51. What does the author say about curiosity?
- A. It is too complex for non-scientists to understand.
- B. It is the force that pushes human society forward.
- C. It is a unique trait specific to the human race.
- D. It is often the major cause for human failures.
答案：B
答案句：The human thirst for knowledge is the driving force behind our successful development as a species. But curiosity can also be dangerous, leading to setbacks or even downfalls.
参考译文：人类对知识的渴求是我们作为一个物种成功发展的驱动力。但好奇心也可能很危险，导致挫折甚至失败。
定位线索：题干“What does the author say about curiosity”→答案句取自第1段“The human thirst for knowledge is the driving force behind our successful development as a species”；文中“driving force behind our successful development”对应选项B“the force that pushes human society forward”。
解析：题干问作者对好奇心的看法，答案句明确指出好奇心是推动人类成功发展的驱动力，与选项B“推动人类社会前进的力量”同义。选项A无中生有，文中未提非科学家难以理解；选项C偷换概念，文中未说好奇心是人类独有；选项D程度过重，文中只说“can also be dangerous”，并非“major cause”。
54. What do numerous studies show about infants?
- A. They are far more curious than adults.
- B. They prefer to go after all that is novel.
- C. They have different interests than adults.
- D. They show non-human animal behaviors.
答案：B
答案句：Hundreds of studies show that infants prefer novelty. It's what motivates non-human animals, human infants and probably human adults to explore and seek out new things before growing less interested in them after continued exposure.
参考译文：数百项研究表明，婴儿更喜欢新奇事物。正是这种新奇感驱使非人类动物、人类婴儿以及可能的人类成年人去探索和寻找新事物，然后在持续接触后对其兴趣减弱。
定位线索：题干“numerous studies show about infants”→答案句取自第4段“Hundreds of studies show that infants prefer novelty”；文中“prefer novelty”对应选项B“prefer to go after all that is novel”。
解析：题干问众多研究表明婴儿如何，答案句中的“Hundreds of studies”对应题干“numerous studies”，“prefer novelty”即偏好新奇，与选项B“追求一切新奇事物”一致。选项A无中生有，文中未比较婴儿与成人的好奇心程度；选项C无中生有，文中未提兴趣差异；选项D偷换概念，文中说婴儿与动物一样受新奇驱动，但未说婴儿表现出动物行为。
55. What does the example of the Inuit people of the Arctic regions illustrate?
- A. The cost of humans' curiosity to explore.
- B. The incredible harshness of cold weather.
- C. The innovative ideas stemming from curiosity.
- D. The importance of learning from past failures.
答案：A
答案句：But curiosity often comes with a cost. … Sometimes, however, testing out a new idea can lead to disaster. For instance, the Inuit people of the Arctic regions have created incredible modes to deal with the challenges of living in northern climates, but what we forget about are the tens of thousands of people that tried and failed to make it in those challenging landscapes.
参考译文：但好奇心往往伴随着代价。……然而，有时尝试一个新想法可能导致灾难。例如，北极地区的因纽特人创造了令人难以置信的方式来应对北方气候生活的挑战，但我们忘记的是成千上万的人尝试并失败于那些充满挑战的环境中。
定位线索：题干“example of the Inuit people”→答案句取自第5段“But curiosity often comes with a cost”和第6段“Sometimes, however, testing out a new idea can lead to disaster. For instance, the Inuit people...”；文中“curiosity often comes with a cost”对应选项A“the cost of humans' curiosity to explore”。
解析：题干问因纽特人例子说明什么，例子本身不是答案依据，例子前面的观点句“But curiosity often comes with a cost”和“testing out a new idea can lead to disaster”才是关键，正确选项A正是对该观点的同义转述。选项B以偏概全，例子强调失败代价而非天气严酷；选项C答非所问，例子虽提到创新但重点在代价；选项D无中生有，文中未提从失败中学习。