Children do not think the way adults do. For most of the first yearof life, if something is out of sight, it’s out of mind. if you cover a baby’s__36__toy with a piece of cloth, the baby thinks the toy has disappeared andstops looking for it. A 4-year-old man__37__, that a sister has more fruitjuice when it is only the shapes of the glasses that differ, not the __38__ ofthe juice.
Yet children are smart in their own way. Like good little scientists,children are always testing their child-sized __39__ about how things your child throws her spoon on the floor for the sixth time as you try tofeed her, and you say, “That’s enough! I will not pick up your spoon again!”the child will__40__ test your claim. Are you serious? Are you angry? What willhappen if she throws the spoon again? She is not doing this to drive you__41__;rather, she is learning that her desires and yours can differ, and thatsometimes those__42__ are important and sometimes they are not.
How and why does children’s thinking change? In the 1920s, Swisspsychologist Jean Piaget proposed that children’s cognitive abilities unfold__43__,like the blooming of a flower, almost independent of what else is__44__ intheir lives. Although many of his specific conclusions have been__45__ ormodified over the years, his ideas inspired thousands of studies byinvestigators all over the world.
A) advocate B) amount C) confirmed
D) crazy E) definite F) differences
G) favorite H) happening I) immediately
J) naturally K) obtaining L) primarily
M) protest N) rejected O) theories
參考答案：
36. G，該題難度不大。空格前後均為名詞，由此得知空格應填入一個形容詞，用以修飾toy，首先考慮備選單詞中的常規形容詞，有D“crazy”，E“definite”，G“favorite”，依次代入，根據句意“如果你用一塊布把小朋友…的玩具蓋住”可知，應填入G“favorite”，意為“最喜愛的”。
37. M，本題難度較高。空格前是主語“a 4-year old man”，故空格處需要填入動詞，候選項有A“advocate”，M“protest”，該題主要難在很多考生不認識M，可用排除法，如填A“支援”明顯違背句意，所以選擇M，意為“抗議，提出抗議”。
38. B，該題難度較低。空格前是定冠詞“the”，而後面是介詞短語“of the juice”，由此可斷定空格處應填入一名詞，由該句探討主題“得到的果汁多還是少”可知，此空應填入B“amount”，表示果汁的“量”。
39. O，該題難度不大。由空格前的形容詞“child-sized”可知，該空應填入名詞，候選項有F“differences”，O“theories”，根據空格後的“about how things work”可得知，應填入O“theories”，構成“theoriesabout how things work ”的結構，意為“關於事物如何運轉的理論”。
40. I，該題難度較高。根據該空所在句句型可知句子結構完整，且在動詞“test”前出現空格，符合“副詞”的需求特徵，候選項有I“immediately”，J“naturally”，L“primarily”，較容易排除的是L項，而I和J取捨難度較大，根據該段首句“小孩向來就會驗證他們的理論”的表述，可知I“immediately”更符合語境，意為“小孩立刻就會開始驗證你說過的話”。
41. D，該題難度很低。根據前文的含義，結合空格所在句的搭配，可輕易得知此空應填入“crazy”，構成drive sb. crazy的固定用法。
42. F，該題難度不高。根據前文的關鍵詞“differ”可知，此空應填入其名詞“differences”。
43. J，該題難度不高。根據空格所在句句型可知，句子結構完整，動詞unfold後有空格，符合“副詞”的需求特徵，候選項有J“naturally”，L“primarily”，根據句意“小孩的認知能力自然地就體現出來了”可知，該題選J。
44. H，該題難度較大。根據句子結構判斷，可知空格前為“what else is”，空格中可填入形容詞、-ing和-ed，而空格前的.“independent of”意為不依賴於…，本句表達的意思是小孩的認知意識不依賴於他們生活中發生的任何其他事，所以選擇H，happening。
45. N，該題難度不高。根據句子結構“…or modified”可知，該空需要一個和“modified”類似的單詞，候選項有C“confirmed”和N“rejected”，根據modified“被改變的”以及句首的“Although”可知，rejected“被否定的”更符合句意，故選N。
