《2026年水木金卷高考模拟试卷精编英语》

D
Socrates declared that the unexamined life wasn't worth living for a human being, implying that we should attempt to know ourselves, to think through our actions, choices, prejudices and attitudes. But when it comes to thinking about our own happiness and what makes our lives go well, it really does seem that this reflective attitude can ruin our chances of finding what we seek.
Perhaps it's not surprising that we are better designed for engaging in other activities than reflecting on how best to achieve our own happiness and well-being. Doing things that enhance our growth in physical, social and intellectual areas tends to bring the reward of feeling good, and so stimulates us further to pursue those activities. Sitting around reflecting on what will make us happy is a lot less efficient than chasing the things that make us happy, and if we think too much, there is an opportunity cost—time that we could have spent on a worthwhile activity has gone while we were thinking deeply about the best way to develop.
Certainly, the tricky thing about self-reflection is that it can both help and hold us back. While thinking about ourselves can lead to growth, overanalyzing might stop us from taking action, leaving us stuck in thought instead of moving forward. This is like an athlete's challenge: improving takes practice, not constant self-criticism. Similarly, in life, balance matters—being aware without obsessing, having plans without overthinking. Happiness often comes not from endless analysis, but from mindful action and going with the flow. After all, life's best moments usually happen unexpectedly, in the gaps between our plans.
The philosopher David has written about the role of reflective thinking in sports. One of his observations is that while sports people need to think about the basic actions they are performing, it can be counterproductive to start thinking about the elements making up those actions. A footballer needs to think about kicking the ball low and hard to the left of the goalkeeper, but not to overthink the mechanics of the precise small movements of legs and feet that produce that outcome. If he or she does start this sort of thought process, it very often leads to a poorer shot. What's needed is a kind of automatic response to the situation.
Perhaps something similar is going on in our life. Those people who start detailed programs of self-development in various dimensions, focusing on diet, habits, exercise, mental activity, work output, and so on, are like the footballer thinking through the small muscle movements. Perhaps their well-meaning self-reflection on their own development and how they want to achieve it, is the very thing that will make a high level of development forever unobtainable for them.
51. What may cause an opportunity cost?
A. Spending time on worthy activities.
B. Joining in social meetings actively.
C. Getting stuck in much self-reflection.
D. Doing physical exercises efficiently.
52. In Paragraph 3, "athlete's challenge" and "balance" are mentioned to show that .
A. too much practice can be bad for athletes' health and well-being
B. overthinking stops action, just as focusing on errors hurts performance
C. happy people don't think about their problems and worries
D. successful people make all decisions quickly and effectively
53. What does the underlined word "counterproductive" in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. Ineffective.
B. Meaningless.
C. Constructive.
D. Profitable.
54. What does the author suggest readers do to achieve their goals?
A. Make a comprehensive plan.
B. Adopt a direct approach.
C. Think carefully before action.
D. Attach importance to details.
55. What is a suitable title for this passage?
A. The Risk of Overthinking
B. The Key to Well-being
C. The Way to Think Reflectively
D. The Method to Develop Yourself

答案： 51.C细节理解题。题干意为：什么可能会导致机会成本？根据第二段中“Sittingaroundreflectingonwhatwillmakeushappyisalotlessefficientthanchasingthethingsthatmakeushappy,andifwethinktoomuch,thereisanopportunitycost”可知，过度思考什么能让我们幸福，即陷入过度的自我反思，会产生机会成本。故选C。
52.B推理判断题。题干意为：在第三段，提到“运动员的挑战”和“平衡”是为了表明____。根据第三段中“thetrickythingaboutself-reflectionisthatitcanbothhelpandholdusback.Whilethinkingaboutourselvescanleadtogrowth,overanalyzingmightstopusfromtakingaction”可知，自我反思有利有弊，过度分析会阻碍行动；下文以“运动员的挑战”和“平衡”为例，指出能让运动员提升的是练习，而不是持续的自我批评，陷入过度思考就会影响表现，生活中的平衡也是同样道理，不要过度思考。由此可推知，提到两者是为了论述过度思考的负面影响，它会阻碍行动，就像专注于错误会损害表现一样。故选B。
53.A词义猜测题。题干意为：第四段中的画线单词“counterproductive”可能是什么意思？根据第四段中“sportspeopleneedtothinkaboutthebasicactionstheyareperforming,itcanbecounterproductivetostartthinkingabouttheelementsmakingupthoseactions.Afootballer...overthinkthemechanicsoftheprecisesmallmovementsoflegsandfeet...Ifheorshedoesstartthissortofthoughtprocess,itveryoftenleadstoapoorershot”可知，运动员需要思考基本动作，但如果开始思考构成这些动作的要素，就会表现不佳，就像足球运动员如果过度思考腿部和脚部的精确微小动作的机制，往往会导致射门质量下降。由此可推知，“counterproductive”意为“无效的，适得其反的”，与“ineffective”意义相近。故选A。
54.B推理判断题。题干意为：作者建议读者做什么来实现他们的目标？根据最后一段中“Thosepeoplewhostartdetailedprogramsofself-development...theirwell-meaningself-reflectionontheirowndevelopmentandhowtheywanttoachieveit...willmakeahighlevelofdevelopmentforeverunobtainableforthem.”可知，在各个方面制订详细的自我发展计划恰恰会阻碍人们实现自己设定的目标。由此可推知，作者建议读者不要陷入过度的思考和分析，而是采用直接行动的方式来实现目标。故选B。
55.A标题归纳题。题干意为：这篇文章合适的标题是什么？通读全文可知，本文围绕过度思考的不利影响展开论述。开篇以苏格拉底的观点引出关于自我反思与幸福的讨论，指出反思可能会破坏我们获得幸福的机会；接着阐述了过度自我反思存在机会成本，会阻碍行动并举例说明过度思考会适得其反；最后强调过度思考可能会阻碍高水平发展。所以，A项“过度思考的风险”是本文合适的标题。故选A。