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 |
小题2:The function of the graph is to ________.
| 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 |
小题3:Which of the following do you think the writer would probably agree with?
| 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. |
小题4:The underlined phrase “
at play” in the 7
th paragraph most probably means ________.
| A．effective | B．ridiculous | C．contradictory | D．astonishing |
小题5:What do you think is the best title?
|
本试题 “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. ...” 主要考查您对 人生感悟类阅读 等考点的理解。关于这些考点您可以点击下面的选项卡查看详细档案。
人生感悟类阅读的概念：
生活感悟类的文章就是指能给人心灵以启迪，使人从中受到教育的文章。这类文章的体裁可以是记叙文，如生活中一些感人故事或情感故事，有点类似心灵鸡汤一样的短文。 生活感悟类阅读解题指导：
一、文章特点：
生活感悟类的文章就是指能给人心灵以启迪，使人从中受到教育的文章。这类文章的体裁可以是记叙文，如生活中一些感人故事或情感故事，有点类似心灵鸡汤一样的短文。有时故事的结尾会有一句“点睛之笔”，点出全文的中心思想，就像《伊索寓言》里的寓言一样。还可能是夹叙夹议的哲理散文或生活随笔。散文随笔通常会阐述一种朴素易懂，耳熟能详的人生道理或宝贵品质。文章的结构和议论文类似，一般是总分总或总分结构。每段首句或尾句为主题句（论点），其它句子围绕主题展开论述（论据），论证方法多种多样，或举例，或引用名言，或正反对照等。
二、解题技巧：
针对生活感悟类文章的特点，做这类文章的完形填空时，要特别注意以下几点：
1、重点理解全文的首句。如果是记叙文，找出when，where，who，what等基本要素。如果是散文随笔，充分理解文章的中心句—全文的主题。
2、阅读全文的结尾段或结尾句，有助于理解文章所阐述或蕴含的哲理、感悟或忠告等。
3、调动自己的背景知识和情感。这类文章不会讲大道理也不会涉及到一些很专业的知识技术领域，而是谈一些小事和简单的道理，所以如果读者能和作者产生感情上的共鸣，读者会更好地把握作者的意图态度，从而提高做题的准确度。因此，考生在平时要做一个有心人，即用心去感悟生活中发生的小事，思考人生的一些基本道理，多阅读一些短小精悍的美文，多写写自己的心情故事和对生活学习的感悟。只有平时多用心，做题时才能调动自己的背景知识和情感。
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