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例1
People tend to be more impressed by evidence that seems to confirm some relationship. Thus many are convinced their dreams are prophetic(预言的)because a few have come true; they neglect or fail to notice the many that have not.Consider also the belief that "the phone always rings when I'm in the shower. "If it does ring while you are in the shower, the even will stand out and be remembered. If it doesn't ring, that nonevent probably won't even register(留下印象).
People. want to see order, pattern and meaning in the world. Consider, for example, the common belief that things like personal misfortunes, plane crashes, and deaths "happen in
threes. "Such beliefs stem from the tendency of people to allow the third event to define the
time period. If three plane crashes occur in a month, then the period of time that counts as
their "happening together" is one month; if three crashes occur in a year, the period of time
is stretched. Flexible end points reinforce such beliefs.
We also tend to believe what we want to believe. A majority of people think they are more intelligent, more fair-minded and more skilled behind the wheel of an auto-mobile than the average person. Part of the reason we view ourselves so favorably is that we use criteria that work to our advantage. As economist Thomas Schelling ex-plains, "Everybody ranks himself high in qualities he values: careful drivers give weight to care, skilled drivers give weight to skill, and those who are polite give weight to courtesy," This way everyone ranks high on his own scale.
Perhaps the most important mental habit we can learn is to be cautious(谨慎的)in drawing conclusions. The "evidence" of everyday life is sometimes misleading.
What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Happenings that go unnoticed deserve more attention.
B. In a series of misfortunes the third one is usually the most serious.
C. People tend to make use of evidence that supports their own beliefs.
D. Believers of misfortunes happening in threes are cautious in interpreting events.
浏览一下选项，B与D在原文找不到依据，而C与文章首句People tend to be more impressed by evidence that seems to confirm some relationship.意思不符，所以均应排除。文章第一段和第二段各举了一个例子：第一段指出人们因为一些梦想成真而忽视了多数梦想没有变成现实这一事实;第二段指出人们总是抱怨“每次淋浴电话就响”，但却忽视了大多数淋浴时电话并不响这一事实。这两个例子都说明人们易于记住表明某种关系的少数事件，而对多数事件注意不够。因此A为正确答案。
例2
Exchange a glance with someone, then look away. Do you realize that you have made a statement? Hold the glance for a second longer, and you have made a different statement. Hold it for 3 seconds, and the meaning has changed again. For every social situation, there is a permissible time that you can hold a person's gaze without being intimate, rude, or aggressive. If you are on an elevator, what gaze-time are you per- mitted? To answer this question, consider what you typically do. You very likely give other passengers a quick glance to size them up(打量)and to assure them that you mean no threat. Since being close to another person signals the possibility of interac-tion. You need to emit a signal telling others you want to be left alone. So you cut off eye contact, what sociologist Erving Golfman(1963)calls“a dimming of the lights.’’
It can be inferred from the paragraph thatA.every glance has its significance
B.staring at a person is an expression of interest
C.a gaze longer than 3 seconds is unacceptable
D.a glance conveys more meaning than words
浏览一下选项，可以先排除8与C，因为上文并未讨论这两点;再看一下文中的逻辑结构，刚开始几句从总的方面论述：Exchange a glance with someone，then look away.Do you realize that you have made a statement.*Hold the glance for a second longer，and you have made a different statement.Hold it for 3 seconds，and the meaning has changed again.每一瞥的含义随时间长短变化而变化，接着举例说明在不同场合中的具体情况。由此可知，A：每一瞥均有其本身的含义(即各瞥含义不同)为正确答案，D所提到的比较，在原文中找不到依据，应该排除。
例3
A teacher who continually draws attention to rewards or who hands out high grades for ordinary achievement ends up with uninspired students, Eisenberger holds. As an example of the latter point, he notes growing efforts at major universities to tighten grading standards and restore failing grades.It can be inferred from the passage that maj or universities are trying to tighten their grading standards because they believe .
A.rewarding poor performance may kill the creativity of students
B.punishment is more effective than rewarding
C.failing uninspired students helps improve their overall academic standards
D.discouraging the students’anticipation for easy rewards is a matter of urgencv
这是文中Eisenberger举的一个例子(第二句)，其目的是为了说明Eisenberger的观点：假如老师总是让学生关注奖励，或者对表现一般的学生也给高分，那么学生们最终都会不求进取――A teacher who continually draws attention to rewards or who hands out high grades for ordinary achievement ends up with uninspired students，A表达的正是此意。
