People tend to be more impressed by evidence that seems to confirm some relationship. Thus many are convinced their dreams are p

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问题    People tend to be more impressed by evidence that seems to confirm some relationship. Thus many are convinced their dreams are prophetic because a few have come true ;they neglect or fail to notice that many have not.
   Consider also the belief that "the phone always tings when I’m in the shower. "If it does ring while you axe in the shower, the event will stand out and be remembered. If it doesn’t ring, that non event probably won’t even register.
   People want to see order, pattern and meaning in the world. Consider, for example, the common belief that things like personal misfortunes, plane crashes, and deaths "happen in threes. "Such beliefs stem from the tendency of people to allow the third event to define the time period. If three plane crashes occur in a month, then the period of time that counts as their "happening together is one month; if three crashes occur in a year, the period of time is stretched. Flexible end points rein force such beliefs.
   We also tend to believe what we want to believe. A majority of people think they are more intelligent, more fair-minded and more skilled behind the wheel of an automobile than the average person. Part of the reason we view ourselves so favorably is that we use criteria that work to our advantage. As economist Thomas Schelling explains," Everybody ranks himself high in qualities he values: careful drivers give weight to care, skilled drivers give weight to skill, and those who are polite give weight to courtesy. "This way everyone ranks high on his own scale.
   Perhaps the most important mental habit we can learn is to be cautious in drawing conclusions. The "evidence" of everyday life is sometimes misleading.
By" things like..." "happen in threes" ( Para. 3 ), the author indicates that people believe ______.

选项 A、Personal misfortunes tend to happen every now and then
B、Personal misfortunes, plane crashes, and deaths usually happen together
C、Misfortunes tend to occur according to certain patterns
D、Misfortunes will never occur more than three times to a person in his lifetime

答案C

解析 这个事例是用以说明第三段的中心句:人们总是希求从纷繁的事件中找出某种规律;很多时候,这些得出的结论都是为了印证人们头脑中早已形成的某种判断,因而不乏牵强附会之处。
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