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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  59
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 does the author mean by saying "humans view life according to where we land in the heap" (Lines 2-3, Para. 2)?
选项 A、Humans’ perception of life is affected by their status.
B、Humans’ understanding of life is determined by the region.
C、Humans’ view on life is influenced by the surrounding.
D、Humans’ opinion on life is decided by their neighborhood.
答案A
解析 语义理解题。定位句中的heap一词意为“堆”，作者在此使用了一个象征意义，“人们看待生活的态度是由他们位于的‘堆’所决定的”，即“人们的态度由人们所处的群体决定”，故A)“人们对于生活的看法由他们的地位决定”正确。B)“人们对于生活的看法由地域决定”、C)“人们对生活的看法受环境影响”和D)“人们对于生活的看法由邻里决定”均不符合原文意思，故排除。
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