Question

    Wealthy people may be likely to be against redistribution of wealth, according to new research. The findings indicate that it is because people use their own neighborhoods and communities as a standard of how much wealth other people have, leading wealthy people to believe the bigger population as being wealthier than it actually is.

“If you're rich, there's good chance for you to know lots of other rich people and relatively few poor people； likewise, if you're poor, you're likely to know fewer wealthy people and more poor ones," says study co-author Robbie Sutton. "Even if people think objectively and follow rules of statistical inference, richer and poorer people may be led by the information available to them, to very different conclusions about how wealthy other people are, on. average, and how wealth is distributed across society. ”

"These results suggest that the rich and poor do not simply have different attitudes to how wealth should be distributed across society； rather, they subjectively experience living in different societies," adds Rael Dawtry, the study's lead author. "In the relatively richer America crowded by wealthier Americans, there is perhaps less need to distribute wealth more equally. " The findings suggest that attitudes toward wealth distribution come from more than just an economic motivation to protect one's self-interest or financially protective political ideologies （意识形态）----the information provided by our living environment also plays an important role.

The research covered over 600 US adults to complete an online survey in two studies. The participants were asked to estimate the distribution of household income for their social contacts and also for the whole US population in two studies—they estimated what percentage of people fell into each one of 11 income groups； then they estimated the average income of people within each income group. Then, the participants were asked how fair they thought income distribution in the US was and how satisfied they were with it. The participants also answered questions testing their attitudes toward redistribution.

To ensure that the findings were actually related to the individual s social circles and not some other psychological bias, the researchers then analyzed data from over 4,000 voters in New Zealand. The data showed that the relationship between voters' income and their perceptions of economic fairness in New Zealand was driven by the level of economic condition in their neighborhood.

"These results show the importance of examining ecological processes, in addition to political ideological or self-interest, for understanding economic preferences, says Dawtry. "Attitudes to redistribution and the economic position appear to be subject to informational biases in the environment as well as biases in the mind. " According to Sutton, the findings may also help to explain the political polarization （两极分化）observed in countries like the United States.

"As richer and poorer people increasingly live separated live, the information available becomes increasingly misunderstood, and increasingly different, he notes. "People are, effectively, living in an informational bubble, surrounded by people with incomes like theirs but unlike many other Americans."

1.What's the reason for incorrect conclusions on others' wealth?

A.The objective thoughts.

B.The improper information.

C.Disobeying rules of statistics.

D.The balance of wealth distribution.

2.What causes the difference in people's attitudes to wealth distribution?

A.Subjective judgment to societies they live in.

B.The biases against political ideologies.

C.The change of the surrounding environment.

D.Dissatisfying protection of self-interest.

3.What's the benefit of the research according to Sutton?

A.Making us understand economic preferences.

B.Giving us an explanation of the political polarization.

C.Making us consider political ideologies or self-interest.

D.Influencing our attitudes to wealth redistribution.

4.What's the title of the passage?

A.Wealthy People Are More Likely To Support Wealth Redistribution

B.Wealthy People Are More Likely To Have Right Information On Wealth

C.Having Wealthy Neighbors Keeps Beliefs On Overall Wealth Distribution

D.Having Wealthy Neighbors Misleads Beliefs On Overall Wealth Distribution

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.B

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。新的研究发现富人会更可能反对财富再分配，这一发现表明了人们会用自己邻里和社区作为标准来判断其他人有多少钱，这样富人就会错误地认为全体人口比实际上更富有。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句“Even if people think objectively and follow rules of statistical inference, richer and poorer people may be led by the information available to them”，可知即使人们客观思考、遵循统计推理规则，富人和穷人也会被他们可获得的信息带偏，故这些信息是“不合适的信息”，B选项正确。

2.细节理解题。定位到第三段第一句，“…rather, they subjectively experience living in different societies.”可知，富人和穷人对他们自己所在的社会的主观判断是导致人们对财富分配的态度不同的原因，故A正确。此外第三段的最后一句“more than just an economic motivation to protect one’s self-interest or financially prospective political ideologies”,可排除B、D项。C的“change”文中并未提到。

3.推理判断题。定位到倒数第二段“According to Sutton, the findings may also help to explain the political polarization observed in countries like the United States”,可知Sutton认为这个研究可以帮助我们解释政治两极分化。故选B。

4.主旨大意题。根据文章第一段，新的研究发现富人会更可能反对财富再分配，这一发现表明了人们会用自己邻里和社区作为标准来判断其他人有多少钱，这样富人就会错误地认为全体人口比实际上更富有。故D选项“有富裕的邻居会误导人们对总体财富分配的看法”正确。