2023年雅思考試閱讀模擬試題及答案

雅思索試閱讀模擬試題及答案(一)Publishedonline：Nov9thFromTheEconomistprinteditionHowshopscanexploitpeople’sherdmentalitytoincreasesales1.ATRIPtothesupermarketmaynotseemlikeanexerciseinpsychologicalwarfare—butitis.Shopkeepersknowthatfillingastorewiththearomaoffreshlybakedbreadmakespeoplefeelhungryandpersuadesthemtobuymorefoodthantheyhadintended.Stockingthemostexpensiveproductsateyelevelmakesthemsellfasterthancheaperbutlessvisiblecompetitors.Nowresearchersareinvestigatinghow“swarmintelligence”(thatis，howants，beesoranysocialanimal，includinghumans，behaveinacrowd)canbeusedtoinfluencewhatpeoplebuy.2.AtarecentconferenceonthesimulationofadaptivebehaviourinRome，Zeeshan-ul-hassanUsmani，acomputerscientistfromtheFloridaInstituteofTechnology，describedanewwaytoincreaseimpulsebuyingusingthisphenomenon.Supermarketsalreadyencourageshopperstobuythingstheydidnotrealisetheywanted：forinstance，byplacingeverydayitemssuchasmilkandeggsatthebackofthestore，forcingshopperstowalkpastothertemptinggoodstoreachthem.MrUsmaniandRonaldoMenezes，alsooftheFloridaInstituteofTechnology，setouttoenhancethistendencytobuymorebyplayingontheherdinstinct.Theideaisthat，ifacertainproductisseentobepopular，shoppersarelikelytochooseittoo.Thechallengeistokeepcustomersinformedaboutwhatothersarebuying.3.Entersmart-carttechnology.InMrUsmani’ssupermarketeveryproducthasaradiofrequencyidentificationtag，asortofbarcodethatusesradiowavestotransmitinformation，andeverytrolleyhasascannerthatreadsthisinformationandrelaysittoacentralcomputer.Asacustomerwalkspastashelfofgoods，ascreenontheshelftellshimhowmanypeoplecurrentlyintheshophavechosenthatparticularproduct.Ifthenumberishigh，heismorelikelytoselectittoo.4.MrUsmani’s“swarm-moves”modelappealstosupermarketsbecauseitincreasessaleswithouttheneedtogivepeoplediscounts.Anditgivesshoppersthesatisfactionofknowingthattheyboughtthe“right”product—thatis，theoneeveryoneelsebought.Themodelhasnotyetbeentestedwidelyintherealworld，mainlybecauseradiofrequencyidentificationtechnologyisnewandhasonlybeeninstalledexperimentallyinsomesupermarkets.ButMrUsmanisaysthatbothWal-MartinAmericaandTescoinBritainareinterestedinhiswork，andtestingwillgetunderwayinthespring.5.Anotherrecentstudyonthepowerofsocialinfluenceindicatesthatsalescould，indeed，beboostedinthisway.MatthewSalganikofColumbiaUniversityinNewYorkandhiscolleagueshavedescribedcreatinganartificialmusicmarketinwhichsome14，000peopledownloadedpreviouslyunknownsongs.Theresearchersfoundthatwhenpeoplecouldseethesongsrankedbyhowmanytimestheyhadbeendownloaded，theyfollowedthecrowd.Whenthesongswerenotorderedbyrank，butthenumberoftimestheyhadbeendownloadedwasdisplayed，theeffectofsocialinfluencewasstilltherebutwaslesspronounced.Peoplethusfollowtheherdwhenitiseasyforthemtodoso.6.InJapanachainofconvenienceshopscalledRanKingRanQueenhasbeenorderingitsproductsaccordingtosalesdatafromdepartmentstoresandresearchcompanies.Theshopssellonlythemostpopularitemsineachproductcategory，andtherankingsareupdatedweekly.Icosystem，acompanyinCambridge，Massachusetts，alsoaimstoexploitknowledgeofsocialnetworkingtoimprovesales.7.Andthepsychologythatworksinphysicalstoresisjustaspotentontheinternet.OnlineretailerssuchasAmazonareadeptattellingshopperswhichproductsarepopularwithlike-mindedconsumers.Evenintheprivacyofyourhome，youcanstillbepartoftheswarm.Questions1-6Completethesentencesbelowwithwordstakenfromthereadingpassage.UseNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSforeachanswer.1.Shopownersrealizethatthesmellof_______________canincreasesalesoffoodproducts.2.Inshops，productsshelvedatamorevisiblelevelsellbettereveniftheyaremore_______________.3.AccordingtoMr.Usmani，withtheuseof“swarmintelligence”phenomenon，anewmethodcanbeappliedtoencourage_______________.4.Onthewaytoeverydayitemsatthebackofthestore，shoppersmightbetemptedtobuy_______________.5.Ifthenumberofbuyersshownonthe_______________ishigh，othercustomerstendtofollowthem.6.Usingthe“swarm-moves”model，shopownersdonothavetogivecustomers_______________toincreasesales.Questions7-12Dothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninthereadingpassage?Forquestions7-12writeYESifthestatementagreeswiththeinformationNOifthestatementcontraictstheinformationNOTGIVENifthereisnoinformationonthisinthepassage7.RadiofrequencyidentificationtechnologyhasbeeninstalledexperimentallyinbigsupermarketslikeWal-Mart.8.Peopletendtodownloadmoreunknownsongsthansongstheyarefamiliarwith.9.Songsrankedhighbythenumberoftimesbeingdownloadedarefavoredbycustomers.10.Peoplefollowtheotherstothesameextentwhetheritisconvenientornot.11.ItemssoldinsomeJapanesestoresaresimplychosenaccordingtothesalesdataofothershops.12.Swarmintelligencecanalsobeobservedineverydaylife.Answerkeys：1.答案：(freshlybaked)bread.(第1段第2行：Shoppersknowthatfillingastorewiththearomaoffreshlybakedbreadmakespeoplefeelhungryandpersuadesthemtobuymorefoodthantheyintended.)2.答案：expensive.(第1段第4行：Stockingthemostexpensiveproductsateyelevelmakesthemsellfasterthancheaperbutlessvisiblecompetitors.)3.答案：impulsebuying.(第2段第1句：AtarecentconferenceonthesimulationofadaptivebehaviourinRome，Zeeshan-ul-hassanUsmani，acomputerscientistfromtheFloridaInstituteofTechnology，describedanewwaytoincreaseimpulsebuyingusingthisphenomenon.)4.答案：other(tempting)goods/things/products.(第2段第2句：Supermarketsalreadyencourageshopperstobuythingstheydidnotrealisetheywanted：forinstance，byplacingeverydayitemssuchasmilkandeggsatthebackofthestore，forcingshopperstowalkpastothertemptinggoodstoreachthem.)5.答案：screen.(第3段第4行：Asacustomerwalkspastashelfofgoods，ascreenontheshelftellshimhowmanypeoplecurrentlyintheshophavechosenthatparticularproduct.Ifthenumberishigh，heismorelikelytoselectittoo.)6.答案：discounts.(第4段第第1句：MrUsmani’s“swarm-moves”modelappealstosupermarketsbecauseitincreasessaleswithouttheneedtogivepeoplediscounts.)7.答案：NO.(第4段第3、4句：Themodelhasnotyetbeentestedwidelyintherealworld，mainlybecauseradiofrequencyidentificationtechnologyisnewandhasonlybeeninstalledexperimentallyinsomesupermarkets.ButMrUsmanisaysthatbothWal-MartinAmericaanTescoinBritainareinterestdinhisworkd，andtestingwillgetunderwayinthespring.短語(yǔ)“getunderway”旳意思是“開始進(jìn)行”，在Wal-Mart旳試驗(yàn)要等到春天才開始)8.答案：NOTGIVEN.(在文中沒(méi)有提及該信息)9.答案：YES。(第5段第3句：Thereseachersfoundthatwhenpeoplecouldseethesongsrankedbyhowmanytimestheyhavebeendownloaded，theyfollowedthecrowd.)10.答案：NO。(第5段最終兩句：Whenthesongsarenotorderedbyrank，butthenumberoftimestheyhadbeendownloadedwasdisplayed，theeffectofsocialinfluencewasstilltherebutwaslesspronounced.Pnounced旳詞義是“明顯旳、明顯旳”)11.答案：YES。(第6段第1句：InJapanachainofconvenienceshopscalledRanKingRanQueenhasbeenorderingitsproductsaccordingtosalesdatafromdepartmentstoresandresearchcompanies.)12.答案：YES。(最終一段最終一句：Evenintheprivacyofyourhome，youcanstillbepartoftheswarm.home應(yīng)當(dāng)算是everydaylife旳一部分)雅思索試閱讀模擬試題及答案(二)Roguetheoryofsmellgetsaboost1.Acontroversialtheoryofhowwesmell，whichclaimsthatourfinesenseofodourdependsonquantummechanics，hasbeengiventhethumbsupbyateamofphysicists.2.CalculationsbyresearchersatUniversityCollegeLondon(UCL)showthattheideathatwesmellodourmoleculesbysensingtheirmolecularvibrationsmakessenseintermsofthephysicsinvolved.3.That’sstillsomewayfromprovingthatthetheory，proposedinthemid-1990sbybiophysicistLucaTurin，iscorrect.Butitshouldmakeotherscientiststaketheideamoreseriously.4.“Thisisabigstepforward，”saysTurin，whohasnowsetuphisownperfumecompanyFlexitralinVirginia.Hesaysthatsincehepublishedhistheory，“ithasbeenignoredratherthancriticized.”5.Mostscientistshaveassumedthatoursenseofsmelldependsonreceptorsinthenosedetectingtheshapeofincomingmolecules，whichtriggersasignaltothebrain.Thismolecular’lockandkey’processisthoughttoliebehindawiderangeofthebody’sdetectionsystems：itishowsomepartsoftheimmunesystemrecogniseinvaders，forexample，andhowthetonguerecognizessometastes.6.ButTurinarguedthatsmelldoesn’tseemtofitthispictureverywell.Moleculesthatlookalmostidenticalcansmellverydifferent—suchasalcohols，whichsmelllikespirits，andthiols，whichsmelllikerotteneggs.Andmoleculeswithverydifferentstructurescansmellsimilar.Moststrikingly，somemoleculescansmelldifferent—toanimals，ifnotnecessarilytohumans—simplybecausetheycontaindifferentisotopes(atomsthatarechemicallyidenticalbuthaveadifferentmass)。7.Turin’sexplanationforthesesmellyfactsinvokestheideathatthesmellsignalinolfactoryreceptorproteinsistriggerednotbyanodourmolecule’sshape，butbyitsvibrations，whichcanenourageanelectrontojumpbetweentwopartsofthereceptorinaquantum-mechanicalprocesscalledtunnelling.Thiselectronmovementcouldinitiatethesmellsignalbeingsenttothebrain.8.Thiswouldexplainwhyisotopescansmelldifferent：theirvibrationfrequenciesarechangediftheatomsareheavier.Turin’smechanism，saysMarshallStonehamoftheUCLteam，ismorelikeswipe-cardidentificationthanakeyfittingalock.9.Vibration-assistedelectrontunnellingcanundoubtedlyoccur—itisusedinanexperimentaltechniqueformeasuringmolecularvibrations.“Thequestioniswhetherthisispossibleinthenose，”saysStoneham’scolleague，AndrewHorsfield.10.StonehamsaysthatwhenhefirstheardaboutTurin’sidea，whileTurinwashimselfbasedatUCL，“Ididn’tbelieveit”。But，headds，“becauseitwasaninterestingidea，IthoughtIshouldproveitcouldn’twork.Ididsomesimplecalculations，andonlythenbegantofeelLucacouldberight.”NowStonehamandhisco-workershavedonethejobmorethoroughly，inapapersoontobepublishedinPhysicalReviewLetters.11.TheUCLteamcalculatedtheratesofelectronhoppinginanosereceptorthathasanodorantmoleculeboundtoit.Thisratedependsonvariouspropertiesofthebiomolecularsystemthatarenotknown，buttheresearcherscouldestimatetheseparametersbasedontypicalvaluesformoleculesofthissort.12.Thekeyissueiswhetherthehoppingratewiththeodorantinplaceissignificantlygreaterthanthatwithoutit.Thecalculationsshowthatitis—whichmeansthatodouridentificationinthiswayseemstheoreticallypossible.13.ButHorsfieldstressesthatthat’sdifferentfromaproofofTurin’sidea.“Sofarthingslookplausible，butweneedproperexperimentalverification.We’rebeginningtothinkaboutwhatexperimentscouldbeperformed.”14.Meanwhile，Turinispressingaheadwithhishypothesis.“AtFlexitralwehavebeendesigningodorantsexclusivelyonthebasisoftheircomputedvibrations，”hesays.“Oursuccessrateatodorantdiscoveryistwoordersofmagnitudebetterthanthecompetition.”Attheveryleast，heisputtinghismoneywherehisnoseis.(668wordsNature)Questions1-4Dothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninthepassage?PleasewriteTRUEifthestatementagreeswiththewriterFALSEifthestatementdoesnotagreewiththewriterNOTGIVENifthereisnoinformationaboutthisinthepassage1.TheresultofthestudyatUCLagreeswithTurin’stheory.2.ThestudyatUCLcouldconclusivelyprovewhatLucaTurinhashypothesized.3.TurinlefthispostatUCLandstartedhisownbusinessbecausehistheorywasignored.4.Themoleculesofalcoholsandthoseofthiolslookalike.Questions5-9Completethesentencesbelowwithwordsfromthepassage.UseNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSforeachanswer.5.Thehypothesisthatwesmellbysensingthemolecularvibrationwasmadeby______.6.Turin’scompanyisbasedin______.7.Mostscientistsbelievedthatournoseworksinthesamewayasour______.8.Differentisotopescansmelldifferentwhen______weighdifferently.9.AccordingtoAudrewHorsfield，itisstilltobeprovedthat______couldreallyoccurinhumannose.Question10-12AnswerthequestionsbelowusingNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSfromthepassageforeachanswer.10.What’sthenameoftheresearcherwhocollaboratedwithStoneham?11.WhatisthenextstepoftheUCLteam’sstudy?12.WhatisthetheoreticalbasisindesigningodorantsinTurin’scompany?(byZhouHong)AnswerKeysandExplanations1.T見(jiàn)第一段?！癵ivesththethumbsup”為“接受“旳意思。2.F見(jiàn)第三段。“That’sstillsomewayfromprovingthatthetheory，proposedinthemid-1990sbybiophysicistLucaTurin，iscorrect.”意即“目前尚無(wú)法證明生物物理學(xué)家Luca在九十年代中期提出旳理論與否對(duì)旳。”3.NG4.T見(jiàn)第六段“Moleculesthatlookalmostidenticalcansmellverydifferent—suchasalcohols，whichsmelllikespirits，andthiols，whichsmelllikerotteneggs.”“identical”一詞是“完全相似”旳意思。這句話是說(shuō)alcohols和thiols旳分子構(gòu)造看起來(lái)同樣，不過(guò)它們旳味道卻相去甚遠(yuǎn)。5.LucaTurin文章第二，三和七段均可看出Luca旳理論即人類旳鼻子是通過(guò)感覺(jué)氣味分子旳震動(dòng)來(lái)辨別氣味旳。6.Virginia見(jiàn)第四段。7.tongue見(jiàn)第五段“Thismolecular’lockandkey’processisthoughttoliebehindawiderangeofthebody’sdetectionsystems：itishowsomepartsoftheimmunesystemrecogniseinvaders，forexample，andhowthetonguerecognizessometastes.”8.theatoms見(jiàn)第八段“Thiswouldexplainwhyisotopescansmelldifferent：theirvibrationfrequenciesarechangediftheatomsareheavier.”9.vibration-assistedelectrontunneling見(jiàn)第九段““Thequestioniswhetherthisispossibleinthenose，”saysStoneham’scolleague，AndrewHorsfield.”句中旳代詞“this”指句首旳“vibration-assistedelectrontunneling”。10.AndrewHorsfield見(jiàn)第九段結(jié)尾。11.properexperimentalverification見(jiàn)第十三段。12.theircomputedvibrations見(jiàn)第十四段。雅思索試閱讀模擬試題及答案(三)1.Thefailureofahigh-profilecholesteroldrughasthrownaspotlightonthecomplicatedmachinerythatregulatescholesterollevels.Butmanyresearchersremainconfidentthatdrugstoboostlevelsof’good’cholesterolarestilloneofthemostpromisingmeanstocombatspirallingheartdisease.2.DrugcompanyPfizerannouncedon2Decemberthatitwascancellingallclinicaltrialsoftorcetrapib，adrugdesignedtoraiseheart-protectivehigh-densitylipoproteins(HDLs)。Inatrialof15000patients，asafetyboardfoundthatmorepeoplediedorsufferedcardiovascularproblemsaftertakingthedrugplusacholesterol-loweringstatinthanthoseinacontrolgroupwhotookthestatinalone.3.Thenewscameasakickintheteethtomanycardiologistsbecauseearliertestsinanimalsandpeoplesuggesteditwouldlowerratesofcardiovasculardisease.“Therehavebeennoredflagstomyknowledge，”saysJohnChapman，aspecialistinlipoproteinsandatherosclerosisattheNationalInstituteforHealthandMedicalResearch(INSERM)inPariswhohasalsostudiedtorcetrapib.“Thiscancellationcameasacompleteshock.”4.TorcetrapibisoneofthemostadvancedofanewbreedofdrugsdesignedtoraiselevelsofHDLs，whichferrycholesteroloutofartery-cloggingplaquestotheliverforremovalfromthebody.Specifically，torcetrapibblocksaproteincalledcholesterolestertransferprotein(CETP)，whichnormallytransfersthecholesterolfromhigh-densitylipoproteinstolowdensity，plaque-promotingones.Statins，incontrast，mainlyworkbyloweringthe’bad’low-densitylipoproteins.Underpressure5.Researchersarenowtryingtoworkoutwhyandhowthedrugbackfired，somethingthatwillnotbecomeclearuntiltheclinicaldetailsarereleasedbyPfizer.Onehintliesinevidencefromearliertrialsthatitslightlyraisesbloodpressureinsomepatients.Itwasthoughtthatthismildproblemwouldbeoffsetbytheheartbenefitsofthedrug.Butitispossiblethatitactuallyprovedfatalinsomepatientswhoalreadysufferedhighbloodpressure.Ifbloodpressureistheexplanation，itwouldactuallybegoodnewsfordrugdevelopersbecauseitsuggeststhattheproblemsarespecifictothiscompound.OtherprototypedrugsthatarebeingdevelopedtoblockCETPworkinaslightlydifferentwayandmightnotsufferthesamedownfall.6.ButitisalsopossiblethatthewholeideaofblockingCETPisflawed，saysMotiKashyap，whodirectsatherosclerosisresearchattheVAMedicalCenterinLongBeach，California.WhenHDLsexcretecholesterolintheliver，theyactuallyrelyonLDLsforpartofthisprocess.SoinhibitingCETP，whichpreventsthetransferofcholesterolfromHDLtoLDL，mightactuallycauseanabnormalandirreversibleaccumulationofcholesterolinthebody.“You’reblockingaphysiologicmechanismtoeliminatecholesterolandeffectivelyconstipatingthepathway，”saysKashyap.Goingup7.Mostresearchersremainconfidentthatelevatinghighdensitylipoproteinslevelsbyonemeansoranotherisoneofthebestroutesforhelpingheartdiseasepatients.ButHDLsarecomplexandnotentirelyunderstood.Oneapproveddrug，calledniacin，isknowntobothraiseHDLandreducecardiovascularriskbutalsocausesanunpleasantsensationofheatandtingling.Researchersareexploringwhethertheycanbypassthissideeffectandwhetherniacincanlowerdiseaseriskmorethanstatinsalone.Scientistsarealsoworkingonseveralothermeanstobumpuphigh-densitylipoproteinsby，forexample，introducingsyntheticHDLs.“Theonlythingweknowisdeadinthewateristorcetrapib，notthewholeideaofraisingHDL，”saysMichaelMiller，directorofpreventivecardiologyattheUniversityofMarylandMedicalCenter，Baltimore.(613wordsnature)Questions1-7Thispassagehas7paragraphs1-7.Choosethecorrectheadingforeachparagraphfromthelistofheadingsbelow.Writethecorrectnumberi-ixinboxes1-7onyouranswersheet.ListofHeadingsi.Howdoestorcetrapibwork?ii.Contradictoryresultpriortothecurrenttrialiii.Onefailuremaypossiblybringaboutfuturesuccessiv.Thefailuredoesn’tleadtototallossofconfidencev.Itistherightroutetofollowvi.Whyit’sstoppedvii.Theymaycombineandtheoreticallyproduceidealresultviii.What’swrongwiththedrugix.ItmightbewrongatthefirstplaceExampleanswerParagraph1iv1.Paragraph22.Paragraph33.Paragraph44.Paragraph55.Paragraph66.Paragraph7Questions7-13Matchtorcetrapib，HDLs，statinandCETPwiththeirfunctions(Questions8-13)。。WritethecorrectletterA，B，CorDinboxes8-13onyouranswersheet.NBYoumayuseanylettermorethanonce.7.Ithasbeenadministeredtoover10，000subjectsinaclinicaltrial.8.Itcouldhelpridhumanbodyofcholesterol.9.Researchersareyettofindmoreaboutit.10.Itwasusedtoreducethelevelofcholesterol.11.AccordingtoKashyap，itmightleadtounwantedresultifit’sblocked.12.Itproducedcontradictoryresultsindifferenttrials.13.ItcouldinhibitLDLs.ListofchoicesA.TorcetrapicB.HDLSC.StatinD.CETP(byZhouHong)SuggestedAnswersandExplanations1.vi2.ii3.vii本段簡(jiǎn)介了torcetrapib和statin旳治病原理，不過(guò)同步短語(yǔ)“incontrast”與之前第二段后半段旳內(nèi)容呼應(yīng)，暗示了這兩種藥在理論上能相輔相成，是理想旳搭配。第一種選項(xiàng)無(wú)法涵蓋整段意義，故選擇i是錯(cuò)誤旳。4.iii本段分析了也許導(dǎo)致torcetrapibl臨床試驗(yàn)失敗旳原因，后半段指出假如以上推測(cè)對(duì)旳，那么未來(lái)旳藥物可借鑒這個(gè)試驗(yàn)，設(shè)法防止torcetrapib旳缺陷，研制出有效旳藥物。viii選項(xiàng)無(wú)法涵蓋后半段旳意思。5.ix見(jiàn)首句。6.v7.A見(jiàn)第二段。題目中administer一詞意為“用藥”，subject一詞為“試驗(yàn)對(duì)象”之意。8.B見(jiàn)第四段“…toraiselevelsofHDLs，whichferrycholesteroloutofartery-cloggingplaquestotheliverforremovalfromthebody.”即HDLs旳作用最終是將choleserol清除出人體：“…forremovalfromthebody”。9.B見(jiàn)第四段“ButHDLsarecomplexandnotentirelyunderstood.”10.C見(jiàn)第二段“…plusacholesterol-loweringstatin”，即statin是可以減少cholesterol旳。11.D見(jiàn)第六段“SoinhibitingCETP，…mightactuallycauseanabnormalandirreversibleaccumulationofcholesterolinthebody.12.A見(jiàn)第三段。13.C見(jiàn)第四段“Statins，incontrast，mainlyworkbyloweringthe’bad’low-densitylipoproteins.”雅思索試閱讀模擬試題及答案(四)TheTriumphofUnreasonA.Neoclassicaleconomicsisbuiltontheassumptionthathumansarerationalbeingswhohaveaclearideaoftheirbestinterestsandstrivetoextractmaximumbenefit(or“utility”，ineconomist-speak)fromanysituation.Neoclassicaleconomicsassumesthattheprocessofdecision-makingisrational.Butthatcontradictsgrowingevidencethatdecision-makingdrawsontheemotions—evenwhenreasonisclearlyinvolved.B.Theroleofemotionsindecisionsmakesperfectsense.Forsituationsmetfrequentlyinthepast，suchasobtainingfoodandmates，andconfrontingorfleeingfromthreats，theneuralmechanismsrequiredtoweighuptheprosandconswillhavebeenhonedbyevolutiontoproduceanoptimaloutcome.Sinceemotionisthemechanismbywhichanimalsareproddedtowardssuchoutcomes，evolutionaryandeconomictheorypredictthesamepracticalconsequencesforutilityinthesecases.Butdoesthisstillapplywhentheancestralmachineryhastorespondtothestimuliofurbanmodernity?C.OneofthepeoplewhothinksthatitdoesnotisGeorgeLoewenstein，aneconomistatCarnegieMellonUniversity，inPittsburgh.Inparticular，hesuspectsthatmodernshoppinghassubvertedthedecision-makingmachineryinawaythatencouragespeopletorunupdebt.Toprovethepointhehasteamedupwithtwopsychologists，BrianKnutsonofStanfordUniversityandDrazenPrelecoftheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology，tolookatwhathappensinthebrainwhenitisdecidingwhattobuy.D.Inastudy，thethreeresearchersasked26volunteerstodecidewhethertobuyaseriesofproductssuchasaboxofchocolatesoraDVDofthetelevisionshowthatwereflashedonacomputerscreenoneafteranother.Ineachroundofthetask，theresearchersfirstpresentedtheproductandthenitsprice，witheachsteplastingfourseconds.Inthefinalstage，whichalsolastedfourseconds，theyaskedthevolunteerstomakeuptheirminds.Whilethevolunteersweretakingpartintheexperiment，theresearchersscannedtheirbrainsusingatechniquecalledfunctionalmagneticresonanceimaging(fMRI)。Thismeasuresbloodflowandoxygenconsumptioninthebrain，asanindicationofitsactivity.E.Theresearchersfoundthatdifferentpartsofthebrainwereinvolvedatdifferentstagesofthetest.Thenucleusaccumbenswasthemostactivepartwhenaproductwasbeingdisplayed.Moreover，thelevelofitsactivitycorrelatedwiththereporteddesirabilityoftheproductinquestion.F.Whenthepriceappeared，however，fMRIreportedmoreactivityinotherpartsofthebrain.Excessivelyhighpricesincreasedactivityintheinsularcortex，abrainregionlinkedtoexpectationsofpain，monetarylossandtheviewingofupsettingpictures.Theresearchersalsofoundgreateractivityinthisregionofthebrainwhenthesubjectdecidednottopurchaseanitem.G.Priceinformationactivatedthemedialprefrontalcortex，too.Thispartofthebrainisinvolvedinrationalcalculation.Intheexperimentitsactivityseemedtocorrelatewithavolunteer’sreactiontobothproductandprice，ratherthantopricealone.Thus，thesenseofagoodbargainevokedhigheractivitylevelsinthemedialprefrontalcortex，andthisoftenprecededadecisiontobuy.H.People’sshoppingbehaviourthereforeseemstohavepiggy-backedonoldneuralcircuitsevolvedforanticipationofrewardandtheavoidanceofhazards.WhatDrLoewensteinfoundinterestingwastheseparationoftheassessmentoftheproduct(whichseemstobeassociatedwiththenucleusaccumbens)fromtheassessmentofitsprice(associatedwiththeinsularcortex)，eventhoughthetwoarethensynthesisedintheprefrontalcortex.Hishypothesisisthatratherthanweighingthepresentgoodagainstfuturealternatives，asorthodoxeconomicssuggestshappens，peopleactuallybalancetheimmediatepleasureoftheprospectivepossessionofaproductwiththeimmediatepainofpayingforit.I.Thatmakesperfectsenseasanevolvedmechanismfortrading.Ifoneusefulobjectisbeingtradedforanother(hardcashinmoderntime)，thefutureutilityofwhatisbeinggivenupisembeddedintheobjectbeingtraded.Emotionisascapableofassigningsuchavalueasreason.Buyingoncredit，though，maybedifferent.Theabstractnatureofcreditcards，coupledwiththedefermentofpaymentthattheypromise，maymodulatethe“con”sideofthecalculationinfavourofthe“pro”。J.Whetheritactuallydoessowillbethesubjectoffurtherexperimentsthatthethreeresearchersarenowdesigning.Thesewilltestwhetherpeoplewithdistinctlydifferentspendingbehaviour，suchasmiserlinessandextravagance，experiencedifferentamountsofpaininresponsetoprices.Theywillalsoassesswhether，inthesameindividuals，buyingwithcreditcardseasesthepaincomparedwithpayingbycash.Iftheyfindthatitdoes，thencreditcardsmayhavetojointhelistofthingssuchasfattyandsugaryfoods，andrecreationaldrugs，thatsubverthumaninstinctsinwaysthatseempleasurableatthetimebutcanhavealongandmalignaftertaste.Questions1-6DothefollowingstatemetsreflecttheclaimsofthewriterinReadingPassage1?WriteyouranswerinBoxes1-6onyouranswersheet.TRUEifthestatementrefletstheclaimsofthewriterFALSEifthestatementcontradictstheclaimsofthewriterNOTGIVENifitispossbiletosaywhatthewriterthinksaboutthis1.Thebeliefofneoclassicaleconomicsdoesnotaccordwiththeincreasingevidencethathumansmakeuseoftheemotionstomakedecisions.2.Animalsareurgedbyemotiontostriveforanoptimaloutcomesorextractmaximumutilityfromanysituation.3.GeorgeLoewensteinthinksthatmodernwaysofshoppingtendtoallowpeopletoaccumulatetheirdebts.4.The