Here are two methods that people use to make choices. One method is to compare the options(可选择的物品) with each other and choose the best one. The other is to evaluate each option individually and then pick the best one. Experts are more likely to evaluate the options individually, while ordinary people tend to compare the options.

Researches show that it is easier for people to make choices when they are being compared. Imagine buying a new dictionary. You find out that a particular dictionary has 50,000 words in it. Suppose, though, that you find out that another dictionary only has 25,000 words in it. Now, you know that 50,000 words is a good number for a dictionary to have.

New research shows that when people compare options, they also get more confident in their judgments. To get participants in their studies in a mindset to make comparisons, researchers had people look at a complex picture and write down the similarities and differences between two halves of the picture. Other participants evaluated(评价) the picture without making comparisons. Previous work shows that this technique gets people to make comparisons in later tasks.

After that, participants were shown descriptions of three brands(品牌) of cell phones (labeled Brands A, B and C). They had a chance to study the descriptions. Later, they were shown fourteen of the characteristics they had seen and were asked whether those characteristics belonged to Brand B. With each response, participants were allowed to place a bet between 0 and 10 dollars based on how confident they were in their response. The higher the bet, the more confident the people were that they knew whether the characteristic belonged to Brand B. People who were put in a mindset to make comparisons were more confident in their judgments about the characteristics of the cell phones than people who did not make comparisons. Despite the difference in confidence, the people who made comparisons were not more accurate in their judgments than those who did not make comparisons.

This research suggests that we need to be careful when making decisions. On the one hand, we are quite likely to rely on comparing the options in order to make a choice. On the other hand, those comparisons will increase our feeling of confidence in the decision. So, we need to recognize that at least part of that confidence comes from the way the choice was made.

1.Why does the writer mention a dictionary in Paragraph 2?

A.To explain a truth. B.To draw a conclusion.

C.To prove the writer’s opinion. D.To raise a question.

2.The underlined word “mindset” in Paragraph 3 means ________.

A.change B.relationship C.thought D.decision

3.The participants who evaluated the picture by making comparisons _______.

A.preferred Brand B B.placed a higher bet

C.gave a quicker answer D.made more choices

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A.Evaluation Decides Option B.Compare the Options

C.Decision Roots in Judgment D.Comparison Creates Confidence

Choose the best answer(根据短文内容,选择最恰当的答案)

Lao She wrote Teahouse in 1957. The play shows audience life in China between 1898 and 1945. It takes place in a teahouse in old Beijing and it tells us the story of Wang Lifa and his customers. It asks us to see the teahouse as the centre of the neighborhood. Finally, it says farewell to old Beijing and its people.

The story starts in 1898 during the Qing Dynasty. It continues in 1916, and finally, it brings the audience to the end of the Anti-Japanese War, in 1945. After the war, Wang loses the teahouse and dies.

Lao She was born in Beijing in 1899. His parents sent him to the Teacher’s School in Beijing and he became a teacher. From 1924 to 1929 he taught Chinese to the English in London. He wrote many plays, novels and short stories. He was named a “People’s Artist” and “Great Master of Language”. He was one of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20th century.

In Lao She’s Teahouse today, waiters bring tea to the customers and sell them delicious Chinese food. If you are fond of Beijing Opera, folk music, acrobatics or magic shows, you can enjoy them in the teahouse. Lao She’s’ Teahouse gives wonderful welcome to everyone from China and from all over the world.

1.What’s the meaning of the word “farewell” in Paragraph 1?

A.再见 B.欢迎 C.你好 D.感谢

2.What’s the main idea of Paragraph 4?

A.Lao She’s Teahouse. B.Lao She.

C.The story of the Teahouse D.The play Teahouse.

3.How many years of life in China is shown in the play Teahouse?

A.57 years. B.45 years. C.47 years. D.98 years.

4.When does Wang Lifa lose the Teahouse?

A.In 1898. B.After 1945. C.Before 1945. D.In 1916.

5.Lao She was all of the following except_______.

A.a People’s artist B.a boss of Teahouse

C.a Great Master of Language... D.one of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20th century

6.Who are welcome to Lao She’s Teahouse today?

A.Only Chinese customers. B.Every customer from home and abroad.

C.Only foreign customers. D.Only Beijing Opera audience.

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