CET-6快速阅读题

CET-6快速阅读题

　　Obama'ssuccessisn'tallgoodnewsforblackAmericans

　　AsErinWhitewatchedtheelectionresultsheadtowardsvictoryforBarackObama,shefeltaburdenliftingfromhershoulders.Inthatonesecond,itwasavalidationformywholerace,sherecalls.

　　I'vealwaysbeenanachiever,saysWhite,whoisstudyingforanMBAatVanderbiltUniversityinNashville,Tennessee.ButtherehadalwaysbeenthesethingsinthebackofmymindquestioningwhetherIreallycanbewhoIwant.Itwaslikeashadow,followingmearoundsayingyoucanonlygosofar.Nowit'slikeabarrierhasbeenletdown.

　　White'sexperienceiswhatmanypsychologistshadexpected-thatObamawouldprovetobeapowerfulrolemodelforAfricanAmericans.SomehopedhisrisetoprominencewouldhaveabigimpactonwhiteAmericans,too,challengingthosewhostillharborracistsentiments.Thetraitsthatcharacterizehimareverycontradictorytotheracialstereotypesthatblackpeopleareaggressiveanduneducated,saysAshbyPlantofFloridaStateUniversity.He'sveryintelligentandeloquent.

　　Stinginthetail

　　AshbyPlantisoneofanumberofpsychologistswhoseizedonObama'scandidacytotesthypothesesaboutthepowerofrolemodels.TheirworkisalreadystartingtorevealhowtheObamaeffectischangingpeople'sviewsandbehavior.Perhapssurprisingly,itisnotallgoodnews:thereisastinginthetailoftheObamaeffect.

　　Butfirstthegoodnews.BarackObamareallyisapositiverolemodelforAfricanAmericans,andhewasmakinganimpactevenbeforehegottotheWhiteHouse.Indeed,theObamaeffectcanbesurprisinglyimmediateandpowerful,asRayFriedmanofVanderbiltUniversityandhiscolleaguesdiscovered.

　　TheytestedfourseparategroupsatfourkeystagesofObama'spresidentialcampaign.Eachgroupconsistedofaround120adultsofsimilarageandeducation,andthetestassessedtheirlanguageskills.Attwoofthesestages,whenObama'ssuccesswaslessthancertain,thetestsshowedacleardifferencebetweenthescoresofthewhiteandblackparticipantsanaverageof12.1outof20,comparedto8.8,forexample.WhentheObamafeverwasatitsheight,however,theblackparticipantsperformedmuchbetter.ThosewhohadwatchedObama'sacceptancespeechastheDemocrats'presidentialcandidateperformedjustaswell,onaverage,asthewhitesubjects.Afterhiselectionvictory,thiswastrueofalltheblackparticipants.

　　Dramaticshift

　　Whatcanexplainthisdramaticshift?Atthestartofthetest,theparticipantshadtodeclaretheirraceandweretoldtheirresultswouldbeusedtoassesstheirstrengthsandweaknesses.Thisshouldhaveprimedthesubjectswithstereotypethreatananxietythattheirresultswillconfirmnegativestereotypes,whichhasbeenshowntodamagetheperformanceofAfricanAmericans.

　　Obama'ssuccessesseemedtoactasashieldagainstthis.Wesuspecttheyfeltinspiredandenergizedbyhisvictory,sothestereotypethreatwouldn'tproveadistraction,saysFriedman.

　　Lingeringracism

　　IftheObamaeffectispositiveforAfricanAmericans,howisitaffectingtheirwhitecompatriots(同胞)?Istheexperienceofhavingacharismatic(有魅力的)blackpresidentmodifyinglingeringracistattitudes?Thereisnoeasywaytomeasureracismdirectly;insteadpsychologistsassesswhatisknownasimplicitbias,usingacomputer-basedtestthatmeasureshowquicklypeopleassociatepositiveandnegativewordssuchasloveorevilwithphotosofblackorwhitefaces.Asimilartestcanalsomeasurehowquicklysubjectsassociatestereotypicaltraitssuchasathleticskillsormentalabilitywithaparticulargroup.

　　InastudythatwillappearintheJournalofExperimentalSocialPsychology,Plant'steamtested229studentsduringtheheightoftheObamafever.Theyfoundthatimplicitbiashasfallenbyasmuchas90%comparedwiththelevelfoundinasimilarstudyin2006.That'sanunusuallylargedrop,Plantsays.

　　Whiletheteamcan'tbesuretheirresultsareduesolelytoObama,theyalsoshowedthatthosewiththelowestbiaswerelikelytosubconsciouslyassociateblackskincolourwithpoliticalwordssuchasgovernmentorpresident.ThissuggeststhatObamawasstronglyontheirmind,saysPlant.

　　Dropinbias

　　BrianNosekoftheUniversityofVirginiainCharlottesville,whorunsawebsitethatmeasuresimplicitbiasusingsimilartest,hasalsoobservedasmalldropinbiasinthe700,000visitorstothesitesinceJanuary2007,whichmightbeexplainedbyObama'srisetopopularity.However,hispreliminaryresultssuggestthatchangewillbemuchslowercomingthanPlant'sresultssuggest.

　　Talkinghonestly

　　PeoplenowhavetheopportunityofexpressingsupportforObamaeveryday,saysDanielEffronatStanfordUniversityinCalifornia.OurresearcharousestheconcernthatpeoplemaynowbemorelikelytoraisenegativeviewsofAfricanAmericans.Ontheotherhand,hesays,itmayjustencouragepeopletotalkmorehonestlyabouttheirfeelingsregardingraceissues,whichmaynotbesuchabadthing.

　　Anotherpartofthestudysuggestsfarmoreisatstakethanthemereexpressionofviews.TheObamaeffectmayhaveanegativeside.JustoneweekafterObamawaselectedpresident,participantswerelessreadytosupportpoliciesdesignedtoaddressracialinequalitythantheyhadbeentwoweeksbeforetheelection.

　　Hugeobstacles

　　Itcould,ofcourse,alsobethatObama'ssuccesshelpspeopletoforgetthatadisproportionatenumberofblackAmericansstillliveinpovertyandfacehugeobstacleswhentryingtoovercomethesecircumstances.BarackObama'sfamilyissuchasalient(出色的)image,wegeneraliseitandfailtoseethelargerpicturethatthere'sinjusticeineveryaspectofAmericanlife,saysCherylKaiseroftheUniversityofWashingtoninSeattle.ThosetryingtoaddressissuesofracialinequalityneedtoconstantlyremindpeopleoftheinequalitiesthatstillexisttocounteracttheObama'seffect,shesays.

　　ThoughPlant'sfindingsweremorepositive,shetoowarnsagainstthinkingthatracismandracialinequalitiesarenolongeraproblem.ThelastthingIwantisforpeopletothinkeverything'ssolved.

　　ThesefindingsdonotonlyapplytoObama,orevenjusttorace.Theyshouldholdforanyrolemodelinanycountry.There'snoreasonwewouldn'thaveseenthesameeffectonourviewsofwomenifHillaryClintonorSarahPalinhadbeenelected,saysEffron.Sotheelectionofafemaleleadermighthaveadownsideforotherwomen.

　　Beyondrace

　　Wealsodon'tyetknowhowlongtheObamaeffectbothitsgoodsideanditsbadwilllast.Politicalsentimentisnotoriouslychangeable:WhatifthingsbegintogowrongforObama,andhispopularityslumps?

　　AndwhatifAmericansbecomesofamiliarwithhavingObamaastheirpresidentthattheystopconsideringhisracealtogether?Overtimehemightbecomehisownentity,saysPlant.Thismightseemliketheultimatedefeatforracism,butignoringtheraceofcertainselectindividualsaphenomenonthatpsychologistscallsubtypingalsohasaninsidious(隐伏的)side.Wethinkithappenstohelppeoplepreservetheirbeliefs,sotheycanstillholdontothepreviousstereotypes.ThatcouldturnouttobethecruelestofallthetwiststotheObamaeffect.

　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡1上作答。

　　1.HowdidErinWhitefeeluponseeingBarackObama'svictoryintheelection?

　　A)Excited.

　　B)Victorious.

　　C)Anxious.

　　D)Relieved.

　　2.Beforetheelection,ErinWhitehasbeenhauntedbythequestionofwhether______.

　　A)shecouldobtainherMBAdegree

　　B)shecouldgoasfarasshewantedinlife

　　C)shewasovershadowedbyherwhitepeers

　　D)shewasreallyanachieverasastudent

　　3.WhatisthefocusofAshbyPlant'sstudy?

　　A)RacistsentimentsinAmerica.

　　B)Thepowerofrolemodels.

　　C)Personalitytraitsofsuccessfulblacks.

　　D)ThedualcharacterofAfricanAmericans.

　　4.Intheirexperiments,RayFriedmanandhiscolleaguesfoundthat______.

　　A)blacksandwhitesbehaveddifferentlyduringtheelection

　　B)whites'attitudetowardsblackshasdramaticallychanged

　　C)Obama'selectionhaseliminatedtheprejudiceagainstblacks

　　D)Obama'ssuccessimpactedblacks'performanceinlanguagetests

　　5.WhatdoBrianNosek'spreliminaryresultssuggest?

　　A)Thechangeinbiasagainstblacksisslowincoming.

　　B)Biasagainstblackshasexperiencedanunusualdrop.

　　C)Websitevisitor'sopinionsarefarfrombeingreliable.

　　D)Obama'spopularitymaydeclineastimepassesby.

　　6.AnegativesideoftheObamaeffectisthat______.

　　A)morepeoplehavestartedtocriticisePresidentObama'sracialpolicies

　　B)relationsbetweenwhitesandAfricanAmericansmaybecometenseagain

　　C)peoplearenowlessreadytosupportpoliciesaddressingracialinequality

　　D)whitepeoplearelikelytobecomemorecriticalofAfricanAmericans

　　7.CherylKaiserholdsthatpeopleshouldbeconstantlyremindedthat______.

　　A)Obama'ssuccessissoundproofofblack'spotential

　　B)Obamaisbutarareexampleofblack'sexcellence

　　C)racialinequalitystillpersistsinAmericansociety

　　D)blacksstillfaceobstaclesinpoliticalparticipation

　　8.AccordingtoEffron,ifHillaryClintonorSarahPalinhadbeenelected,therewouldalsohavebeenanegativeeffecton______.

　　9.ItispossiblethattheObamaeffectwillbeshort-livedifthereisachangeinpeople's______.

　　10.TheworstpossibleaspectoftheObamaeffectisthatpeoplecouldignorehisracealtogetherandcontinuetoholdontotheiroldracial______.