My father is a smart man. He spent many years of his life listening to people’s arguments, first as assistant district lawyer and then as a judge. My dad knows rubbish rhetoric when he hears it.
One of his favorite phrases is: “If you don’t have anything smart to say, then don’t say it at all.” Yet, for all of his legal training and life experience, he can’t help but keep talking about the Mega Millions jackpot.
We all know the odds(幾率)of winning the jackpot this evening with one ticket are extraordinarily low ... 1 in 175, 711, 536, to be exact. Still, people go out and buy hundreds of tickets with the hopes of becoming wealthier beyond their dreams. Why? There are two possible explanations for this “irrationality”(不理智).
One idea is that the way we calculate odds in our heads has nothing to do with mathematical odds in the traditional sense. We don’t go to the mathematical odds table and say, “Well, this would be a terrible investment. I think I’m better off putting my money in the bank!” Rather, it has everything with the ability to picture an event happening.
My father, for instance, watches the news every night and sees people winning the lottery(彩票). Therefore, he thinks the chance of him winning the lottery is much higher than they actually are.
The second thought is that the expected effect of playing cannot be represented merely by the odds. My father and, I’m sure, others get a thrill from the mere idea of winning. He loves imagining what it would be like to actually win and losing doesn’t really affect him. Sure, he’s disappointed, but it’s “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” When you combine the utility of thinking you can win with the utility of actually winning (no matter how small the chance of that occurring), it’s worth it for many people to spend the one dollar on a ticket.
My analysis is that both factors are at play in taking a chance on the lottery. My father and others really do underestimate the odds of winning, but the thrill of participation is not denied by a realistic assessment of the odds. Still, I would probably put my finger on the scale for the first explanation.
All told, a review of the odds of other events happening confirms that there just aren’t many events that occur with less frequency than your winning the Mega Millions jackpot. Look at the graph below, you may understand some:

In many ways, it’s like the lottery, something that features often on television and about which people fantasize, but that rarely happens.
So, when you watch, along with my Pa, to see if your lucky number is drawn this evening, keep in mind three things: that your number almost certainly won’t come up; that you are still going to have fun; and that, finally, a lot of other things are more likely to happen—but getting eaten by a shark isn’t one of them.
【小題1】It can be learned from the article that ________.

A．the Mega Millions jackpot is the last lottery to win in the world
B．a(chǎn) judge in that country can’t talk about lottery because it is illegal
C．the writer doesn’t buy lottery, for he never hopes to become rich
D．In spite of little possibility, a lot of people spend money on lottery
【小題2】The function of the graph is to ________.
A．show chances that those things take place are fewer
B．support the writer’s arguments on the lottery tickets
C．indicate no one can win the Mega Millions jackpot
D．say shark attack death will seldom happen this year
【小題3】Which of the following do you think the writer would probably agree with?
A．If one has mathematical odds, he can win the prize more easily.
B．Only those who have irrationality buy hundreds of lottery tickets.
C．The Mega Millions jackpot is very popular in the writer’s country.
D．Winning lottery is a shortcut to achieve the dream of being rich.
【小題4】The underlined phrase “at play” in the 7th paragraph most probably means ________.
A．effectiveB．ridiculousC．contradictoryD．a(chǎn)stonishing
【小題5】What do you think is the best title?
A．The Popular Mega Millions JackpotB．Lottery is Merely a Trick
C．Mega Million is Like a Shark AttackD．Be rich, Buy Lottery Soon


【小題1】D
【小題2】B
【小題3】C
【小題4】A
【小題5】C

解析

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2012-2013學(xué)年河南省河南大學(xué)附屬中學(xué)高一上學(xué)期期中考試英語(yǔ)試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解

When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings. Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like ? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.“That’s just for you,” he said.“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.
【小題1】What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?

A．He told her not to pay any attention to what her “enemy” had said.
B．He criticized (批評(píng)) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings.
C．He told her to write down all that her “enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.
D．He refused to take the list and have a look at it.
【小題2】Why did her father listen to her quietly?
A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true.
B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show
this by keeping silent for a while.
C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.
D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.
【小題3】Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend
B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had
C．My Father
D．My Childhood

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：江蘇省三所著名高中2010屆高三下學(xué)期4月聯(lián)考 題型：閱讀理解


D
My father’s family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could
make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to
be called Pip.
As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them (for their days were long before the days of photographs), my first imagination regarding what they were like, were unreasonably from their tombstones. The shape of the letters on my father’s gave me a strange idea that he was a square, dark man , with curly black hair. From the character and turn of the words, “Also Georgiana Wife of the Above,” I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled（長(zhǎng)雀斑的）and sickly.
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A fearful man, all in grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been shivered; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.
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"Pip, sir."
"Once more," said the man, staring at me.  "Give it mouth!"
"Pip. Pip, sir."
“Show us where you live ,” said the man. “Point out the place!”
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I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized for my years, and not strong.
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He started, made a short run, and stopped and liked over his shoulder.
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“Oh!” said he, coming back.
“And mother’s there too, sir. And my five little brothers.”
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A
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