雅思阅读真题材料练习

雅思阅读真题材料练习AAmericanstodaychooseamongmoreoptionsinmorepartsoflifethanhaseverbeenpossiblebefore.Toanextent,theopportunitytochooseenhancesourlives.Itisonlylogicaltothinkthatifsomechoiceisgood,moreisbetter;peoplewhocareabouthavinginfiniteoptionswillbenefitfromthem,andthosewhodonotcanalwaysjustignorethe273versionsofcerealtheyhavenevertried.Yetrecentresearchstronglysuggeststhat,psychologically,thisassumptioniswrong.Althoughsomechoiceisundoubtedlybetterthannone,moreisnotalwaysbetterthanless。BRecentresearchoffersinsightintowhymanypeopleendupunhappyratherthanpleasedwhentheiroptionsexpand.Webeganbymakingadistinctionbetween"maximizers"(thosewhoalwaysaimtomakethebestpossiblechoice)and"satisficers"(thosewhoaimfor"goodenough,"whetherornotbetterselectionsmightbeoutthere)。CInparticular,wecomposedasetofstatements—theMaximizationScale—todiagnosepeople'spropensitytomaximize.Thenwehadseveralthousandpeopleratethemselvesfrom1to7(from"completelydisagree"to"completelyagree")onsuchstatementsas"Ineversettleforsecondbest."Wealsoevaluatedtheirsense,ofsatisfactionwiththeirdecisions.Wedidnotdefineasharpcutofftoseparatemaximizersfromsatisficers,butingeneral,wethinkofindividualswhoseaveragescoresarehigherthan4(thescale'smidpoint)asmaximizersandthosewhosescoresarelowerthanthemidpointassatisficers.Peoplewhoscorehighestonthetest—thegreatestmaximizers—engageinmoreproductcomparisonsthanthelowestscorers,bothbeforeandaftertheymakepurchasingdecisions,andtheytakelongertodecidewhattobuy.Whensatisficersfindanitemthatmeetstheirstandards,theystoplooking.Butmaximizersexertenormouseffortreadinglabels,checkingoutconsumermagazinesandtryingnewproducts.Theyalsospendmoretimecomparingtheirpurchasingdecisionswiththoseofothers。DWefoundthatthegreatestmaximizersaretheleasthappywiththefruitsoftheirefforts.Whentheycomparethemselveswithothers,theygetlittlepleasurefromfindingoutthattheydidbetterandsubstantialdissatisfactionfromfindingoutthattheydidworse.Theyaremorepronetoexperiencingregretafterapurchase,andiftheiracquisitiondisappointsthem,theirsenseofwell-beingtakeslongertorecover.Theyalsotendtobroodorruminatemorethansatisficersdo。EDoesitfollowthatmaximizersarelesshappyingeneralthansatisficers?Wetestedthisbyhavingpeoplefilloutavarietyofquestionnairesknowntobereliableindicatorsofwell-being.Asmightbeexpected,individualswithhighmaximizationscoresexperiencedlesssatisfactionwithlifeandwerelesshappy,lessoptimisticandmoredepressedthanpeoplewithlowmaximizationscores.Indeed,thosewithextrememaximizationratingshaddepressionscoresthatplacedthemintheborderlineclinicalrange。FSeveralfactorsexplainwhymorechoiceisnotalwaysbetterthanless,especiallyformaximizers.Highamongtheseare"opportunitycosts."Thequalityofanygivenoptioncannotbeassessedinisolationfromitsalternatives.Oneofthe"costs"ofmakingaselectionislosingtheopportunitiesthatadifferentoptionwouldhaveafforded.ThusanopportunitycostofvacationingonthebeachinCapeCodmightbemissingthefabulousrestaurantsintheNapaValley.Ifweassumethatopportunitycostsreducetheoveralldesirabilityofthemostpreferredchoice,thenthemorealternativesthereare,thedeeperoursenseoflosswillbeandthelesssatisfactionwewillderivefromourultimatedecision。GTheproblemofopportunitycostswillbeworseforamaximizerthanforasatisficer.Thelatter's"goodenough"philosophycansurvivethoughtsaboutopportunitycosts.Inaddition,the"goodenough"standardleadstomuchlesssearchingandinspectionofalternativesthanthemaximizer's"best"standard.Withfewerchoicesunderconsideration,apersonwillhavefeweropportunitycoststosubtract。HJustaspeoplefeelsorrowabouttheopportunitiestheyhaveforgone,theymayalsosufferregretabouttheoptiontheysettleon.MycolleaguesandIdevisedascaletomeasurepronenesstofeelingregret,andwefoundthatpeoplewithhighsensitivitytoregretarelesshappy,lesssatisfiedwithlife,lessoptimisticandmoredepressedthanthosewithlowsensitivity.Notsurprisingly,wealsofoundthatpeoplewithhighregretsensitivitytendtobemaximizers.Indeed,wethinkthatworryoverfutureregretisamajorreasonthatindividualsbecomemaximizers.Theonlywaytobesureyouwillnotregretadecisionisbymakingthebestpossibleone.Unfortunately,themoreoptionsyouhaveandthemoreopportunitycostsyouincur,themorelikelyyouaretoexperienceregret。IInaclassicdemonstrationofthepowerofsunkcosts,peoplewereofferedseasonsubscriptionstoalocaltheatercompany.Somewereofferedtheticketsatfullpriceandothersatadiscount.Thentheresearcherssimplykepttrackofhowoftentheticketpurchasersactuallyattendedtheplaysoverthecourseoftheseason.Full-pricepayersweremorelikelytoshowupatperformancesthandiscountpayers.Thereasonforthis,theinvestigatorsargued,wasthatthefull-pricepayerswouldexperiencemoreregretiftheydidnotusetheticketsbecausenotusingthemorecostlyticketswouldconstituteabiggerloss。JLESSONSChoosewhentochoose。Wecandecidetorestrictouroptionswhenthedecisionisnot