Unit6
Section A
1
1B 2C 3A 4E 5D
2
1 An irrational behavior can be described as an action or opinion not based on adequate use of logic and reason:
Be willing to pay much more for a cup of Starbucks coffee when there's cheaper, equally good coffee across the street.
Once a price is established in their minds, they will compare other similar items to this price, not only for the current but also for the future.
Buy products they don't need just because they get something for free in the transaction.
Do something just because some other people are doing the same thing.
2 Ignorance - People can be totally unaware about a situation, yet form their own views and judgments. They often tend to jump to conclusions based on rumors.
Emotions - People take offense or get angry before the actual situation occurs. They become anxious and harbor unrealistic expectations.
Stress - It is the main reason that causes physical as well as mental problems. Stress creates feeling of anger, irritation and frustration.
Blind beliefs - People live entirely on the lines that are drawn by others and do not have their own point of view. They are too conscious about society and its reactions to them.
3 Yes, I'm often irrational because of different kinds of stress, uncertainty about my future, and sensitivity to how people look at me.
No, I don't think I'm irrational because I always use my logic and common sense to judge things and react to what has happened to me.
Scripts:
As the most intelligent animal on this earth, we are supposed to behave in a rational way, i.e., act according to logic and reason required in a situation. But does that really happen? Do we always behave rationally? Certainly not. There are a lot of people who behave irrationally, causing problems to themselves as well as to others. Irrational behavior is part of human nature, but as MIT Professor Ariely has discovered, people tend to behave irrationally in a predictable fashion. Though we cannot explain the exact cause behind irrational behavior, we know that it is a manner of behavior not based on logic and reasoning. I would like to give you an example of irrational behavior. If a person has heard about someone suffering from some disease, he will start thinking that he may suffer from the same disease. This is irrational
and illogical behavior. I don't think this behavior is always intentional.
Reading comprehension
Understanding the text
1
1 He was imposing on his troops a necessary sacrifice to achieve victory over their opponents. By doing this, the soldiers would be more determined and concentrated on the battles.
2 The purpose for the experiment is to investigate seemingly irrational human behavior when making a decision, such as the tendency for keeping multiple options open.
3 The experiment enabled people to see why it's always so hard for them to say "NO" to any opportunities that came to them. In everyday life, people just give excuses to keep options open.
4 Students should quickly check all the doors and keep clicking on the one with the highest cash. They should absolutely ignore the vanishing doors.
5 Because we can see that the students didn't really focus on ensuring future cash earnings. What they tried to avoid was the immediate pain of watching options close.
6 Because in life the doors are closing slowly, not like the ones on the computer in the experiment, people don't really see the opportunities actually vanishing away little by little.
7 He suggests that people should prohibit overbooking, reduce options, delegate tasks to others, and even give away ideas to others to pursue.
8 People can obtain pleasure and satisfaction by focusing their energy and attention in a more concentrated fashion. They will have more with fewer, carefully chosen options.
Critical thinking
2
1 ~ Surprising but very strategic and visionary.
~ Reflection of his unique foresight and wisdom.
~ Knowledgeable about winning battles.
~ Experienced in fighting with enemies.
2 ~ Interesting and thought-provoking.
~ Reflect students' mentality.
~ Meaningful and valid.
~ May not be convincing to some people.
3 ~ Both consequences are surprising.
~ Both are about choices and decision-making.
~ Both have to do with strategies.
~ Both focus on human's mentality.
4 ~ Afraid of losing potential opportunities.
~ Too greedy and too ambitious.
~ Over-confident about their real capacity.
~ More choices, better chances.
5 ~ Fewer options, more focused concentration.
~ Fewer choices, better quality.
~ Everything has two sides.
~ Too much greed ends up with nothing.
Language focus
3
1 implement 2 rival 3 motivating
4 discarded 5 fluctuating 6 prejudiced
7 restore 8 enlightening 9 profit
10 investigate
Word building
4
Words learned New words formed
-ic
strategy strategic
sympathy sympathetic
-ion
confirm confirmation
locate location
reflect reflection
provide provision
install installation
register registration
quotation quote
-ize
sympathy sympathize
critic criticize
industrial industrialize
5
1 sympathize 2 confirmation
3 strategic 4 installation
5 quote 6 sympathetic
7 criticize 8 location
9 reflection 10 industrialize
11 provision 12 registration
Banked cloze
6
1 M 2 D 3 H 4 0 5 F
6 L 7 I 8 C 9 J 10 A
Expressions in use
7
I was attached to 2 be measured in
3 come in handy 4 clinging to
5 pay a big price 6 are exhausted from
7 imposed on 8 revolve around
Structure analysis and writing
Structured writing
8
There are a lot of people who behave irrationally, causing problems to themselves as well as to others. It's hard to analyze the exact causes behind irrational behavior, but we know that it is a manner of behavior that is not based on logic and reasoning. Irrational behavior is caused by various factors but two stand out.
The first main factor that contributes to irrational behavior is uncontrolled emotions. Irrational people take offense or get angry before the actual situation occurs. They become anxious and express exaggerated emotions such as crying and shouting. They have unrealistic expectations, expecting everyone to like them and if someone does not, they feel angry and neglected. It is fairly common for people to show such signs of irrationality.
Too much stress can also lead to irrational behavior. In fact, these days, stress is the major cause of physical as well as mental problems. Stress creates feelings of anger, irritation and frustration. For instance, when you spend a stressful day in the office, it makes you anxious. You start releasing your frustration or stress by screaming at your family members for small reasons like a badly prepared meal. That day you feel everything is wrong.
In summary, uncontrolled emotions and too much stress can result in irrational behavior. To behave rationally is not an easy job because the behavior is internalized. However, to discover the source of your irrationality will help you behave more rationally.
Translation
9
极简主义是指去掉多余的，仅保留需要的部分、用最简单的话来说，极简的生活方式，就是生活得越简单越好,直到获得心灵的平静，这种简单既是精神上的，也是身体上的：这样的生活方式会减轻压力，带来更多自由时间．并增强幸福感、极简主义者会说．他们生活得更有意义了，更从容了，极简的生活方式让他们着眼于生活中更重要的事物：朋友、爱好、旅游和体验。当然，极简主义并不意味着拥有物质财富从本质上来讲有什么不对。现在的问题似乎在于，我们往往太重视所拥有的东西，而常常抛弃了健康、人与人之间的关系、我们的热情、个人成长，以及帮助他人的愿望。极简主义除了在我们的口常生活中可以得到应用，还存在于很多创意领域，包括艺术、建筑、没汁、舞蹈、电影、戏剧、音乐、时尚、摄影和文学等。
10
National Happiness Index (NHI) is an index that measures how happy people are. It is also a tool that measures the levels of economic development and people's livelihood and happiness in a country or region. With the fast growth of Chinese economy, the Chinese government has been paying more and more attention to people's living quality and the increase of happiness index. The government stresses improvement of its people's livelihood, striving to improve their economic conditions and meet their growing material and cultural needs. Currently, the Chinese government advocates the unleashing of more reform dividends, with the aim of offering more real benefits to its people. All these measures will combine to effectively increase the NHI of our people.
Unit 6 Text B
Understanding the text 2
1.C 2.B 3.D 4.A 5.D 6.B 7.A 8.D
Critical thinking 3
1. *Like to look good in other’s eyes.
*Tend to have spending habit
*Make them feel happy.
*Want to be in fashion
2. *Frustrated.
*Bored
*Confused
*Stunned
3. *Don’t know which option they want most.
*Seem to them there is never the best option.
*Want everything lest they miss a “perfect” one.
4. *Human beings are greedy by nature.
*Many believe “The more, the better”.
*Most people are too materialistic.
5. *Not really a good thing.
*Make people greedier and more materialistic.
*Make people exhausted to make decisions.
*Discourage appreciation.
Words in use 4
1. concerning 2.specified 3.controversy 4.rendered 5.enforced
6. distribute 7.highlighted 8.implication 9.penetrating 10.subtract
Expressions in use 5
1. played a role 2.turned out 3.are depressed about 4. settle for
5. rushed into 6. out of control 7.transferred to 8.rely on
Sentence structure 6
1. The more carefully he thought about it, the clearer it became to him that this was a job for someone with experience.
2. The more exercise you do, the more energetic you will become, the easier your everyday tasks will seem.
3. The more interesting the plot is, the more appealing the film will become to the audience.
Sentence structure 7
1. He is normally a quiet person, but when it comes to sports, he becomes a completely different man.
2. When it comes to computers and the Internet, all the students become excited, each eager to say something about his experience.
3. A Frenchman may be ready to start a chat with a stranger on a train or in a café, but when it comes to friendship, the French seem to be more cautious than the British.
Collocation 8
1. conscious effort 2.winning strategy 3.limited choice
4. remotest idea 5.temporary pain 6.primary role
Collocation 9
1. rival options 2.painful choices 3.carefully chosen 4.mutiple options
4. winning strategy 6.predictably irrational 7.temporary pain 8.complex decision
9. limited choices 10.conscious effort 11.naturally prejudiced 12.accumulating evidence
