Decisions, decisions! Our lives are full of them, from the small ones to the life-changing. The right to choose is central to everyone. Yet sometimes we make bad decisions that leave us unhappy or full of regret. Can science help?
Most of us know little about the mental processes that lie behind our decisions. Luckily, what psychologists are finding may help us all make better choices. Here are some of their amazing discoveries to help you make up your mind.
Consider your emotions. You might think that emotions are the enemy of decision-making, but in fact they are a part of it. Whenever you make up your mind, your brain’s emotional centre is active. University of Southern California scientist, Antonio Damasia, has studied people with damage to only the emotional parts of their brains, and found that they were unable to make basic choices about what to wear or eat. Damasia thinks this may be because our brains store emotional memories of past choice, which we use to help the present decision-making.
However, making choices under the influence of an emotion can greatly affect the result. Take anger for example. A study by Nitika Garg of the University of Mississippi and other scientists found the angry shoppers were more likely to choose the first thing they were offered rather than considering other choices. It seems that anger can lead us to make quick decisions without much thinking.
All emotions affect our thinking and motivation，so it may be best to avoid making important decisions under their influence. Yet strangely there is one emotion that seems to help us make good choices. The American researchers found that sad people took time to consider the various choices on offer, and ended up making the best choices. In fact many studies show that people who feel unhappy have the most reasonable view of the world.
【小題1】What does the underlined word “central” mean?

A．in the middle B．easy to reachC．importantD．having power
【小題2】Damasia’s study suggests that ________.
A．emotions are the enemy of decision-making.
B．our brain has nothing to do with decision-making.
C．people with physical damage find it hard to make up their minds.
D．our emotional memories of past choices can affect present decisions.
【小題3】 According to the text, what may help us make better decisions?
A．To think about happy times.B．To make many decisions at a time.
C．To stop feeling regretful about the past. D．To learn about the process of decision-making.
【小題4】 Why are angry shoppers more likely to choose the first thing they are offered?
A．They often forget their past choices. B．They make decisions without much thinking.
C．They tend to save time when shopping.D．They are too angry to bargain.
【小題5】What do we learn from the text?
A．Emotions are a part of decision-making.
B．Sad people always make worse choices.
C．No emotion seems to help us make good choices.
D．Only sad feelings affect our thinking and motivation.


【小題1】C
【小題2】D
【小題3】D
【小題4】B
【小題5】A

解析試題分析：本文講述了影響人做出決定的多種因素，以及人的心理因素的對(duì)做決定的影響。
【小題1】C 推理題。根據(jù)文章第一段前3行Decisions, decisions! Our lives are full of them, from the small ones to the life-changing. The right to choose is central to everyone. Yet sometimes we make bad decisions that leave us unhappy or full of regret.可知這里的central是指做決定對(duì)每個(gè)人都很重要。故C正確。
【小題2】D 推理題。根據(jù)第二段前3行Consider your emotions. You might think that emotions are the enemy of decision-making, but in fact they are a part of it. Whenever you make up your mind, your brain’s emotional centre is active.可知D項(xiàng)正確，接下來(lái)所列舉之例子正是為了解釋這個(gè)理論。
【小題3】D 推理題。根據(jù)文章4,5,6行Most of us know little about the mental processes that lie behind our decisions. Luckily, what psychologists are finding may help us all make better choices. Here are some of their amazing discoveries to help you make up your mind.可知了解做決定的心理發(fā)展過(guò)程是非常重要的，所以我們才要去了解這方面的內(nèi)容。故D正確。
【小題4】B 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第二段最后一句It seems that anger can lead us to make quick decisions without much thinking.可知他們沒(méi)有做太多的思考就做出了決定，B正確。
【小題5】A 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)第二段前2行You might think that emotions are the enemy of decision-making, but in fact they are a part of it.說(shuō)明A正確。
考點(diǎn)：考查科普類(lèi)短文閱讀
點(diǎn)評(píng)：本文講述了影響人做出決定的多種因素，以及人的心理因素的對(duì)做決定的影響。本文主要考查推理題。在解題時(shí)要立足已知，推斷未知。立足現(xiàn)在，猜測(cè)未來(lái)。不能主觀臆想，憑空想象，隨意揣測(cè)，更不能以自己的觀點(diǎn)代替作者的觀點(diǎn);要把握句、段之間的邏輯關(guān)系，了解語(yǔ)篇的結(jié)構(gòu)。要體會(huì)文章的基調(diào)，揣摸作者的態(tài)度，摸準(zhǔn)邏輯發(fā)展的方向，悟出作者的弦外之音。

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：福建省2009-2010學(xué)年高二下學(xué)期期中考試英語(yǔ)試題 題型：閱讀理解

 

第三部分  閱讀理解（共20小題；每小題2分，滿分40分）

閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。三百六十

An allowance(零用錢(qián)) is an important tool for teaching kids how to budget, save and make their own decisions. Children remember and learn from mistakes when their own dollars are lost or spent foolishly.

How large is an allowance appropriate? Experts say there is not right amount. Actual amounts differ from area to area, and from family to family.

To set an appropriate allowance for your child, work out a weekly budget. Allow for entertainment expenditures (花費(fèi)) such as movie and snack. Next include everyday expenses such as lunch money, bus fare and school supplies. “If you make the child responsible for these bills, ”says Josephine Swanson, a consumer specialist, “he or she will learn to budget for necessary expenditures.”

Finally add some extra money to make saving possible. If you can, keep your child’s allowance in line with that of his friends, a child whose purchasing power falls away below his peers can feel left out.

It can be tough but avoid excusing your children when they make a mistake with their allowance. When Brooke Stephens was ten and growing up in Jacksonville, her mother gave her $5 a week. $1.75 of which was for bus fare and lunch. “ If you lose money” Brooke’s mother told her, “you walk home.”

One week the girl spent all her allowance in a candy store, and then she called home for a ride, “Mom made me walk home,” recalls Stephens, now a financial planner in Brooklyn. “At first I was angry. But I finally realized that she was trying to teach me an important lesson.”

Experts advise an allowance should not be tied directly to a child’s daily chore (瑣事). Kids should help around the house not because they get paid for it but because they share responsibilities as members of family. You might, however, pay a child for doing extra jobs at home. That can develop his or her initiative (主動(dòng)性).

1. What does the text mainly discuss?

   A. How to develop a child’s initiative.

   B. How to work up a budget.

   C. How to teach a child to save money.

   D. How to teach a child to manage money matters.

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   A. spend all the money very soon

   B. be spoiled and finally ruined

   C. lose the money and can not return home

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3. The underlined part “his peers”(in Para.4)probably refers to ______.

   A. his friends    B. his brothers    C. his parents     D. his teachers

4 Why does the author mention Brooke Stephens?

   A. To question the opinion about pocket money.

   B. To compare Stephens with other experts.

  C. To explain the parents should be strict when children are developing habits about money.

   D. To suggest that pocket money is useless in developing a child’s sense of responsibility.

 

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：全國(guó)通用2010屆高考閱讀理解專(zhuān)項(xiàng)練習(xí) 題型：閱讀理解

 

E

Babies are not just passing idle time when they stare goggle-eyed at the television—they are actually learning about the world, U.S. researchers said. Parents may want t limit what their babies see on television , based on the study, said Donna Mumme, assistant professor of psychology at Tufts University in Boston, who led the research. “Children as young as 12 months are making decisions based n the emotional(情感的)reactions of adults around them,” Mumme said in a statement. “It turns out they can also use emotional information they pick up from television. This means that adults might want to think twice before they speak in a loud and harsh voice or let a baby see television programs meant for information about the world. A mother urging her baby to eat some  “yummy” soup on a brother crying in fear when a dog approaches can influence a baby’s reaction. Mumme’s team tested babies to determine. If television has the same influence, showing actors reacting on a videotape to objects such as red spiral letter holder, a blue humpy ball, and a yellow garden hose attachment. Babies aged 10 months or 12 months were later given the same objects to play with. Ten-month-olds did not seem to e influenced by the video buy the 1-year-olds were. When the actors acted neutrally or positively to an object, the babies happily played with them. But if the actor had seemed afraid or disgusted, the babies would avoid the object.

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閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。

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It was a party. I was 18 and it was fresher(大一新生) week. I was at the beginning of a course in English Literature and full of enthusiasm for my subject. She was also 18 and enrolled in a course in physics.

“Your major is of no use to society. What will you do with it when you graduate, other than teach? Plus, you’re going to be poor your whole life,” she said. “You have no soul and your degree is boring. I don’t care how much money you’re going to earn. I’d rather be poor and don’t mind being a teacher. If I love my work I’ll have something far more meaningful than a big bank account!” came the reply.

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But now, people in China are asking: Is this forced, early decision good for young people or society? Young people need time to explore, to discover where their real talents and interests lie. There are more than just a few middle-aged people out there, stuck in jobs they hate because they made the wrong choice at the wrong time.

And from the point of view of society, isn’t it better for students to delay a while before they decide what to study? Scientists can benefit from learning to develop the critical skills associated with the humanities; students in the humanities, surely, only stand to gain by finding out a little more about science and technology, which are so important to the future of a developing country like China.

With any luck, in the future young people fresh to college will be better informed about the possibilities of education than people of my generation.

1.The author describes what happened at a fresher party to ________.

A. show that he was ready to defend the subject he enjoyed

B. lead up his argument that the sciences-humanities divide is harmful

C. prove that doing something meaningful is better than having a lot of money

D. describe how fierce students of different majors can be when arguing with each other

2.What was C. P. Snow’s attitude towards the sciences-humanities divide?

A. Indifferent.         B. Uncertain.            C. Positive.          D. Negative.

3.In the sixth paragraph, an example mentioning middle-aged people is used to show that ________.

A. students should not make decisions too early

B. not all people have a talent for or are interested in the sciences

C. these people did not have the chance to make a choice earlier in life

D. the earlier young people make a decision, the better it will be for them

4.According to the text, it is safe to say that ________.

A. sciences are more practical in the modern world

B. C. P. Snow was a novelist who became a physicist

C. future generations will be able to get more out of education

D. a command of both the sciences and humanities is important to society

5.What’s the best title for the article?

A. The sciences or the humanities, which to choose?

B. High school education in China

C. Isn’t it better to delay the choice of the career direction?

D. A better time to decide what to study

 

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