(A) Americans today choose among more options in more parts of life than has ever been
possible before. To an extent, the opportunity to choose enhances our lives. It is only logical to
think that if some choices are good, more is better; people who care about having infinite options
will benefit from them, and those who do not can always just ignore the 273 versions of cereal
they have never tried. Yet recent research strongly suggests that, psychologically this assumption
is wrong, with 5% lower percentage announcing they are happy. Although some choices are
undoubtedly better than none, more is not always better than less.
(B) Recent research offers insight into why many people end up unhappy rather than pleased
when their options expand. We began by making a distinction between"maximisers(those who
always aim to make the best possible choice )and"satisficers"(those who aim for “good enough,
"whether or not better selections might be out there).
(C) In particular, we composed a set of statements—the Maximisation Scale—to diagnose
people's propensity to maximise. Then we had several thousand people rate themselves from
1to7(from “completely disagree" to"completely agree”) on such statements as“ I never settle for
second best. " We also evaluated their sense of satisfaction with their decisions. We did not
define a sharp cutoff to separate maximisers from satisficers, but in general, we think of
individuals whose average scores are higher than 4(the scale's midpoint)as maximisers and those
whose scores are lower than the midpoint as satisficers. People who score highest on the test-the
greatest maximisers —engage in more product comparisons than the lowest scorers, both
before and after they make purchasing decisions, and they take longer to decide what to buy.
When satisficers find an item that meets their standards, they stop looking. But maximisers exert
enormous effort reading labels, checking out consumer magazines and trying new products. They
also spend more time comparing their purchasing decisions with those of others.
(D) We found that the greatest maximisers are the least happy with the fruits of their efforts.
When they compare themselves with others, they get little pleasure from finding out that they
did better and substantial dissatisfaction from finding out that they did worse. They are more
prone to experiencing regret after a purchase, and if their acquisition disappoints them, their
sense of well-being takes longer to recover. They also tend to brood or ruminate more than
satisficers do.
(E) Does it follow that maximisers are less happy in general than satisficers? We tested this by
having people fill out a variety of questionnaires known to be reliable indicators of well-being. As
might be expected, individuals with high maximisation scores experienced less satisfaction with
life and were less happy, less optimistic and more depressed than people with low maximisation
scores. Indeed, those with extreme maximisation ratings had depression scores that placed them
in the borderline of clinical range.
(F) Several factors explain why more choice is not always better than less, especially for
maximisers. High among these are"opportunity costs. "The quality of any given option cannot be
assessed in isolation from its alternatives. One of the"costs "of making a selection is losing the
opportunities that a different option would have afforded. Thus an opportunity cost of
vacationing on the beach in Cape Cod might be missing the fabulous restaurants in the Napa
Valley. Early Decision Making Research by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky showed that
people respond much more strongly to losses than gains. If we assume that opportunity costs
reduce the overall desirability of the most preferred choice, then the more alternatives there are,
the deeper our sense of loss will be and the less satisfaction we will derive from our ultimate
decision.
(G) The problem of opportunity costs will be better for a satisficer. The latters"good enough”
philosophy can survive thoughts about opportunity costs. In addition, the"good enough”
standard leads to much less searching and inspection of alternatives than the maximiser’s “best "
standard. With fewer choices under consideration, a person will have fewer opportunity costs to
subtract.
(H) Just as people feel sorrow about the opportunities they have forgone, they may also suffer
regret about the option they settled on.My colleagues and I devised a scale to measure
proneness to feeling regret, and we found that people with high sensitivity to regret are less
happy, less satisfied with life, less optimistic and more depressed than those with low sensitivity.
Not surprisingly, we also found that people with high regret sensitivity tend to be maximisers.
Indeed, we think that worry over future regret is a major reason that individuals become
maximisers. The only way to be sure you will not regret a decision is by making the best possible
one. Unfortunately, the more options you have and the more opportunity costs you incur, the
more likely you are to experience regret.
(I) In a classic demonstration of the power of sunk costs, people were offered season
subscriptions to a local theatre company. Some were offered the tickets at full price and others at
a discount. Then the researchers simply kept track of how often the ticket purchasers actually
attended the plays over the course of the season. full-price payers were more likely to show up at
performances than discount payers. The reason for this, the investigators argued, was that the
full-price payers would experience more regret if they did not use the tickets because not using
the more costly tickets would constitute a bigger loss. To increase sense of happiness, we can
decide to restrict our options when the decision is not crucial. For example, make a rule to visit
no more than two stores when shopping for clothing.
Questions 1-4
Look at the following descriptions or deeds(Questions 1-4)and the list of categories below
Match each description or deed with the correct category: A-D.
Write the correct letter; A-D, in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
A “maximisers”
B “satisficers”
C neither “maximisers” nor “satisficers”
D both "maximisers " and " satisficers
1 rated to the Maximisation Scale of making choice
2 don't take much time before making a decision
3 are likely to regret about the choice in the future
4 choose the highest price in the range of purchase
Questions 5-8
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 5-8 on you answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts with the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
5 In today's world, since the society is becoming wealthier, people are happier.
6 In society, there are more maximisers than satisficers.
7 People tend to react more to loses than gains.
8 Females and males acted differently in the study of choice making.
Ouestions 9-13
Choose the correct letter A B. C or D
Write the correct letter in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.
9 The Maximisation Scale is aimed to
A know the happiness when they have more choices.
B measure how people are likely to feel after making choices.
C help people make better choices.
D reduce the time of purchasing.
10 According to the text. what is the result of more choices?
A People can make choices more easily.
B Maximisers are happier to make choices.
C Satisficers are quicker to make wise choices.
D People have more tendency to experience regret.
11 The example of theatre ticket is to suggest that
A they prefer to use more money when buying tickets.
B they don't like to spend more money on theatre.
C higher-priced things would induce more regret if not used properly.
D full-price payers are real theatre lovers.
12 How to increase the happiness when making a better choice?
A use less time
B make more comparisons
C buy more expensive products
D limit the number of choices in certain situations
13 What is the best title for Reading Passage 1?
A Reasoning of Worse Choice Making
B Making Choices in Today’s World
C The Influence of More Choices
D Complexity in Choice Making
全文精析
段一：
（A）Americans today choose among more options in more parts of life than has ever been
possible before. To an extent, the opportunity to choose enhances our lives. It is only logical to
think that if some choices are good, more is better; people who care about having infinite options
will benefit from them, and those who do not can always just ignore the 273 versions of cereal
they have never tried. Yet recent research strongly suggests that, psychologically this assumption
is wrong, with 5% lower percentage announcing they are happy. Although some choices are
undoubtedly better than none, more is not always better than less.
精析：Americans today choose among more options in more parts of life than has ever been
possible before.
此句中有一个比较级，即 more... than 结构，但是出现了两个 more，其中和 than 构成结构
的是 options 前的 more，指如今和过去相比，拥有了更多的选择，而位于 parts 前的 more
是指在更多的生活方面中，其实也是将现在的生活 parts 与过去的进行比较。Choose among：
“ 在 ... 选择 ”。 这 里可供 选 择的 对象 至少 有三个 ， 如果 在两 者之 中选择 就是 choose
between...and...。Than 其实是关系代词，在从句中既表示比较意义，又做主语，谓语为 has，
还原 than 其实就是 compared with the options of that which。例句：I don’t think this is any
better than was ordered.后面的 has ever been 是一个现在完成时的被动语态，指过去原来有
的选择，表示美国人在过去就已经进行了选择，动作在当时就已经完成了。而这里使用被动
语态是因为其实主语是指 options，而 options 是被选择的。
To an extent, the opportunity to choose enhances our lives. It is only logical to think that if
some choices are good, more is better; people who care about having infinite options will
benefit from them, and those who do not can always just ignore the 273 versions of cereal they
have never tried.
To an extent：固定搭配，“在一定程度上；到达…程度”，可以用于作文中。这里的 to choose
是一个做定语的不定式，修饰线面的 opportunity，因为不定式做定语通常要放在被修饰的
词后。It is only logical to think that 句中 it 是作形式主语，真正的主语是后面 that 引导的从句，
例句：It is impossible that we wait for him right now。That 后面是一个 if 引导的现在真实条件
句，主句和从句都使用现在一般时，表示以一般逻辑推演对即将发生的动作的假设。People
后面的 who 引导了一个定语从句，修饰 people，主句的谓语动词为 will benefit。Care about：
介词短语，“关心，在乎”，about 是一个介词，后面+doing。Benefit from：“从...中受益”。
Those 后面的 who 引导从句其实是和前一句相应的，
完整的就是 who do not care about having
infinite options，主句的谓语动词为 ignore。Version：一般是“版本”的意思，在这里比较特
别是
“种类”
。
Cereal 后面是一个省略了 that 的定语从句。例句：
This is the factory that we visited
yesterday。
Yet recent research strongly suggests that, psychologically this assumption is wrong, with 5%
lower percentage announcing they are happy.
Suggest 后面的 that 引导了一个宾语从句，psychologically 修饰的是动词 suggest。其中 suggest
意为“表示，显示”，没有推测之意，所以不用虚拟语气。With 后面引导的一个独立主格
结构，主语是 5% ，与谓语 announce 之间是主动关系，所以使用了-ing 形式，其实这个 5%
是指前面 research 中调查的人。Announce 后面是一个省略了 that 的宾语从句，例句：I know
(that) you have met him. I told him (that) he was wrong。
Although some choices are undoubtedly better than none, more is not always better than less.
Although：连词，“虽然”，不能和 but 之类的词连用，但可与 yet，still 连用。Undoubtedly:
“无疑地”，前缀 un-表示否定意义，
“不，做相反动作”，相似构词还有 unknown，uncommon，
unfair。词根为 doubt，加上-ed 变为过去分词形式，和副词后缀-ly。Better than：比较级，
“比...好”，指有 choice 比没有好，其中 none 是一个代词，=no choice。后面的主句中 more
和 less 也是代词的用法，其实省略了后面的 choices，结构和 although 引导的从句是一样的。
段二：（B）Recent research offers insight into why many people end up unhappy rather than
pleased
when
their
options
expand.
We
began
by
making
a
who
always
aim
to
make
the
best
between"maximisers(those
distinction
possible
choice )and"satisficers"(those who aim for “good enough, "whether or not better selections
might be out there).
精析：Recent research offers insight into why many people end up unhappy rather than pleased
when their options expand.
Offer：“提供”，一般的用法为 offer sb. sth./sth. to sb. ，常与 support 比较记忆，这里的
offer...into 接的双宾语，
其中 insight 是直接宾语，
Why 引导的从句是间接宾语，
例句：The young
man offered the old man his own seat on the bus。End up：动词短语，“最终成为[变得];最后
处于”，例句：If you don't know what you want, you might end up getting something you don't
want。Rather than：并列连词，“而不是”，连接 unhappy 和 pleased 两个形容词，类似意
义的 instead of 是一个介词，后面要接动名词或者名词。后面的 when 引导了一个时间状语
从句，含义为“当……的时候”，例句：I want to be a teacher when I grow up.
We began by making a distinction between"maximisers(those who always aim to make the
best possible choice )and"satisficers"(those who aim for “good enough, "whether or not
better selections might be out there).
Begin by：“以…开始（说或做），先（说或做）”，by 是个介词，后面接 doing。Distinction：
是 distinct 的名词形式，
加上了名词后缀-ion，
distinction 的用法为+between A and B。Those who
其中 those 是指前面的 maximisers 和 satisficers，后面的 who 引导的是定语从句，例句：Those
who earn most pay most tax。Aim：+at doing sth.或者 at/for sth. “力求达到；力争做到 ”。
Enough：修饰可数名词或不可数名词,多放在名词后面，修饰形容词、副词、动词，多放在
后面。Whether or not ：“是否，无论”，whether 用作连词，引导让步状语从句。Out there
是指在 good enough 这个范围之外。
段三：(C) In particular, we composed a set of statements—the Maximisation Scale—to diagnose
people's propensity to maximise. Then we had several thousand people rate themselves from
1to7(from “completely disagree" to"completely agree”) on such statements as“ I never settle for
second best. " We also evaluated their sense of satisfaction with their decisions. We did not
define a sharp cutoff to separate maximisers from satisficers, but in general, we think of
individuals whose average scores are higher than 4(the scale's midpoint)as maximisers and those
whose scores are lower than the midpoint as satisficers. People who score highest on the test-the
greatest maximisers —engage in more product comparisons than the lowest scorers, both
before and after they make purchasing decisions, and they take longer to decide what to buy.
When satisficers find an item that meets their standards, they stop looking. But maximisers exert
enormous effort reading labels, checking out consumer magazines and trying new products. They
also spend more time comparing their purchasing decisions with those of others.
精析：In particular, we composed a set of statements—the Maximisation Scale—to diagnose
people's propensity to maximise.
In particular：固定搭配，“尤其，特别”=particularly。A set of：词组“一系列，一组”。
Statement：词根为 state，加上了名词后缀-ment，表示“说明，说法，声明”。这里的 To diagnose
是不定式表示目的，例句：He went out to buy a paper。
Then we had several thousand people rate themselves from 1to7(from“ completely disagree"
to"completely agree°”) on such statements as“ I never settle for second best. " We also
evaluated their sense of satisfaction with their decisions.
Several thousand：“几千”，相关词组还有 thousands of：“成千上万的”。From...to...：“从...
到...”。Rate：用作动词，“评估，定级”。such as：“例如”，表示列举，相当于 for example。
settle for second best：“居其二，退而求其次”，settle for：动词词组，“满足于”，second
best：“第二；居第二位的，次于最好的 ”=runner-up。Sense of satisfaction：“满足感”，
类似的词组还有 sense of justice 正义感，sense of humor 幽默感，sense of reason 理智。
Satisfaction 的词根为 satisfy，去掉 y 加上了名词后缀-ation。
We did not define a sharp cutoff to separate maximisers from satisficers, but in general, we
think of individuals whose average scores are higher than 4(the scale's midpoint)as maximisers
and those whose scores are lower than the midpoint as satisficers.
Cutoff：
合成名词，
“截止点，
界限”
，
由动词+副词构成，
相似结构还有 breakdown 等。Separate ：
+from sth./sb.，“分开，分离”。In general：固定词组，“总体上”。think of...as...：“把...
当作，认为是...”，这里的 whos 引导了一个定语从句，在句中做定语，其中 individuals 和
average scores 之间是所属关系，所以关系代词要使用 whose，后面的 those 其实就是
individuals，为了避免重复，所以使用代词 those，例句：But the most unfortunate are those
whose revolutions have succeeded。Midpoint：“中点，正中央”，前缀 mid-意为“中部”，
=middle，类似单词还有：mid-March，mid-afternoon。
People who score highest on the test—the greatest maximisers —engage in more product
comparisons than the lowest scorers, both before and after they make purchasing decisions,
and they take longer to decide what to buy.
People 后面的 who 引导的是定语从句，修饰 people，在从句中作主语，例句：The foreigner
who visited our class yesterday is from Canada。Score：用作动词，“得分”。破折号一般为
解释说明，the greatest maximisers 即是进一步说明 score highest。Engage in：“从事，忙于”，
in 为介词，后面+doing，该词组=be busy with。More than 是一个比较结构，将 people who score
highest 和 the lowest scorers 进行对比，前者比后者有更对的 product comparisons。
Both before
and after 中，before 和 after 是作为连词，由 and 连接，其实 before 后面是省略了重复部分
they make purchasing decisions。Make decision：固定搭配，“做决定，”。Take longer：“花
更长时间”，take 意为“花费”，后面多加时间。Decide 后面 to do 是动词不定式，而 what
则是不定式 to do 的逻辑宾语，
逻辑上的关系是 to buy what 表示要买什么.，例句：
I don't know
what to do。
When satisficers find an item that meets their standards, they stop looking. But maximisers
exert enormous effort reading labels, checking out consumer magazines and trying new
products. They also spend more time comparing their purchasing decisions with those of
others.
When 引导的状语从句，表示“当...的时候”，item 后面的 that 引导的是一个定语从句，that
在从句中做主语，先行词为 item。Meets their standards：表示“符合标准”时，要使用 meet。
Stop：+doing 表示停止做某事，指正在做的事，+to do 表示停止正在做的事，去做另一件事
情。Exert enormous effort：“付出巨大的努力”，后面+doing，与 exert 相关的词组，还有
exert influence on“影响”，十分常见，也可以用于作文中，例句：He exerted considerable
influence on the thinking of the scientific community on these issues。Check out：动词词组，
“检
查，结账退房，结账离开(诊所)”，需要注意的还有名词形式的合成词 checkout，表示“付
款台，付款处”。Spend 作为“花费”时，spend time /money (in) doing sth.“花费时间/金钱
做某事”，同义的 cost 用法为 sth. costs (sb.) ＋金钱，“某物花了（某人）多少钱”。Compare
的用法为+ A with/to B “与…相比”。Purchasing decisions 中的 purchasing 为现在分词做定语。
With those of others 其中的 those 是指前文的 decisions，others 指前面提到的 they。
段四：(D) We found that the greatest maximisers are the least happy with the fruits of their
efforts. When they compare themselves with others, they get little pleasure from finding out that
they did better and substantial dissatisfaction from finding out that they did worse. They are
more prone to experiencing regret after a purchase, and if their acquisition disappoints them,
their sense of well-being takes longer to recover. They also tend to brood or ruminate more than
satisficers do.
精析：We found that the greatest maximisers are the least happy with the fruits of their efforts.
When they compare themselves with others, they get little pleasure from finding out that they
did better and substantial dissatisfaction from finding out that they did worse.
Found 后面的 that 引导的宾语从句，例句：I think that he is the smartest in our class。Be happy
with:“因为...而高兴”，when 引导的是一个状语从句，例句：I was just reading a book when she
came into my room。Little 修饰不可数名词，few 修饰可数名词，都表示“很少”，pleasure
作为不可数名词，用 little 修饰。From 作为介词，后面+doing。Find out 后面的 that 引导了
一个宾语从句，例句：I was relieved to find out that my problems were due to a genuine
disorder。Better 后面的 and 作为连词，前后的结构应该对应，连接的是 little pleasure 和
substantial dissatisfaction。Dissatisfaction：前缀 dis-表示否定意义，“不”，相同构词还有：
dishonest, disappear, disorder，后面的 satisfaction 是 satisfy 的名词形式。
They are more prone to experiencing regret after a purchase, and if their acquisition
disappoints them, their sense of well-being takes longer to recover. They also tend to brood or
ruminate more than satisficers do.
Be prone to：动词词组，“有…的倾向，易于”，后面+doing。Disappoint：意为“使失望”，
所以主语为 acquisition，宾语为人 them，
“使 them 失望”，例句：The movie had disappointed
her。Sense of well-being：“幸福感”。Recover：“恢复”，前缀 re-表示“重复，再”，类
似构词还有 restore，regain，recycle。Tend to：词组，“倾向于”，和 be prone to 意义相近。
这里的 more than 是一个比较级，比较的是 they 和 satisficers，后面的 do 是指 brood or
ruminate。
段五：(E) Does it follow that maximisers are less happy in general than satisficers? We tested this
by having people fill out a variety of questionnaires known to be reliable indicators of well-being.
As might be expected, individuals with high maximisation scores experienced less satisfaction
with life and were less happy, less optimistic and more depressed than people with low
maximisation scores. Indeed, those with extreme maximisation ratings had depression scores
that placed them in the borderline of clinical range.
精析：Does it follow that maximisers are less happy in general than satisficers?
这里的 it 作形式主语，真正主语是后面 that 引导的从句。Less than：比较级，“...比...少，...
不如...”。
We tested this by having people fill out a variety of questionnaires known to be reliable
indicators of well-being.
这里的 this 是指前一句话“Does it follow that maximisers are less happy in general than
satisficers? ”。By：“通过”，介词，后面+doing。Having people fill out：have sb. do sth.是
指让某人做某事,强调一次性的动作，have sb doing sth 是指让某人一直做某事,强调动作的持
续性、连续性或者动作的反复性，例句：The boss often has them working for 14 hours a day。
Fill out：短语，“填写（表格等）”，后面多加 form，application 等等。Questionnaires 后
面的 known 是过去分词作定语，修饰前面的问卷，两者之间是被动关系。Reliable：是 rely
加形容词后缀-iable 之后的变形。Indicators：“指示剂，指示者”，原形为 indicate，加上了
名词后缀-or，-or 一般表示人，类似构词还有： actor，translator，educator。
As might be expected, individuals with high maximisation scores experienced less satisfaction
with life and were less happy, less optimistic and more depressed than people with low
maximisation scores.
As 引导的是一个定语从句，修饰的是后面整个句子，as 在从句中做主语，指代后面整个句
子，句子与 expect 之间是被动关系，所以这里用的被动形式，例句：As is known , grammar is
over valued in education。Individuals 后面的 with 是介词，表示“随着，和”，作定语修饰
individuals。With life 后面的 and 连接的是 experienced 和 were，主语都是 individuals。
Indeed, those with extreme maximisation ratings had depression scores that placed them in
the borderline of clinical range.
代词 Those 做主语，指一类人，后面的 with+n.结构是修饰 those 的定语，谓语是 had，宾语
是 scores，
后面的 that 从句引导的是修饰 scores 的定语从句，that 在从句中作主语。Depression
是动词 depress+名词后缀 ion 之后的名词形式，“萎靡不振，沮丧”。Place：用作动词，“放
置”。Clinical：名词 clinic 的形容词形式，“临床的，诊所的;”，-al 是形容词后缀。
段六：(F) Several factors explain why more choice is not always better than less, especially for
maximisers.High among these are"opportunity costs. "The quality of any given option cannot be
assessed in isolation from its alternatives. One of the"costs "of making a selection is losing the
opportunities that a different option would have afforded. Thus an opportunity cost of
vacationing on the beach in Cape Cod might be missing the fabulous restaurants in the Napa
Valley. Early Decision Making Research by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky showed that
people respond much more strongly to losses than gains. If we assume that opportunity costs
reduce the overall desirability of the most preferred choice, then the more alternatives there are,
the deeper our sense of loss will be and the less satisfaction we will derive from our ultimate
decision.
精析：Several factors explain why more choice is not always better than less, especially for
maximisers.High among these are"opportunity costs. "
Why 引导的是一个宾语从句，做 explain 的宾语，例句： I can't imagine why he did that thing。
Better than：“...比...好”，less 和 more 相对应，后面省略了 choice。Especially：是形容词
especial 加上副词后缀-ly 之后的副词形式。High among these：these 指开头的 several factors。
这是一个倒装句，表示位置的副词位于句首时候，全部倒装。
The quality of any given option cannot be assessed in isolation from its alternatives.
Given 是过去分词作前置定语，修饰 option，它们之间是被动关系。Assess 与主语 quality 之
间也是被动关系，所以使用被动语态。In isolation from：“与...隔开”，isolation 是动词 isolate
加了名词后缀-tion 的名词形式，动词 isolate 的用法为 isolate sth./sb. from sth./sb，例句：
Punishment cannot be discussed in isolation from social theory。
One of the"costs "of making a selection is losing the opportunities that a different option
would have afforded.
One of：“...之一”，后面一般加可数名词复数。Costs of making a selection 其中 of 是介词，
所以用 make 的现在分词形式 making，Selection 是动词 select 加上名词后缀-ion 之后的名词
形式。That 引导的是定语从句，修饰前面的 opportunities，that 在从句中做宾语，例句：The
old man that I visited yesterday is my teacher。
Thus an opportunity cost of vacationing on the beach in Cape Cod might be missing the
fabulous restaurants in the Napa Valley.
Opportunity cost of vacationing：介词 of 表示“...的”，这里的 vacation 用作动词，表示“度
假”。
Early Decision Making Research by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky showed that people
respond much more strongly to losses than gains.
Research 后面的 by 表示使为者，Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky 是 Early Decision Making
Research 的负责人。Show 后面的 that 引导的是宾语从句，作 show 的宾语，但是从句结构
是完整的，that 只是一个引导的作用。Respond to：动词词组，“响应，对…作出反应”。
Much more...than：比较级，“远远超过，...比...多得多”，例句：I use the sense of sound much
more than the sense of sight。
If we assume that opportunity costs reduce the overall desirability of the most preferred choice,
then the more alternatives there are, the deeper our sense of loss will be and the less
satisfaction we will derive from our ultimate decision.
If 引导的条件句发生的可能性很大时，就使用一般现在时，为真实条件句。Assume 后面的
that 引导的宾语从句，that 只是一个引导的作用。Desirablility：原形是 desire，先加了形容
词词缀-able，又加了名词词缀-lity，变成了名词形式。Preferred 是过去分词做前置定语，修
饰 choice，与 choice 之间是被动关系。Then 后面是一个 the more...，the more...结构，引导
比较状语从句，表示“越……就越……”，例句：The more he gets,the more he wants，其中
前面的句子 the more alternatives there are 是状语从句,后面的句子 the deeper our sense of
loss will be and the less satisfaction 是主句，后面的 satisfaction 是 derive 的宾语，还原之后为
we will derive the less satisfaction from our ultimate decision。Derive from 在这里并不是词组，
derive 是“取得，获得”的意思，from 是指从 our ultimate decision 之中。
段七：(G)The problem of opportunity costs will be better for a satisficer. The latters"good
enough” philosophy can survive thoughts about opportunity costs. In addition, the"good
enough” standard leads to much less searching and inspection of alternatives than the
maximiser’s “best " standard. With fewer choices under consideration, a person will have fewer
opportunity costs to subtract.
精析：The problem of opportunity costs will be better for a satisficer. The latter’s"good
enough” philosophy can survive thoughts about opportunity costs.
这里的 the latter 是代词，指代前面的 a satisficer，例句：He tracked down his cousin and uncle.
The latter was sick。Enough 一般用于形容词后面，名词前面，这里的 good 是形容词，所以
enough 放在后面。Survive：原本意义为“幸存”，这里引申为“避免”的意思。Thoughts
后面的 about 是“关于”的意思，表示 thought 和 opportunity costs 之间的关系。
In addition, the"good enough”standard leads to much less searching and inspection of
alternatives than the maximiser’s “best " standard.
In addition：副词短语，“另外，除此之外”，可以用于作文中。Lead to：词组，“导致”，
同义短语还有：bring about，result in。Much less...than：搭配，意为“...比...少得多”，和
much more...than 意义相对，例句：She eats much less than you do。
With fewer choices under consideration, a person will have fewer opportunity costs to
subtract.
With+n.，修饰的是主语 a person，常用的结构还有 with ... taken into consideration。
Consideration 是动词 consider 加名词后缀-ation 的名词形式。Fewer 是 few 的比较级形式，
“更少”，相对的是 more，“更多”。
段八：(H) Just as people feel sorrow about the opportunities they have forgone, they may also
suffer regret about the option they settled on My colleagues and I devised a scale to measure
proneness to feeling regret, and we found that people with high sensitivity to regret are less
happy, less satisfied with life, less optimistic and more depressed than those with low sensitivity.
Not surprisingly, we also found that people with high regret sensitivity tend to be maximisers.
Indeed, we think that worry over future regret is a major reason that individuals become
maximisers. The only way to be sure you will not regret a decision is by making the best possible
one. Unfortunately, the more options you have and the more opportunity costs you incur, the
more likely you are to experience regret.
精析：Just as people feel sorrow about the opportunities they have forgone, they may also
suffer regret about the option they settled on.
Just as：副词短语，“正如”=at the same time as。 Opportunities 后面其实是一个省略了 that
的定语从句，修饰 Opportunities。Option 后面也是一个省略了 that 的定语从句，修饰 option。
My colleagues and I devised a scale to measure proneness to feeling regret, and we found that
people with high sensitivity to regret are less happy, less satisfied with life, less optimistic and
more depressed than those with low sensitivity.
Scale：“规模，等级体系”。Proneness 是 prone 的名词形式，后面的-ness 是一个名词后缀，
这里的 to 是介词，后面要加 doing，例句：Though proneness to boasting and waste has existed
for a long time, it is becoming more and more serious nowadays。Found 后面是 that 引导的宾语
从句，that 只是一个引导，在从句中不做成分。People with high sensitivity to regret 中 people
后面的 with 结构都是修饰 people，做定语。Sensitivity 的原形是 sense，先加上形容词后缀
-itive 变成了形容词 sensitive，然后加上名词后缀-ty 变成名词形式。Be satisfied with：固定
搭配，“对...满意”。depressed 是 depress 的过去分词形式，作形容词修饰人。句尾的 those
是代词，指 people。
Not surprisingly, we also found that people with high regret sensitivity tend to be maximisers.
Surprisingly：原形是 surprise，先是变成现在分词形式 surprising，表示“令人惊讶的”，然
后加上副词后缀-ly，表示“令人惊讶地”。Found 后面是 that 引导的宾语从句，that 只是一
个引导，在从句中不做成分。
Indeed, we think that worry over future regret is a major reason that individuals become
maximisers.
Think 后面是一个 that 引导的宾语从句，从句中 worry 是主语，over 表示“关于”，is 是谓
语。Reason 后面的 that 引导的也是宾语从句，先行词就是 reason。例句：The boy believes that
he will travel through space to other planets。
The only way to be sure you will not regret a decision is by making the best possible one.
To be sure 是一个不定式后置作定语，修饰 way，sure 后面的 you will not regret a decision 是
一个省略了 that 的宾语从句。整个句子的主语是 way，谓语是 is。By 是一个介词，所以后
面的 make 使用现在分词形式。One 指前面 a decision。
Unfortunately, the more options you have and the more opportunity costs you incur, the more
likely you are to experience regret.
整个句子的主要结构是一个 the more...the more...结构。Likely 在这里是一个形容词，后面句
子原本的顺序为 you are more likely to experience regret。
段九：(I) In a classic demonstration of the power of sunk costs, people were offered season
subscriptions to a local theatre company. Some were offered the tickets at full price and others at
a discount. Then the researchers simply kept track of how often the ticket purchasers actually
attended the plays over the course of the season. full-price payers were more likely to show up at
performances than discount payers. The reason for this, the investigators argued, was that the
full-price payers would experience more regret if they did not use the tickets because not using
the more costly tickets would constitute a bigger loss. To increase sense of happiness, we can
decide to restrict our options when the decision is not crucial. For example, make a rule to visit
no more than two stores when shopping for clothing.
精析：In a classic demonstration of the power of sunk costs, people were offered season
subscriptions to a local theatre company.
Classic：是 class 的形容词形式。Demonstration 的原形为 demonstrate，加上了名词后缀-tion。
Sunk 是 sink 的过去分词形式，过去式为 sank，是一个不规则的动词。People 与 offer 之间是
被动关系，所以使用了被动语态。Subscription 是 subscribe 的名词形式，加上了了-tion 的名
词后缀。
Some were offered the tickets at full price and others at a discount.
At full price：固定搭配，
“全价”，例句：If all retailers sold the book at full price, they would make
an estimated ￡ 68 million。 at a discount：“以折扣价”。
Then the researchers simply kept track of how often the ticket purchasers actually attended the
plays over the course of the season.
Kept track of：短语，“记录，与…保持联系”，例句：It's hard to keep track of time in here。
这里的 how 引导了一个宾语从句，how often：
“多久”，询问的是事情发生的频率。Purchasers：
原形为 purchase，加上了后缀-er，表示一类人，相同构词还有：teacher，buyer，driver。Play：
取“剧本”之意。Over the course of：指在一段时间内，可以用于作文中，例句：Over the course
of six years, 700 ideas have made their way into production。
Full-price payers were more likely to show up at performances than discount payers.
Be likely to：搭配，“可能”+do sth.。Show up：“出现，到场”。
The reason for this, the investigators argued, was that the full-price payers would experience
more regret if they did not use the tickets because not using the more costly tickets would
constitute a bigger loss.
The investigators argued 是一个插入语，句子的主语为 reason，谓语为 was，宾语是 that 引
导的一个宾语从句。That 从句中，if 引导的虚拟语气，是对现在的虚拟，所以从句是过去式，
主句是 would experience。Because 作为连词，连接的句子中动名词短语 not using the more
costly tickets 是主语，constitute 是谓语，宾语为 loss，例句：Collecting information about
children’s health is his job。Costly 虽然是副词后缀-ly 结尾，但是其实是个形容词。
To increase sense of happiness, we can decide to restrict our options when the decision is not
crucial. For example, make a rule to visit no more than two stores when shopping for clothing.
to increase 是不定式表示目的，“为了...”。Decide to 后面一般加 do，表示“决定做某事”。
Options 后面的 when 引导的是一个状语从句，表示“当...的时候”。Crucial：“重要的”，
可以用于作文中。No more than：副词短语，“至多，不超过”。
答案解析
1.题目意为：在 the Maximisation Scale 中对做决定进行了等级评定。由 the Maximisation Scale
可以直接定位到 C 段：In particular, we composed a set of statements—the Maximisation Scale
—to diagnose people's propensity to maximise. Then we had several thousand people rate
themselves from 1to7(from “completely disagree" to"completely agree”)这里说我们邀请了几千
人参加评定，以及后面第六行：we think of individuals whose average scores are higher than
4(the scale's midpoint)as maximisers and those whose scores are lower than the midpoint as
satisficers. 我们将得分高于四分的定为 maximisers，得分低于四分的定为 satisficers，由此得
出这几千人中既有 maximisers 又有 satisficers，所以参加评定的是两者都有。应该选 D 项。
2.题目意为：在做决定之前没有花费很多时间。定位到 C 段：When satisficers find an item that
meets their standards, they stop looking.意思为 satisficers 找到符合他们标准的东西之后，就
停止寻找了。与题目相符合，所以应该选 B 项。
3.题目意为：可能在未来后悔现在的决定。定位到 H 段：Not surprisingly, we also found that
people with high regret sensitivity tend to be maximisers. Indeed, we think that worry over
future regret is a major reason that individuals become maximisers. 意为 maximisers 会后悔的
可能性大，并且担心未来可能会后悔。与题目意思相符。所以应该选 A 项。
4.题目意为：在所有商品中选择价格最高的。通读全文，没有提到价格因素，那么就是二者
都没有，并且前面三题的答案都已经很确定，所以应该选 C 项。
5.题目意为：在当今世界，随着社会的财富增加，人们会变得更快乐。定位到 A 段第二句：
To an extent, the opportunity to choose enhances our lives.意为某种程度上，更多的选择是提
高了我们的生活质量。以及 B 段开头：Recent research offers insight into why many people end
up unhappy rather than pleased when their options expand. 中提到很多人在选择增加之后不
仅没有开心，反而变得不快乐了。这两句结合起来表明生活质量提高了，人们也没有更快乐，
与题目意思相悖，所以该题是 False。
6.题目意为：在社会中，最大化者的人数多于满足者。全文中并没有提到两者人数之间的比
较，所以是 Not given。
7.题目意为：人们一般对失去的反应要大于对获得的反应。定位到 F 段：Early Decision Making
Research by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky showed that people respond much more
strongly to losses than gains. 意为 Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky 的研究表明人们对失去
的反应比获得的反应更强烈，与题目意思相符，所以是 True。
8.题目意为：在做选择的研究中，女性和男性的反应都不一样。文中并没有提到男女之间的
对比，所以是 Not given。
9.题目意为：Maximisation Scale 的目的在于？选项 A 意为：当人们有更多选择时候会更幸福。
选项 B 为：衡量人们在做决定之后的感觉是什么。选项 C 为帮助人们做出更好的决定。选
项 D 为减少购买商品的时间。由 Maximisation Scale 定位到 C 段开头：In particular, we
composed a set of statements—the Maximisation Scale—to diagnose people's propensity to
maximise.意为：我们用 the Maximisation Scale 来诊断人们对于最大化倾向性，以及第四行：
We also evaluated their sense of satisfaction with their decisions. 意为我们也测试了他们对于
自己决定的满意度。也就是说 Maximisation Scale 就是为了测试人们在做决定之后是什么感
觉，与 B 项相符。
10.题目意为：根据文章，更多选择的结果是什么？A 项：人们可以更轻松地做出决定。B：
最大化着在做决定时会更开心。C：满足者将能更快做出明智的决定。D：人们将更有可能
后悔。定位到 H 段最后一句：Unfortunately, the more options you have and the more
opportunity costs you incur, the more likely you are to experience regret.意为：不幸的是，你有
更多的选择，就会遭遇更高的机会成本，你就会更有可能体验后悔。与 D 项相符。
11.题目意为：电影门票的例子说明了什么。A：人们在买门票时更喜欢用更多的钱。B：人
们不喜欢在电影上花更多的钱。C：更高价格的物品如果使用不当会引起更多的后悔。D：
付全票的人才是真正的电影爱好者。根据 theatre ticket 定位到 I 段倒数第三句： the full-price
payers would experience more regret if they did not use the tickets because not using the more
costly tickets would constitute a bigger loss. 意为：全票者如果没有使用这个电影票就会比打
折购买的人更后悔，因为没有使用这张昂贵的票意味着造成了更大的损失。与 C 项符合。
12.题目意为：如何在做出更好决定的时候提升幸福感？A：用更少的时间。B：做更多的对
比。C：购买更多昂贵的东西。D：在某些情况中限制选择的数量。根据题目中的 increase the
happiness 定位到 I 段的最后一句：To increase sense of happiness, we can decide to restrict our
options when the decision is not crucial. 为了增加幸福感，我们可以在决定不重要的时候限制
我们的选择。其中 restrict 与选项 D 中的 limit 相对应，options 与 choices 相对应。所以这题
应该选 D。
13.题目意为：这篇文章最好的题目是什么？A：做出糟糕决定的推理。B：在当今世界做决
定。C：更多选择的影响。D：做决定的复杂性。文章开篇就提到了如今选择越来越多，然
后探讨了更多选择反而致使人们更加不快乐，将人们分为 maximisers 和 satisficers，以及做
出选择会后悔的原因等等，这一切都是基于选择的多样化，所以文章的重点是 more choices，
与 C 项相对应。