1.Decision-making under Stress
A new review based on a research shows that acute stress affects the way the brain considers the advantages and disadvantages,causing it to focus on pleasure and ignore the possible negative (负面的) consequences of a decision.
The research suggests that stress may change the way people make choices in predictable ways.
"Stress affects how people learn,"says Professor Mara Mather."People learn better about positive than negative outcomes under stress."
For example,two recent studies looked at how people learned to connect images(影像) with either rewards or punishments.In one experiment,some of the participants were first stressed by having to give a speech and do difficult math problems in front of an audience; in the other,some were stressed by having to keep their hands in ice water.In both cases,the stressed participants remembered the rewarded material more accurately and the punished material less accurately than those who hadn't gone through the stress.
This phenomenon is likely not surprising to anyone who has tried to resist eating cookies or smoking a cigarette while under stress-at those moments,only the pleasure associated with such activities comes to mind.But the findings further suggest that stress may bring about a double effect.Not only are rewarding experiences remembered better,but negative consequences are also easily recalled.
The research also found that stress appears to affect decision-making differently in men and women.While both men and women tend to focus on rewards and less on consequences under stress,their responses to risk turn out to be different.
Men who had been stressed by the cold-water task tended to take more risks in the experiment while women responded in the opposite way.In stressful situations in which risk-taking can pay off big,men may tend to do better,when caution weighs more,however,women will win.
This tendency to slow down and become more cautious when decisions are risky might also help explain why women are less likely to become addicted than men:they may more often avoid making the risky choices that eventually harden into addiction.
68.We can learn from the passage that people under pressure tend toB.
A.recall consequences more effortlessly
B.keep rewards better in their memory
C.make risky decisions more frequently
D.learn a subject more effectively
69.According to the research,stress affects people most probably in theirA.
A.ways of making choices
B.preference for pleasure
C.tolerance of punishments
D.responses to suggestions
70.The research has proved that in a stressful situation,C.
A.women find it easier to fall into certain habits
B.men have a greater tendency to slow down
C.men are more likely to take risks
D.women focus more on outcomes.
分析 本文是一篇说明文,主要讲述的是压力对人们不好的影响,在压力之下人们作出决定时的考虑是不一样的,并通过实验说明人们在有压力的时候通常想到的是积极的一面比较多,同时也介绍了男人和女人在面对不同的压力时反映也是不同的.
解答 BAC
68 B 细节题.由第一段第一句"…acute stress affects the way the brain considers the advantages and disadvantages,causing it to focus on pleasure and ignore the possible negative(负面的) consequences of a decision."可知在压力下,人们会高估奖赏而低估惩罚,故正确答案为B.
69 A 细节题.由第二段"The research suggests that stress may change the way people make choices in predictable ways."可知正确答案为A.
70 C 由第六段stress appears to affect decision-making differently in men and women.可知男性与女性在面对压力时做出的决定是不一样的,而第七段通过冷水实验可知在面对相同压力时,男性愿意冒险,故正确答案为C.
点评 考察学生的细节理解和推理判断能力,做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句,和题干进行比较,再做出正确的选择.在做推理判断题不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实,要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断.