题目内容
Eurovision Song Contests and world skating championships—has found that contestants are more likely
to win if they are among the last to appear before the judges.
The study by an American university appears to provide scientific proof that the best man, or woman,
does not always win.
It found that, on average, the last competitor to appear in the Eurovision Song Contest was more than
twice as likely to win as the one who went on first.
The first rounds of figure-skating championships, for which the running order is selected at random,
showed more dramatic results. The final skater had a 14 percent chance of victory, making him or her
more than four times as likely to win as the first skater.
The study showed a gradual worsening of chances for competitors who appeared earlier in the
running order. A contestant who appears first in a contest is two percent less likely to win than one who
appears second. A contestant who appears second is two percent less likely to win than one who
appears third, and so on.
The findings are published in the March issue of Acta Psychologica, a scientific journal.
Robert Hardman, a senior lecturer in psychology at London Metropolitan University who specializes
in the science of decision-making, said that the results were interesting. He suggested that the effect was
caused by the limitations of the human memory.
"When people make comparisons, they aren't really able to make a lot of fine-grade discrimination.
When contestants appear at the beginning of a contest, judges have little to compare them to and are
perhaps wary (谨慎的) of the scores they give," he said.
"Later on, when judges are able to compare the contestants to those that have gone before, they
might give more extreme marks because they feel more confident about their judgments."
B. explanation for the findings
C. suggestion to solve the problem
D. comments on the findings
chance of winning.
B. three
C. four
D. five
B. is mistakenly put in the running order
C. meets with unfair judges
D. appears too early before the judges
B. increase in degree
C. reduction in possibility
D. rising in quantity
B. They believe the first is seldom the best.
C. They don't really know what is good.
D. They show favor towards the contestants they like.
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