前面我们已经为大家介绍了很多雅思阅读全真练习题，本次是关于雅思阅读全真练习(8)的内容，希望大家能够关注。下面是具体的文章内容和答案解析，考生可以仔细阅读并参考学习。
The Triumph of Unreason?
A. Neoclassical economics is built on theassumption that humans are rational beings whohave a clear idea of their best interests and strive to extract maximum benefit (or “utility”, ineconomist-speak) from any situation. Neoclassical economics assumes that the process ofdecision-making is rational. But that contradicts growing evidence that decision-makingdraws on the emotions—even when reason is clearly involved.
B. The role of emotions in decisions makes perfect sense. For situations met frequently inthe past, such as obtaining food and mates, and confronting or fleeing from threats, the neuralmechanisms required to weigh up the pros and cons will have been honed by evolution toproduce an optimal outcome. Since emotion is the mechanism by which animals are proddedtowards such outcomes, evolutionary and economic theory predict the same practicalconsequences for utility in these cases. But does this still apply when the ancestral machineryhas to respond to the stimuli of urban modernity?
C. One of the people who thinks that it does not is George Loewenstein, an economist atCarnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh. In particular, he suspects that modern shopping hassubverted the decision-making machinery in a way that encourages people to run up debt. Toprove the point he has teamed up with two psychologists, Brian Knutson of Stanford Universityand Drazen Prelec of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to look at what happens in thebrain when it is deciding what to buy.
D. In a study, the three researchers asked 26 volunteers to decide whether to buy a seriesof products such as a box of chocolates or a DVD of the television show that were flashed on acomputer screen one after another. In each round of the task, the researchers first presentedthe product and then its price, with each step lasting four seconds. In the final stage, whichalso lasted four seconds, they asked the volunteers to make up their minds. While thevolunteers were taking part in the experiment, the researchers scanned their brains using atechnique called functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI). This measures blood flowand oxygen consumption in the brain, as an indication of its activity.
E. The researchers found that different parts of the brain were involved at different stagesof the test. The nucleus accumbens was the most active part when a product was beingdisplayed. Moreover, the level of its activity correlated with the reported desirability of theproduct in question.
F. When the price appeared, however, FMRI reported more activity in other parts of thebrain. Excessively high prices increased activity in the insular cortex, a brain region linked toexpectations of pain, monetary loss and the viewing of upsetting pictures. The researchersalso found greater activity in this region of the brain when the subject decided not to purchasean item.
G. Price information activated the medial prefrontal cortex, too. This part of the brain isinvolved in rational calculation. In the experiment its activity seemed to correlate with avolunteer's reaction to both product and price, rather than to price alone. Thus, the sense of agood bargain evoked higher activity levels in the medial prefrontal cortex, and this oftenpreceded a decision to buy.
H. People's shopping behaviour therefore seems to have piggy-backed on old neuralcircuits evolved for anticipation of reward and the avoidance of hazards. What DrLoewenstein found interesting was the separation of the assessment of the product (whichseems to be associated with the nucleus accumbens) from the assessment of its price(associated with the insular cortex), even though the two are then synthesised in theprefrontal cortex. His hypothesis is that rather than weighing the present good against futurealternatives, as orthodox economics suggests happens, people actually balance the immediatepleasure of the prospective possession of a product with the immediate pain of paying for it.
I. That makes perfect sense as an evolved mechanism for trading. If one useful object isbeing traded for another (hard cash in modern time), the future utility of what is being given upis embedded in the object being traded. Emotion is as capable of assigning such a value asreason. Buying on credit, though, may be different. The abstract nature of credit cards,coupled with the deferment of payment that they promise, may modulate the “con” side of thecalculation in favour of the “pro”.
J. Whether it actually does so will be the subject of further experiments that the threeresearchers are now designing. These will test whether people with distinctly different spendingbehaviour, such as miserliness and extravagance, experience different amounts of pain inresponse to prices. They will also assess whether, in the same individuals, buying with creditcards eases the pain compared with paying by cash. If they find that it does, then credit cardsmay have to join the list of things such as fatty and sugary foods, and recreational drugs, thatsubvert human instincts in ways that seem pleasurable at the time but can have a long andmalign aftertaste.
Questions 1-6 Do the following statemets reflect the claims of the writer in ReadingPassage 1?
Write your answer in Boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
TRUE if the statement reflets the claims of the writer
FALSE if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is possbile to say what the writer thinks about this
1. The belief of neoclassical economics does not accord with the increasing evidence thathumans make use of the emotions to make decisions.
2. Animals are urged by emotion to strive for an optimal outcomes or extract maximumutility from any situation.
3. George Loewenstein thinks that modern ways of shopping tend to allow people toaccumulate their debts.
4. The more active the nucleus accumens was, the stronger the desire of people for theproduct in question became.
5. The prefrontal cortex of the human brain is linked to monetary loss and the viewing ofupsetting pictures.
6. When the activity in nucleus accumbens was increased by the sense of a good bargain,people tended to purchase coffee.
Questions 7-9 Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 7-9 on youranswe sheet.
7. Which of the following statements about orthodox economics is true?
A. The process which people make their decisions is rational.
B. People have a clear idea of their best interests in any situation.
C. Humans make judgement on the basis of reason rather then emotion.
D. People weigh the present good against future alternatives in shopping.
8. The word "miserliness" in line 3 of Paragraph J means__________.
A. people’s behavior of buying luxurious goods
B. people’s behavior of buying very special items
C. people’s behavior of being very mean in shopping
D. people’s behavior of being very generous in shopping
9. The three researchers are now designing the future experiments, which test
A. whether people with very different spending behaviour experience different amounts ofpain in response to products.
B. whether buying an item with credit cards eases the pain of the same individualscompared with paying for it by cash.
C. whether the abstract nature of credit cards may modulate the “con” side of thecalculation in favour of the “pro”.
D. whether the credit cards may subvert human instincts in ways that seem pleasurablebut with a terrible effect.
Questions 10-13 Complete the notes below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Reading Passage 1 for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet.
To find what happens in the brain of humans when it is deciding things to buy, GeorgeLoewenstein and his co-researchers did an experiment by using the technique of FMRI. Theyfound that different parts of the brain were invloved in the process. The activity in …10… wasgreatly increased with the displaying of certain product. The great activity was found in theinsular cortex when …11…and the subject decided not to buy a product. The activity of themedial prefrontal cortex seemed to associate with both …12…informaiton. What interested DrLoewenstein was the …13… of the assessment of the product and its price in different parts ofthe brain.
答案及解析 Key and Explanations：
1. TRUE
See the second and third sentence in ParagraphA “Neoclassical economics assumes that the processof decision-making is rational. But that contradictsgrowing evidence that decision-making draws onthe emotions—even when reason is clearly involved.”
2. TRUE
See the third sentence in Paragrph B "Since emotion is the mechanism by which animalsare prodded towards such outcomes, evolutionary and economic theory predict the samepractical consequences for utility in these cases."
3. FALSE
See the second sentence in Paragrph C "In particular, he suspects that modern shoppinghas subverted the decision-making machinery in a way that encourages people to run updebt."
4. TRUE
See the last sentence in Paragrph E "Moreover, the level of its activity correlated with thereported desirability of the product in question."
5. FALSE
See the second sentence in Paragrph F and G respectively “Excessively high prices increasedactivity in the insular cortex, a brain region linked to expectations of pain, monetary loss andthe view
Notes：
1. the nucleus accumbens, the insular cortex, and the medial prefrontal cortex:
大脑的不同部位 (皮层，皮质等)
e.g. cerebellar cortex 小脑皮层cerebral cortex 大脑皮层
2. hone:
珩磨，磨快，磨练，训练使。。。更完美或有效.
3. subvert:
毁灭，破坏;摧毁：
4. piggyback：
骑在肩上;在肩上骑
5. deferment:
推迟、延迟、分期付款
6. aftertaste:
余味，回味事情或经历结束后的感觉，特指令人不快的感觉
以上就是雅思阅读全真练习(8)的具体内容介绍，希望大家能够关注。相信本文内容，考生做起来还是有一定难度的，但是这是十分锲合雅思阅读考题的，考生必须多多练习。最后，祝大家取得满意的雅思阅读成绩。
您还可能关注：
