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  3. Polls find that few consider income inequality a top issue. Asked by Gallup what worries them the most about the economy, people

Polls find that few consider income inequality a top issue. Asked by Gallup what worries them the most about the economy, people

admin2012-07-05  55
问题     Polls find that few consider income inequality a top issue. Asked by Gallup what worries them the most about the economy, people list jobs and the national debt far above the gap between rich and poor.
    Of course, people might be fooling themselves—a position some economists have taken. Plenty of research finds that humans view life according to where we land in the heap.
    If happiness stems, in part, from where we stand in our reference group, why not change reference groups? Choose the right reference group, and you can have any status you want—and coming out on top is easier than you might think.
    In a famous study by economists Sara Solnick and David Hemenway, people were asked whether they’d prefer to earn $ 50,000 in a situation where others were earning $ 25,000, or earn $ 100,000 when others earned $ 200,000. Half of people chose the first situation, even though $ 100,000 is—objectively—more than $ 50,000. You could do a lot of ego-comforting for that extra cash. But humans are social creatures. It is not enough to be well off. We want to be better off than other people.
    It might be human nature to compare ourselves with those who have more, and thus feel as if we’re somehow behind. But it’s just as easy to compare ourselves with those who have less. Indeed, it’s easier, because there are a lot more of them.
    There are now 7 billion people on this planet. The median net worth of the world, according to 2011 statistics from Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report, was about $4,200 per adult. Tne median net worth for adults in the USA was almost $ 53,000.
    Of course, if that makes you feel rich, why just limit the reference group to people living now? The Population Reference Bureau estimates that in the 50,000-plus year course of human history, about 108 billion people have walked on this planet. During much of this time, people died of illnesses we now shrug off. If we worry about obesity (肥胖) rather than starvation, and worry about it in the comfort of our heated houses, We have it pretty good. Look at.a few people and feel poor, or look at most of humanity and feel rich. If we want to feel blessed, rather than unhappy, the right answer is pretty clear.
What is the main idea of this passage?
选项 A、People should lower their expectation of life.
B、People should compare their life with the poor.
C、People should keep a contended attitude to life.
D、People should choose a right group as a standard.
答案C
解析 主旨大意题。做此类题时应看作者着重强调什么。在本文中，作者首先提出人们对于生活的看法会受到自己所处群体的影响，之后作者强调对比对于人的心态产生的影响，建议人们和那些境况不如自己的人进行比较。最后作者从美国的人均净值和历史上人类的生活状况两方面证明。通过对比，人们会发现自己的生活是美好的。因此，作者自始至终都在强调人对生活应当持有一种乐观的态度：只要把心态调整好，生活就是美好的，故C)正确。
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