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 work.When 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

　　参考答案：

　　36. G，该题难度不大。空格前后均为名词，由此得知空格应填入一个形容词，用以修饰toy，首先考虑备选单词中的常规形容词，有D“crazy”，E“definite”，G“favorite”，依次代入，根据句意“如果你用一块布把小朋友…的玩具盖住”可知，应填入G“favorite”，意为“最喜爱的”。 

　　37. M，本题难度较高。空格前是主语“a 4-year old man”，故空格处需要填入动词，候选项有A“advocate”，M“protest”，该题主要难在很多考生不认识M，可用排除法，如填A“支持”明显违背句意，所以选择M，意为“抗议，提出抗议”。 

　　38. B，该题难度较低。空格前是定冠词“the”，而后面是介词短语“of the juice”，由此可断定空格处应填入一名词，由该句探讨主题“得到的果汁多还是少”可知，此空应填入B“amount”，表示果汁的“量”。 

　　39. O，该题难度不大。由空格前的形容词“child-sized”可知，该空应填入名词，候选项有F“differences”，O“theories”，根据空格后的“about how things work”可得知，应填入O“theories”，构成“theoriesabout how things work ”的结构，意为“关于事物如何运转的理论”。 

　　40. I，该题难度较高。根据该空所在句句型可知句子结构完整，且在动词“test”前出现空格，符合“副词”的需求特征，候选项有I“immediately”，J“naturally”，L“primarily”，较容易排除的是L项，而I和J取舍难度较大，根据该段首句“小孩向来就会验证他们的理论”的表述，可知I“immediately”更符合语境，意为“小孩立刻就会开始验证你说过的话”。 

　　41. D，该题难度很低。 四级选词填空真题解析Children do not think the way adults do根据前文的含义，结合空格所在句的搭配，可轻易得知此空应填入“crazy”，构成drive sb. crazy的固定用法。 

　　42. F，该题难度不高。根据前文的关键词“differ”可知，此空应填入其名词“differences”。 

　　43. J，该题难度不高。根据空格所在句句型可知，句子结构完整，动词unfold后有空格，符合“副词”的需求特征，候选项有J“naturally”，L“primarily”，根据句意“小孩的认知能力自然地就体现出来了”可知，该题选J。 

　　44. H，该题难度较大。根据句子结构判断，可知空格前为“what else is”，空格中可填入形容词、-ing和-ed，而空格前的“independent of”意为不依赖于…，本句表达的意思是小孩的认知意识不依赖于他们生活中发生的任何其他事，所以选择H，happening。 

　　45. N，该题难度不高。根据句子结构“…or modified”可知，该空需要一个和“modified”类似的单词，候选项有C“confirmed”和N“rejected”，根据modified“被改变的”以及句首的“Although”可知，rejected“被否定的”更符合句意，故选N。