Question

    Let’s suppose you have, oh, $40,000 to spare, and you’re out shopping for a shiny new car. You’ve never really cared about cars that much before, with perhaps hate for the car commercials you see every seven seconds during a televised sporting event. But now, you can afford one. So when someone mentions a certain kind of car—one that you’ve never heard of before—you’re interested.

Suddenly, the car is everywhere. It’s parked in front of your house. Your boss’s husband has one. You see two of them next to you in traffic on your way home from work. The car is even popping up in those commercials during the baseball game. So what exactly is happening here? Does this car suddenly come to take control of the cultural consciousness (意识)? Or is your consciousness playing tricks on you?

Welcome to the Baader-meinhof phenomenon (现象), otherwise known as the frequency illusion (频率幻觉). This phenomenon occurs when the thing you’ve just noticed, experienced or been told about suddenly appears constantly, It gives you the fleeing that pretty much everyone is talking about the subject, or that it is always surrounding you. And you’re not crazy, you are totally seeing it more. But the thing is: of course, that’s because you’re noticing it more.

A couple of things happen when the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon Kicks in. Your brain seems to be excited by the fact that you’ve learned something new and selective attention occurs. Your brain subconsciously thinks, “Hey, that’s amazing! I’m going to look for that thing without actually thinking about it.” So now that you’re looking for it, you find it. To make it all the more powerful,, confirmation bias (确认偏误) occurs after you see it even once or twice. In other words, you start agreeing with yourself that, yep, you’re certainly seeing it more.

Now if you’ve done a search for Baader-Meinhof, you might be a little confused, because the phenomenon wasn’t named after the person that researched it, or anything sensible like that. Instead, it was named after a West German terrorist group, active in the 1970s. The St. Paul Pioneer Press online commenting board was the surprising source of the name. In 1994, a commentator called the frequency illusion “the Baader-meinhof phenomenon” after accidentally hearing two references to Baader-meinmof within 24 hours The- phenomenon has nothing to do with the group, in other words. But don’t be surprised if the name starts popping up everywhere you turn.

1.According to Paragraph 1, why do you become interested in a car?

A.Because it often appears in your life.

B.Because you have the ability to buy one now.

C.Because it is always advertised on television.

D.Because you are successfully persuaded to buy one.

2.What might happen when the Baader-meinhof phenomenon occurs?

A.Something occurs more frequently than before indeed.

B.People around you start to focus on something you prefer.

C.You begin to pay more attention to a certain thing than before.

D.You always expect to learn something new about a certain thing.

3.How was the phenomenon named as Baader-Meinhof?

A.A terrorist group gave this name.

B.It was named after its researcher.

C.It was chosen by the commenting board.

D.A commentator gave this name by chance.

4.What might be the best title for the passage?

A.Why is your car everywhere?

B.Never be cheated by your illusion

C.How should you remove frequency illusion?

D.The discovery of the Baader- Meinhof phenomenon

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇夹叙夹议的文章。这篇文章作者用巴德尔-迈因霍夫现象解释了“为什么到处都是你的车”这一现象。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段But now, you can afford one. So when someone mentions a certain kind of car—one that you’ve never heard of before—you’re interested.（但现在，你买得起了。因此，当有人提到某种你从未听说过的汽车时，你就会感兴趣。）由此可知，你对汽车感兴趣是因为你现在有能力买一辆汽车。故选B。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段But the thing is: of course, that’s because you’re noticing it more.（但问题是:当然，那是因为你越来越注意到它。）由此可知，当巴德尔-迈因霍夫现象发生时，你开始比以前更关注某件事。故选C。

3.细节理解题。根据最后一段In 1994, a commentator called the frequency illusion “the Baader-meinhof phenomenon” after accidentally hearing two references to Baader-meinmof within 24 hours The- phenomenon has nothing to do with the group, in other words.（1994年，一位评论员将这种频率错觉称为“巴德尔-迈因霍夫现象”，因为他在24小时内无意中两次听到有人提到巴德尔-迈因霍夫现象，换句话说，这一现象与该组织无关。）由此可知，这种现象是一个评论员偶然提到了这个名字后，被命名为巴德尔-迈因霍夫的。故选D。

4.主旨大意题。根据第二段Suddenly, the car is everywhere.（突然间，汽车到处都是。）和So what exactly is happening here? Does this car suddenly come to take control of the cultural consciousness (意识)? Or is your consciousness playing tricks on you?（这里到底发生了什么?这辆车是不是突然控制了文化意识?还是你的意识在捉弄你?）以及第三段Welcome to the Baader-meinhof phenomenon (现象), otherwise known as the frequency illusion (频率幻觉).（欢迎来到巴德尔-迈因霍夫现象，又称频率错觉。）可知这篇文章作者用巴德尔-迈因霍夫现象解释了“为什么到处都是你的车”这一现象，所以这篇文章最好的题目是“为什么到处都是你的车”。故选A。