also have a sixth sense for dishonesty that may ___12___ us. A Canadian study found that children as young as 14 months can differentiate ___13___ a credible person and a dishonest one. Sixty toddlers were each ___14___ to an adult tester holding a plastic container. The tester would ask, “What’s in here?” before looking into the container, smiling, and exclaiming, “Wow!” Each subject was then invited to look ___15___. Half of them found a toy; the other half ___16___ the container was empty — and realized the tester had ___17___ them.
Among the children who had not been tricked, the majority were ___18___ to cooperate with the tester in learning a new skill, demonstrating that they trusted his leadership. ___19___, only five of the 30 children paired with the “___20___” tester participated in a follow-up activity.
解析上下文+搭配。put one’s faith in sb/sth 是表“信任、把信任寄托于”的固定搭配，与全文 trust 主题直接呼应——“把信任放错地方代价很高”。concern“关切”、attention“注意力”、interest“兴趣”虽可与 put...in... 共现，但均不表达“信任”这一核心义。
3.
A) benefit
B) debt
C) hope
D) price
答案 D
解析语义对照。本句承 On the other hand 转折，与上文“信任有诸多益处”相对，自然过渡到“信错人代价高昂”。carry a high price 即“付出沉重代价”，是常用搭配。benefit“益处”、hope“希望”方向相反；debt“债务”语义过窄，且与 carry 搭配亦不自然。
解析语境推断。空前 herding instinct（群居本能）已暗示人际“聚拢/相连”的倾向，connect with one another“彼此建立联系”与之闭环。compete“竞争”、compare“比较”与“群居本能”相悖；consult“咨询”过窄，无法概括 herding 的广义社交。
8.
A) at
B) by
C) of
D) to
答案 D
解析介词搭配。exposure to sth 是固定搭配，表“接触/暴露于某物”，此处指“接触到这种荷尔蒙”。at、by、of 均不与 exposure 搭配表达此义。
9.
A) context
B) mood
C) period
D) circle
答案 B
解析语义+搭配。puts us in a trusting mood 表“使我们处于信任的心境/状态”，与前文“感觉良好”和后文实验中受试者更慷慨借钱呼应。context“语境”、period“时期”、circle“圈子”均不能与 trusting 搭配表达“心境”一义。
解析句首评注。Lucky for us 意为“我们幸运的是”，引出后文“我们还有识破不诚实的第六感”这一积极事实，与上文“信任有风险”形成补救关系。Funny“好笑”、Odd“奇怪”、Ironic“讽刺”均与“拥有保护性直觉”的正面意味不符。
12.
A) monitor
B) protect
C) surprise
D) delight
答案 B
解析语义推断。第六感识破欺骗的作用是“保护我们免受欺骗”，protect 与 Lucky for us 的语气一致。monitor“监视”不带保护色彩；surprise“使惊讶”、delight“使高兴”均与“识破谎言”的功能背离。
13.
A) between
B) within
C) toward
D) over
答案 A
解析介词搭配。differentiate between A and B 是固定结构，表“区分两者”，此处 A=可信者、B=不诚实者。within、toward、over 均不构成 differentiate 的标准搭配。
14.
A) transferred
B) added
C) introduced
D) entrusted
答案 C
解析实验场景动词。be introduced to sb 表“被引荐给/带到某人面前”，与“60 名幼儿一一被带到手持容器的成人测试者面前”的实验流程吻合。transferred“转移”、added“添加”、entrusted“委托”均不符合“引见”这一动作。
15.
A) out
B) back
C) around
D) inside
答案 D
解析上下文对应。测试员先 looking into the container 表示自己“向容器内看”，随后邀请幼儿做同样动作——look inside“看里面”，与下文“一半发现玩具，一半发现容器是空的”自洽。out“向外”、back“向后”、around“四周”均无法解释“看到容器内有/无东西”这一结果。
16.
A) discovered
B) proved
C) insisted
D) remembered
答案 A
解析动宾搭配+并列结构。前句 found a toy 与本空构成平行——“另一半发现容器是空的”，discovered 与 found 近义且自然衔接。proved“证明”需有论证过程；insisted“坚称”表主观断言；remembered“记起”与现场观察无关，均不合此处“即时察觉”之意。