We’ve all been there. You’re around new people and you just want to impress them. It can be easy to pretend you know about movies, politics, or science just to get through an awkward situation. But contrary to what feels most natural, a new series of five studies from Pepperdine University shows that those who can admit when they don’t know something tend to actually have more knowledge. If you want to make those people think you’re smart, maybe the best thing to say is “I don’t know.”
For the study, which was led by Elizabeth Krumrei-Mancuso, the team of researchers had one question: Is there a knowledge benefit to admitting intellectual fallibility? To find out, they ran not one, not two, but five separate experiments. They engaged nearly 1,200 participants in their study, and evaluated them using a number of questionnaires testing their cognitive abilities, measuring their own predictions of their cognitive abilities, and, of course, rating their levels of intellectual humility.
For that last part, they used different methods in different studies to get a more well﹣rounded set of results. One IH survey used eight questions to assess participants on two elements: the “Knowing﹣It﹣All” subscale, which judged their attitudes of intellectual superiority, and the “Intellectual Openness” subscale, which assessed how open they were to learning from others. In other studies, they used the 22-question “Comprehensive Intellectual Humility Scale,” which assesses participants on four elements: independence of intellect and ego, openness to revising one’s viewpoint, respect for others’ viewpoints, and lack of intellectual overconfidence. The five studies were used to examine past learning, thinking styles, traits, and motivations.
What the researchers may agree is that the best thing to remember is that curiosity seems to be a good thing. The world is big, and it’s impossible to know everything. At your next dinner party, ask questions and admit your own cluelessness. It might make you a little less clueless next time.
38．Why did Elizabeth Krumrei-Mancuso led the study？
A．to find out whether admitting that you don’t know something is beneficial.
B．to find the certain benefit of admitting intellectual disability.
C．to compare the modest people with proud people.
D．to stress the importance of curiosity.
39．From the article, we can learn that .
A．we all tend to pretend we have a good command of knowledge.
B．the study engaged over 1,200 participants in their study.
C．”I don’t know” may be a good answer to people who ask you if you are clever.
D．a number of questionnaires are used to test participants’ cognitive humility.
40．What is the best title of the article？
A．Be yourself! B．Admitting your fallibility!
C．Express your drawbacks! D．Let curiosity lead you!
38．A
39．C
40．B
【解析】
【分析】
这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了研究人员通过实验，证明了承认错误和不足，可能会让别人认为你很聪明。
38．
细节理解题。根据第二段中For the study, which was led by Elizabeth Krumrei-Mancuso, the team of researchers had one question: Is there a knowledge benefit to admitting intellectual fallibility? To find out, they ran not one, not two, but five separate experiments.可知在这项由Elizabeth Krumrei-Mancuso领导的研究中，研究团队有一个问题：承认自己不知道的事是否对知识有好处？为了找到答案，他们进行了不是一个，也不是两个，而是五个独立的实验。由此可知，可知Elizabeth Krumrei﹣Mancuso领导这项研究是为了找出承认自己不知道的事情是否有益。故选A。
39．
细节理解题。根据第一段中If you want to make those people think you’re smart, maybe the best thing to say is “I don’t know.”可知如果你想让那些人觉得你很聪明，最好说“我不知道”。由此可知，对于那些问你是否聪明的人，“我不知道”可能是一个很好的答案。故选C。
40．
主旨大意题。根据第一段We’ve all been there. You’re around new people and you just want to impress them. It can be easy to pretend you know about movies, politics, or science just to get through an awkward situation. But contrary to what feels most natural, a new series of five studies from Pepperdine University shows that those who can admit when they don’t know something tend to actually have more knowledge. If you want to make those people think you’re smart, maybe the best thing to say is “I don’t know.”可知我们都在那里。你周围都是新朋友，你只想给他们留下深刻印象。假装你了解电影、政治或科学只是为了度过一个尴尬的局面是很容易的。但是，与人们感觉最自然的情况相反，佩珀代因大学一项由五人组成的新系列研究表明，那些能够承认自己不懂某事的人往往拥有更多的知识。如果你想让那些人觉得你很聪明，最好说“我不知道”。结合文章主要介绍了研究人员通过实验，证明了承认错误和不足，可能会让别人认为你很聪明。由此可知，B选项“承认你不知道!”最合适作为标题。故选B。
