Question

Soaping up your hands may do more than just get rid of germs. It may wash away the inner confusion you feel right after being forced to make a choice between two appealing choices, according to a new study. The study builds on the past research into a phenomenon known as “the Macbeth effect” (麦克白效应）.

It turns out that Shakespeare was really onto something when he imagined Lady Macbeth trying to clean her conscience by rubbing invisible bloodstains from her hands.

A few years ago, scientists asked people to describe a past wrong act. If people were then given a chance to clean their hands, they later expressed less guilt than people who hadn't cleaned.

This finding interested W. S. Lee, a researcher. “Anything from the past, any kind of negative emotional experiences, might be washed away,” says Lee.

He decided to test hand washing's effect on one kind of bad feeling：the tension we feel after being forced to choose between two attractive choices, because picking one choice makes us feel that we've lost the other. People usually try to calm this inner conflict by later exaggerating (夸大）the positive aspects of their choice.

He had students rank 10 different music CDs. Then he offered students two of the CDs and told them to select one as a gift. Some students then used liquid soap. Others only looked at the soap or sniffed (闻)it. “Actually, you do not need water and soap,” says Lee.

Later, the students again had to rank all the music CDs. People who didn't wash their hands had the normal response — they scored their take-home CD higher, suggesting that they now saw it as an even more attractive one than before. But this wasn't true for the hand washers. They ranked the music about the same. “They feel no need at all to justify (证明…正确）the choice,” says Lee.

But the effects of it just aren't clear. Schwarz says it’s too soon to know whether people should head for a sink after making a tough choice. He says washing may help decision-makers by cleaning away mental disorder. But perhaps if they don't go through the usual post-decision process of justifying their choice, they might feel more sorrow in the long run.

1.“The Macbeth effect” refers to the fact that ______.

A. Lady Macbeth had a habit of washing hands

B. people feel less ashamed after washing their hands

C. Macbeth knew about the importance of cleaning hands

D. Shakespeare used to wash his hands before writing Macbeth

2.In Lee's experiment, those who didn't wash their hands after making a choice ________.

A. valued their choice more than before

B. felt regretful about their choice

C. wished they had washed their hands

D. didn't care about their choice

3.According to Lee, those hand washers consider justifying their choice ________.

A. scientificB. usefulC. unnecessaryD. convincing

4.What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?

A. Washing hands is a habit in our daily life.

B. Washing hands is to keep hands clean.

C. Washing hands will help you make a better choice.

D. Washing hands can reduce the stress of decision.

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：文章介绍了洗手的其他作用---麦克白效应，即通过洗手洗净以前的羞愧，减轻内心的不安和抉择时的压力和犹豫。

1. 推理判断题。根据文章内容可知，麦克白效应指的是通过洗手洗净以前的羞愧，减轻内心的不安和犹豫。故选B。

2. 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段People who didn't wash their hands had the normal response — they scored their take-home CD higher, suggesting that they now saw it as an even more attractive one than before.可知，测试中没洗手的人会更珍惜自己以前的选择，故选A。

3. 推理判断题。根据倒数第二段But this wasn't true for the hand washers. They ranked the music about the same. “They feel no need at all to justify (证明…正确）the choice,”可知，洗过手的人会认为没必要去证明他们选择的正确性，故选C。

4. 推理判断题。作者写作目的是告诉我们洗手能帮助我们减轻抉择时的压力和犹豫，故选D。

考点：考查研究发现类短文阅读。

【名师点睛】

推理判断题的常见考查形式及解题方法：

推理判断题属于主观题，是层次较高的题目。它包括判断和推理题。这两类题常常相互依存，推理是为了作出正确的判断，正确的判断又依赖于合乎逻辑的推理。此类题要求在理解表面文字的基础上，作出判断和推论，从而得到文章的隐含的意思和深层的意思，也就是通过文章中的文字信息，上下逻辑关系及事物的发展变化等已知的信息，推断出作者没有直接表达的态度和观点。

一、常见的推理判断题的考法：

1)推测作者写作目的或意图。第35小题作者写作目的是告诉我们洗手能帮助我们减轻抉择时的压力和犹豫，故选D.

2)推测文章的观点或结论。文章第32小题根据文章内容可知麦克白效应指的是通过洗手洗净以前的羞愧，减轻内心的不安和犹豫。故选B.

3)推断文章出处。

4)是非判断题。

5)逻辑排序题。

二、推理判断题的解题方法 ：

推理判断题不仅要求考生读懂文章中的每个句子的意思还要推理它们之间的关系，结合自己的生活常识和经验，再通过逻辑推理和判断，理解文章的言外之意，从而揭示文章的深层涵义。比如文章第34小题根据倒数第二段But this wasn't true for the hand washers. They ranked the music about the same. “They feel no need at all to justify the choice,”可知洗过手的人会认为没必要去证明他们选择的正确性，故选C.

任何一篇文章都有其特定的写作目的，读者应当知道如何去做或按照某种方式传递思考问题。推理判断题的答案不可能在文章中直接找到，因此推理时我们务必要忠于原文，在文章中寻找并确定可推论的依据，即：已知部分－推论的前提，从中推测出未知部分－推理的结论，切忌妄加评论，把自己的观点当成作者的观点。