题目内容
To put _______ exactly, our English teacher is rather energetic for her age.
A. one B. this C. that D. it
D
My father is a smart man. He spent many years of his life listening to people’s arguments, first as assistant district lawyer and then as a judge. My dad knows rubbish rhetoric when he hears it.
One of his favorite phrases is: “If you don’t have anything smart to say, then don’t say it at all.” Yet, for all of his legal training and life experience, he can’t help but keep talking about the Mega Millions jackpot.
We all know the odds(几率)of winning the jackpot this evening with one ticket are extraordinarily low ... 1 in 175, 711, 536, to be exact. Still, people go out and buy hundreds of tickets with the hopes of becoming wealthier beyond their dreams. Why? There are two possible explanations for this “irrationality”(不理智).
One idea is that the way we calculate odds in our heads has nothing to do with mathematical odds in the traditional sense. We don’t go to the mathematical odds table and say, “Well, this would be a terrible investment. I think I’m better off putting my money in the bank!” Rather, it has everything with the ability to picture an event happening.
My father, for instance, watches the news every night and sees people winning the lottery(彩票). Therefore, he thinks the chance of him winning the lottery is much higher than they actually are.
The second thought is that the expected effect of playing cannot be represented merely by the odds. My father and, I’m sure, others get a thrill from the mere idea of winning. He loves imagining what it would be like to actually win and losing doesn’t really affect him. Sure, he’s disappointed, but it’s “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” When you combine the utility of thinking you can win with the utility of actually winning (no matter how small the chance of that occurring), it’s worth it for many people to spend the one dollar on a ticket.
My analysis is that both factors are at play in taking a chance on the lottery. My father and others really do underestimate the odds of winning, but the thrill of participation is not denied by a realistic assessment of the odds. Still, I would probably put my finger on the scale for the first explanation.
All told, a review of the odds of other events happening confirms that there just aren’t many events that occur with less frequency than your winning the Mega Millions jackpot. Look at the graph below, you may understand some:![]()
In many ways, it’s like the lottery, something that features often on television and about which people fantasize, but that rarely happens.
So, when you watch, along with my Pa, to see if your lucky number is drawn this evening, keep in mind three things: that your number almost certainly won’t come up; that you are still going to have fun; and that, finally, a lot of other things are more likely to happen—but getting eaten by a shark isn’t one of them.
【小题1】It can be learned from the article that ________.
| A.the Mega Millions jackpot is the last lottery to win in the world |
| B.a judge in that country can’t talk about lottery because it is illegal |
| C.the writer doesn’t buy lottery, for he never hopes to become rich |
| D.In spite of little possibility, a lot of people spend money on lottery |
| A.show chances that those things take place are fewer |
| B.support the writer’s arguments on the lottery tickets |
| C.indicate no one can win the Mega Millions jackpot |
| D.say shark attack death will seldom happen this year |
| A.If one has mathematical odds, he can win the prize more easily. |
| B.Only those who have irrationality buy hundreds of lottery tickets. |
| C.The Mega Millions jackpot is very popular in the writer’s country. |
| D.Winning lottery is a shortcut to achieve the dream of being rich. |
| A.effective | B.ridiculous | C.contradictory | D.astonishing |
| A.The Popular Mega Millions Jackpot | B.Lottery is Merely a Trick |
| C.Mega Million is Like a Shark Attack | D.Be rich, Buy Lottery Soon |
No one knows yet the accurate number of lives which have been lost in this terrible fire .But reports suggest that it is more than one hundred .
A wall of flames fifty feet high and at least one hundred and fifty miles wide is now racing towards the forests and rich farmlands of southern Victoria . Towns less than one hundred miles from Melbourne will be in danger unless the wind changes . People are rushing excitedly into the streets . The police have warned them not to see the fire but many people are doing so .
The cause of the fire is unknown . No rain has fallen in this part of Australia for three months , and the hot , north-west wind from the great central desert is blowing at more than thirty miles an hour .
The firefighters are travelling to the fire by road , rail and air . But it is not easy to get there . Flames and fallen trees have cut off or blocked roads and railway lines . The thick smoke often prevents them from finding the air strips (飞机跑道).
It is said that the fire has brought the greater danger to the country since the Second World War .
1.By the time the article was written , the fire .
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A.had just broken out |
B.had been put out |
|
C.was spreading violently |
D.was coming to an end |
2.The writer wrote this article mainly to tell people .
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A.the fire was terrible and dangerous |
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B.it was impossible to put out the fire |
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C.more than one hundred people died of the fire |
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D.to join in the fight against the fire |
3.In the 4th paragraph , the writer suggested that .
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A.the fire would soon be controlled by the firefighters |
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B.it would be very difficult to put out the fire |
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C.the government was paying great attention to the fire |
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D.the fire had caused great losses and the airport was in ganger |
4.The underlined word “ accurate” in the first sentence has the same meaning as .
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A.recent |
B.whole |
C.rough |
D.exact |