We’re talking about money here, and the things you buy with it—and about what attitude we should take to spending.
Across most of history and in most cultures, there has been a general agreement that we should work hard, save for the future and spend no more than we can afford. It’s nice to have a comfortable life right now, but it is best to think of the future. Yet economists have long known that things don’t work out that way. They point to an idea called the “paradox of thrift”. Imagine you are the owner of a big business making consumer goods. You want your own staff to work hard and save their money. That way, you don’t have to pay them as much. But you want everybody else to spend all the money they can. That way you make bigger profits.
It’s a problem on a global scale. Many people in the UK and the United States are worried about levels of personal debt. Yet if people suddenly stopped buying things and started paying back what they owe to credit card companies, all the economies of the Western world would collapse. The banks would be happy, but everybody else would be in trouble.
Traditionally, economists have believed that spending money is about making rational choices. People buy things to make their life better in some way. But in recent years, they have noticed that people often do not actually behave in that way. We all know people who take pleasure in buying useless things. And there are many people around who won’t buy things that they need.
In a recent series of experiments, scientists at Stanford University in the US confirmed something that many people have long suspected. People spend money because the act of buying gives them pleasure. And they refuse to spend when it causes them pain. The scientists discovered that different areas of the brain that anticipate pleasure and pain become more active when we are making a decision to buy things. People who spend a lot have their pleasure centers stimulated. People who like to save find buying things painful.
If you think you really want that product because it’s beautiful or useful, you are wrong, say the scientists. The desire to buy something is a product of the reaction between chemicals released by different parts of the brain when the eyes see a product.
1. Across most of history and in most cultures, people are advised to（ ）.
2. According to the context “paradox” (in Paragraph 2) probably means “（ ）”.
3. It is implied that many people in the UK and the United States（ ）.
4. According to the resent studies made by economists, people（ ）.
5. It has been proved by the scientists at Stanford University that some people like to save money because（ ）.
问题1选项
A.enjoy their present life as much as possiblet
B.spend every penny they have earnedt
C.save every penny for the futuret
D.save some money for later uset
问题2选项
A.contradictiont
B.hypothesist
C.declarationt
D.assertiont
问题3选项
A.have to work hard to make ends meett
B.spend more than they can affordt
C.have trouble in paying back their debtst
D.don’t pay back their debts on timet
问题4选项
A.take pleasure in buying useless thingst
B.won’t buy things that they needt
C.spend their money irrationallyt
D.make rational choices while spending their moneyt
问题5选项
A.they like keeping their money in the bankt
B.they will feel safe if they save enough money for the futuret
C.they don’t want to spend their money on useless thingst
D.spending money gives them pain
第1题:D
第2题:A
第3题:B
第4题:C
第5题:D
第1题:
细节推理题。题干意思是“在大多数历史和文化中，人们都被建议去做……”。根据文章第二段第一句Across most of history and in most cultures, there has been a general agreement that we should work hard, save for the future and spend no more than we can afford.（纵观历史，在大多数文化中，人们普遍认为，我们应该努力工作，为未来储蓄，支出不能超过我们的负担能力）可知，在大多数历史和文化中，人们都被建议努力工作，为未来储蓄，因此D项“存一些钱以后用”符合题意。A项“尽可能享受他们现在的生活”，原文提到“努力工作”，所以A项内容不正确；B项“花他们赚的每一分钱”，内容与原文相反；C项“为将来节省每一分钱”，原文提到“支出不能超过我们的负担能力”，所以在正常的支出范围内可以进行必要的消费，C项内容太绝对。因此，该题选择D项正确。
第2题:
语义推测题。题干意思是“根据语境，第二段的‘paradox’的意思可能是……”。根据文章定位到第二段第四句They point to an idea called the “paradox of thrift”（他们提出了一个名为“paradox of thrift”的观点），上文提到传统的观念是努力工作并为未来储蓄，但经济学家并不这样认为；后文接着举例阐述了paradox of thrift 这一概念，Imagine you are the owner of a big business making consumer goods. You want your own staff to work hard and save their money. That way, you don’t have to pay them as much. But you want everybody else to spend all the money they can. That way you make bigger profits.（设想你是一家生产消费品的大公司的老板，你希望自己的员工努力工作并省钱，这样的话你就不用付他们那么多钱了；但你想让其他人尽可能多花钱，这样你就能获得更大的利润），由这个例子可知，传统观念提倡存钱，但经济学上来说老板会更希望人们尽可能多的花钱，所以前后不一致，根据关键词thrift（节俭）和上下文语境可知，paradox表示“悖论”，故A项“矛盾”更符合。B项“假设”，文章是通过假设来解释这个“节俭悖论”，所以B项错误；C项“公告”和D项“断言，声明”都不符合paradox的词义。因此，该题选择A项正确。
第3题:
细节推理题。题干意思是“它暗示着许多人在英国和美国……”。第三段前两句指出Many people in the UK and the United States are worried about levels of personal debt. Yet if people suddenly stopped buying things and started paying back what they owe to credit card companies, all the economies of the Western world would collapse.（英国和美国的许多人都对个人债务水平感到担忧；然而，如果人们突然停止购物，开始偿还他们欠信用卡公司的钱，西方世界的所有经济都会崩溃），由此可以推断，英美国家的人们普遍有使用信用卡提前消费的习惯，所以他们实际的支出是超出了他们能够负担的范围，故B项“花费超出他们的负担能力”正确。A项“必须努力工作才能收支平衡”，内容不符合题干；C项“偿还债务有困难”内容比较片面；D项“不按时偿还债务”文中没提到。因此，该题选择B项正确。
第4题:
细节推理题。题干意思是“根据经济学家最近的研究，人们……”。根据题干定位到文章第四段Traditionally, economists have believed that spending money is about making rational choices. People buy things to make their life better in some way. But in recent years, they have noticed that people often do not actually behave in that way.（传统上，经济学家认为花钱是理性的选择；人们买东西在某种程度上是为了让他们的生活更好；但近年来，他们注意到人们通常不会那样做），可知经济学家认为花钱是理性的选择，但人们在某种程度上并没有理性消费，所以可以推断人们花钱是不理智的，故C项“不理智地花钱”符合题意。A项“以买无用的东西为乐”和B项“不会买自己需要的东西”都只是不理智花钱的一部分，比较片面；D项“在花钱的时候做出理性的选择”，内容与原文相反。因此，该题选择C项正确。
第5题:
推理判断题。题干意思是“斯坦福大学的科学家已经证明，有些人喜欢存钱是因为……”。根据题干定位到文章第五段People spend money because the act of buying gives them pleasure. And they refuse to spend when it causes them pain. The scientists discovered that different areas of the brain that anticipate pleasure and pain become more active when we are making a decision to buy things.（人们花钱是因为购买行为能给他们带来快乐；他们拒绝消费，因为这会给他们带来痛苦；科学家们发现，当我们做出购买决定时，大脑中预测快乐和痛苦的不同区域会变得更加活跃），由此我们可以推测，有些人不喜欢购物而喜欢存钱是因为买东西会让他们觉得很痛苦，故D项“花钱给他们带来痛苦”符合题意。A项“他们喜欢把钱存在银行里”和B项“如果他们为未来存足够的钱，他们就会感到安全”文中都没有提到；C项“他们不想把钱花在没用的东西上”，内容不符合原文。因此，该题选择D项正确。
