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)
Why do people read negative Internet comments and do other things that will obviously be painful? Because humans have an inherent need to ___1___ uncertainty, according to a recent study in Psychological Science. The new research reveals that the need to know is so strong that people will ___2___ to satisfy their curiosity even when it is clear the answer will ___3___.
In a series of four experiments, behavioral scientists at the University of Chicago and the Wisconsin School of Business tested students’ willingness to ___4___ themselves to unpleasant stimuli in an effort to satisfy curiosity. For one ___5___, each participant was shown a pile of pens that the researcher claimed were from a previous experiment. The twist? Half of the pens would ___6___ an electric shock when clicked.
Twenty-seven students were told which pens were electrified; another twenty-seven were told only that some were electrified. ___7___ left alone in the room, the students who did not know which ones would shock them clicked more pens and incurred more shocks than the students who knew what would ___8___. Subsequent experiments reproduced this effect with other stimuli, ___9___ the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard and photographs of disgusting insects.
The drive to ___10___ is deeply rooted in humans, much the same as the basic drives for ___11___ or shelter, says Christopher Hsee of the University of Chicago. Curiosity is often considered a good instinct — it can ___12___ new scientific advances, for instance — but sometimes such ___13___ can backfire. The insight that curiosity can drive you to do ___14___ things is a profound one.
Unhealthy curiosity is possible to ___15___, however. In a final experiment, participants who were encouraged to ___16___ how they would feel after viewing an unpleasant picture were less likely to ___17___ to see such an image. These results suggest that imagining the ___18___ of following through on one’s curiosity ahead of time can help determine ___19___ it is worth the endeavor. “Thinking about long-term ___20___ is key to reducing the possible negative effects of curiosity,” Hsee says. In other words, don’t read online comments.
解析动宾搭配。resolve uncertainty 表“化解/消除不确定性”，正是好奇心的根源——人天生想搞清楚悬而未决的事，故选 B。protect“保护不确定性”逻辑不通；discuss“讨论不确定性”范围太窄；ignore“忽略不确定性”与下句“need to know is so strong”相反。
2.
A) refuse
B) wait
C) regret
D) seek
答案 D
解析语义推断。本句“people will ___ to satisfy their curiosity even when the answer will hurt”——“为了满足好奇会主动寻求”，seek to do 表“设法去做”，与后文“即便答案痛苦也要去找”逻辑贯通，故选 D。refuse 与“去满足”方向相反；wait“等待”不主动；regret“后悔”发生在事后，与“去满足”不平行。
解析上下文+搭配。前句已言“a series of four experiments”，本句 “For one ___, each participant was shown...” 指“在其中一次实验/试验里”，trial 与 experiment 同源同义，故选 C。message“信息”、review“评论”、concept“概念”均不能代指一次实验。
6.
A) remove
B) weaken
C) interrupt
D) deliver
答案 D
解析动宾搭配。deliver a shock 是固定搭配，表“给予/释放电击”，与“half of the pens would ___ an electric shock when clicked”逻辑严丝合缝，故选 D。remove“移除”、weaken“削弱”、interrupt“中断”均不能与“electric shock”构成“释放电流”这一动作。
7.
A) When
B) If
C) Though
D) Unless
答案 A
解析状语连接。“___ left alone in the room, the students... clicked more pens”表示“当被独自留在房间时”，时间状语从句，When 最贴切，故选 A。If“如果”表条件、Though“尽管”表让步、Unless“除非”表否定条件，均与“独处之后即出现行为”的事实陈述不符。
解析短语搭配。本句“other stimuli, ___ the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard and photographs of disgusting insects”是对其它刺激物的举例，such as“例如”最契合，故选 C。rather than“而不是”表对立、regardless of“无论”表无关条件、owing to“由于”表因果，均不构成“举例”关系。
10.
A) discover
B) forgive
C) forget
D) disagree
答案 A
解析上下文。本段开头“The drive to ___ is deeply rooted in humans, much the same as the basic drives for food or shelter”，全文谈的是好奇心，“探求/发现”的冲动 the drive to discover 与 curiosity 对应，故选 A。forgive“原谅”、forget“遗忘”、disagree“反对”均与“好奇本能”毫无关联。
11.
A) pay
B) marriage
C) schooling
D) food
答案 D
解析并列搭配。“the basic drives for ___ or shelter”中 shelter（栖身/住所）是基本生存需求，与之并列最自然的是 food（食物），二者同属生理需求层级，故选 D。pay“薪酬”、marriage“婚姻”、schooling“教育”均属社会性需求，不与 shelter 形成最基本层并列。
12.
A) lead to
B) rest on
C) learn from
D) begin with
答案 A
解析短语搭配。“curiosity... can ___ new scientific advances”意为“好奇心可以促成新的科学进步”，lead to“导致、带来”最贴切，故选 A。rest on“依赖于”逻辑反转——是进步依赖好奇，而非好奇依赖进步；learn from“向…学习”、begin with“以…开始”均与“产出进步”这一因果方向不符。
13.
A) withdrawal
B) persistence
C) inquiry
D) diligence
答案 C
解析近义复现。本句“such ___ can backfire”需用一词回指上文的 curiosity，inquiry“探究/求知”是 curiosity 的同义重述，故选 C。withdrawal“退缩”、persistence“坚持”、diligence“勤奋”均不能精准等同于“好奇”一义。
14.
A) self-reliant
B) self-destructive
C) self-evident
D) self-deceptive
答案 B
解析语义推断。上句“sometimes such inquiry can backfire（适得其反）”铺垫，本空“curiosity can drive you to do ___ things”指好奇驱使人去做自我伤害的事，自带电击实验为佐证，self-destructive“自毁的”最贴合，故选 B。self-reliant“自立”、self-evident“不证自明”、self-deceptive“自欺”均与“适得其反/痛苦自伤”的语义不符。
15.
A) define
B) resist
C) replace
D) trace
答案 B
解析语境推断。本段是“补救/对策”段——“Unhealthy curiosity is possible to ___, however”表示“不健康的好奇心是可以抵御的”，resist 与下文实验中“减少看不愉快图片冲动”的处理逻辑闭环，故选 B。define“定义”、replace“替代”、trace“追溯”均与“克制冲动”不符。
16.
A) overlook
B) predict
C) design
D) conceal
答案 B
解析动宾搭配。“encouraged to ___ how they would feel after viewing”表示“被引导预先预测/预想自己看后感受”，predict 与后文“ahead of time”呼应，故选 B。overlook“忽视”、design“设计”、conceal“隐藏”均不能描述对“未来感受”的事前估计。
17.
A) remember
B) promise
C) choose
D) pretend
答案 C
解析语义推断。被引导预想后果的人“不太可能 ___ 去看那张令人不快的图片”，choose to see“选择去看”最自然，故选 C。remember to see“记得去看”、promise to see“承诺去看”、pretend to see“假装去看”均与“好奇驱动下主动选择观看”这一行为不符。
18.
A) relief
B) plan
C) duty
D) outcome
答案 D
解析近义复现。本句“imagining the ___ of following through on one’s curiosity ahead of time”——“预想跟随好奇行动的后果”，outcome 与第 16 题“how they would feel after viewing”及第 20 题“long-term consequences”同链，故选 D。relief“宽慰”、plan“计划”、duty“责任”均与“事后结果”一义无关。
19.
A) why
B) whether
C) where
D) how
答案 B
解析宾语从句引导词。determine ___ it is worth the endeavor——“判断它是否值得”，whether 引导“是否”从句最贴切，故选 B。why“为何”、where“在哪”、how“如何”均与“值不值得”这一二元判断不匹配。
20.
A) consequences
B) investments
C) strategies
D) limitations
答案 A
解析近义复现+主旨收束。“Thinking about long-term ___ is key to reducing the possible negative effects of curiosity”——与第 18 题 outcome 同链，consequences“后果”精确复现，故选 A。investments“投入”、strategies“策略”、limitations“局限”均与“长期后果/结果”的语义焦点不符。