首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
We like to think of ourselves as rational creatures. We watch our backs, weigh the odds, pack an umbrella. But both neuroscience
We like to think of ourselves as rational creatures. We watch our backs, weigh the odds, pack an umbrella. But both neuroscience
admin
2016-10-21
38
问题
We like to think of ourselves as rational creatures. We watch our backs, weigh the odds, pack an umbrella. But both neuroscience and social science suggest that we are more optimistic than realistic. On average, we expect things to turn out better than they wind up being. People hugely underestimate their chances of getting divorced, losing their job or being diagnosed with cancer: expect their children to be extraordinarily gifted: envision themselves achieving more than their peers: and overestimate their likely life span.
The belief that the future will be much better than the past and present is known as the optimism bias. It abides in every race, region and socioeconomic bracket. Schoolchildren playing when-I-grow-up are rampant optimists, but so are grownups: A 2005 study found that adults over 60 are just as likely to see the glass half full as young adults.
You might expect optimism to erode under the tide of news about violent conflicts, high unemployment, tornadoes and floods and all the threats and failures that shape human life. Collectively we can grow pessimistic — about the direction of our country or the ability of our leaders to improve education and reduce crime. But private optimism, about our personal future, remains incredibly resilient. A survey conducted in 2007 found that while 70% thought families in general were less successful than in their parents’ day, 76% of respondents were optimistic about the future of their own family.
Overly positive assumptions can lead to disastrous miscalculations — make us less likely to get health checkups, apply sunscreen or open a savings account, and more likely to bet the farm on a bad investment. But the bias also protects and inspires us: It keeps us moving forward rather than to the nearest high-rise ledge. Without optimism, our ancestors might never have ventured far from their tribes and we might all be cave dwellers, still huddled together and dreaming of light and heat.
To make progress, we need to be able to imagine alternative realities — better ones — and we need to believe that we can achieve them. Such faith helps motivate us to pursue our goals. Optimists in general work longer hours and tend to earn more. Economists at Duke University found that optimists even save more. And although they are not less likely to divorce, they are more likely to remarry — an act that is, as Samuel Johnson wrote, the triumph of hope over experience.
Even if that better future is often an illusion, optimism has clear benefits in the present. Hope keeps our minds at ease, lowers stress and improves physical health. Researchers studying heart-disease patients found that optimists were more likely than nonoptimistic patients to take vitamins, eat low-fat diets and exercise, thereby reducing their overall coronary risk. A study of cancer patients revealed that pessimistic patients under the age of 60 were more likely to die within eight months than nonpessimistic patients of the same initial health, status and age.
In fact, a growing body of scientific evidence points to the conclusion that optimism may be hardwired by evolution into the human brain. The science of optimism, once scorned as an intellectually suspect province of pep rallies and smiley faces, is opening a new window on the workings of human consciousness. What it shows could fuel a revolution in psychology, as the field comes to grips with accumulating evidence that our brains aren’t just stamped by the past. They are constantly being shaped by the future.
According to the fourth paragraph, why does "opening a savings account" have anything to do with "overly positive assumptions"?
选项
A、It actually has not much to do with assumptions.
B、Overly positive assumptions can hardly make people open a savings account.
C、Opening a savings account usually results from positive assumptions.
D、It usually has much to do with disastrous miscalculations.
答案
B
解析
推断题。A选项与题干完全不符,题干已经明确指出两者有关联,A恰恰相反,故错误。B选项正确,因为“overly positiveassumptions”让人们产生对投资市场过于乐观的估计,把资本多用于投资而不选择较为保险的银行利息。C和D选项曲解原文语意。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/Cj7O777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Systematiceffortsatnationalnutritionplanningindevelopingcountriesgobackbarelyadecade.Duringthatbrieftimethere
Whenimaginativescientistsfirstsuggestedthepossibilitythatonepersoncouldspeakdirectlytoanotheroveralongdistanc
Accordingtothetheoryof______,literaturemustbetruetolifeandexactlyreproducesreallife,includingallitsdetailswi
_____discoveredNewZealandin1642.
Thetownitselfisdreary:notmuchisthereexceptthecottonmill,thetwo-roomhouseswheretheworkerslive,afewpeachtre
在某种特定文化中长大的人们有着某种共同的价值观和观念。这并不意味着他们都以完全同样的程度共有完金同样的价值观;但它确实意味着他们中的大多数人在大多数时候基本上同意彼此对是非善恶等的观点。他们对于人性、社会关系等的观点也基本相同。对美国人要了解的重要的事情有
ThenumberoftheRepresentativesfromeachAmericanstatedependsonthestate’s
IntheUnitedKingdom,thepartywhichwinsthe______numberofseatsintheHouseofCommonsbecomestheofficialOpposition.
A、Theyarerealistic.B、Theyareshallow.C、Theyareenviable.D、Theyarematerialistic.B本题设题点在观点态度处。根据句(1—1)和句(1—2)可知,采访者认为那些想
A、Supportive.B、Oppositive.C、Neutral.D、Uninterested.B本题设题点在对话处。根据句(8—1)和(8—2)可知,采访者认为男性经常找20或30多岁的女性约会,不会有人找40或50多岁的女性,但Peppe
随机试题
A.胆囊底B.胆囊体C.胆囊颈D.胆囊管E.胆总管内腔具有黏膜螺旋襞的是
脂肪酸β-氧化第一次脱氢的辅酶是
下列检查中不应作为常规检查的是肺部X线片最可能的表现是
中日中青年军官______项目开展7年来,在两国政治关系处在困难状态的情况下,依然持续展开,具有积极意义,对于改善和发展中日关系、增进相互了解,也______了重要的作用。填入横线上最恰当的一项是()。
试述内隐记忆与外显记忆各自的含义及它们之间的区别。(2007年)
毛泽东说过,只有具有了这种崇高精神的人,才是“一个高尚的人,一个纯粹的人,一个有道德的人,一个脱离了低级趣味的人,一个有益于人民的人。”他说的“这种崇高精神”是指
(2012下集管)如果挣值EV是300万元,实际成本是350万元,计划值PV是375万元,进度执行指数显示______。
ChinesepublicbuildingserectedunderaconstructioncodeoftheSungdynastyhavewithstoodearthquakeswellbecausethewhite
ThescientificnameistheHoloceneAge,butclimatologistsliketocallourcurrentclimaticphasetheLongSummer.Thehistory
GreatasNewtonwas,manyofhisideas______todayandarebeingmodifiedbytheworkofscientistsofourtime.
最新回复
(
0
)