阅读理解。
In 1890 William James, the American philosopher and physician and one of the founders of modern
psychology, defined psychology as"the science of mental life" and this definition provides a good starting
point for our understanding even today. We all have a mental life and therefore have some idea about what
this means, even though it can be studied in rats or monkeys as well as in people and the concept remains
difficult to understand.
Like most psychologists, William James was particularly interested in human psychology, which he
thought consisted of certain basic elements: thoughts and feelings, a physical world which exists in time
and space, and a way of knowing about these things. For each of us, this knowledge is primarily personal
and private" It comes from our own thoughts, feelings and experience of the world, and may or may not
be influenced by scientific facts about things. For this reason, it is easy for us to make judgments about
psychological matters using our own experience as a standard. We behave as amateur psychologists when
we offer opinions on complex psychological phenomena. However, problems arise when two people
understand these things differently. Formal psychology attempts to provide methods for deciding which
explanations are most likely to be correct, or for determining the circumstances under which each applies.
The work of psychologists helps us distinguish between inside information, which is subjective, and may
be prejudiced and unreliable, and the facts: between our predictions and what is"true" in scientific terms.
Psychology, as defined by William James, is about the mind or brain, but although psychologists do study
the brain, we do not understand nearly enough about its workings to be able to comprehend the part that it
plays in the experience and expression of our hopes, fears, and wishes, or in our behaviour during experiences
as varied as giving birth or watching a football match. Indeed, it is rarely possible to study the brain directly.
So, psychologists have discovered more by studying our behaviour, and by using their observations to obtain
hypotheses (假设) about what is going on inside us.
1. The first paragraph is mainly about _____.
A. the founder of modern psychology
B. the definition of psychology
C. the complexity of psychology
D. the influence of psychology
2. From Paragraph 2, we can know that problems arise because _____.
A. of the difference between inside information and the facts
B. of different thoughts and feelings about psychology
C. people usually make judgments based on their own ideas
D. amateur psychologists cannot use scientific terms
3. According to the passage, psychologists study the brain mainly _____.
A. in a direct way
B. with their own experience
C. by observing how it works
D. by watching people's behaviour
4. Which of the following can be the first sentence in the fourth paragraph?
A. Psychology is also about the ways people use their mental abilities to operate in the world around them.
B. William James is considered to be the greatest psychologist in the 1890s.
C. Psychology suggests that living beings adapt to a changing environment so that they can survive.
D. It is important for psychologists, as well as ordinary people, to be aware of the reasons.
