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六级阅读答案
篇一：
Climate change may be
real
，
but it’s
still not easy being green
How do we convince our
inner caveman to be greener?We ask some
outstanding social
scientists
。
A) The road to climate hell
is paved with our good
intentions
。
Politicians may tackle polluters while
scientists do battle with
carbon
emissions
。
But the most
pervasive problem is less
obvious
：
our own
behaviour
。
We get distracted
before we can turn down the
heating
。
We break
our promise not to fly after hearing about a
neighbor’s rip to India。
Ultimately
，
we
can’t be bothered to
change our
attitude
。
Fortunately for
the planet
，
social science
and
behavioral economics may be able to
do that for us
。
B)Despite mournful polar
bears and carts showing carbon emissions
soaring
，
mot
people find it hard to believe that global warming
will
affect them
personally
。
Recent polls by
the Pew Research Centre in
Washington
，
DC
，
found that 75-80 per
cent of participants regarded
climate
change as an important
issue
。
But respondents
ranked it last
on a list of
priorities
。
C) This inconsistency
largely stems from a feeling of
powerlessness
。
“When we can’t actually remove the
source of our
fear
，
we tend to
adapt psychologically by adopting a range of
defense mechanisms
，” says
Tom Crompton，
change strategist for the
environmental organization World Wide
Fund for Nature
。
D) Part of the fault lies
with our inner caveman
。
Evolution has
programmed humans to pay
most attention to issues that will have an
immediate impact
。“We worry
most about now because if we don’t
survive for the next
minute
，
we’re not
going to be around in ten
years’ time，”
says Professor Elke Weber of the Centre for
Research
on Environmental Decisions at
Columbia University in New
York
。
If
the
Thames were lapping around Big
Ben
，
Londoners would face up
to
the problem of emissions pretty
quickly
。
But in
practice
，
our brain
discounts the
risks
—
and
benefits
—
associated with
issues that lie
some way
ahead
。
E) Matthew Rush
worth
，
of the Department of
Experimental
Psychology at the
University of Oxford
，
sees
this in his lab every
day
。
“One of the ways in which all agents
seem to make decisions is
that they
assign a lower weighting to outcomes that are
going to be
further away in the
future
，” he says。
“This is a very sensible
way
for an animal to make decisions in the wild and
would have been
very helpful for humans
for thousands of years
。”
F) Not any
longer
。
By the time we wake
up to the threat posed by
climate
change
，
it could well be too
late
。
And if
we’re not going
to make national
decisions about the future
，
others may have to help
us to do
so
。
G) Few political libraries are without
a copy of Nudge
：
Improving Decisions About
Health
，
Wealth and
Happiness
，
by Richard
Thaler and Cass
Sunstein
。
They argue that
governments should
persuade us into
making better decisions
—
such
as saving more in our
pension
plans
—
by changing the
default options
。
Professor
Weber
believes that environmental
policy can make use of similar
tactics
。
If
，
for
example
，
building codes
included green construction
guidelines
，
most
developers would be too lazy to challenge
them
。
H) Defaults are certainly
part of the solution
。
But
social
scientists are most concerned
about crafting messages that exploit
our group mentality(
心态
)
。
”We need
to understand what motivates
people
，
what it
is that allows them to make change
，”
says
Professor Neil
Adger
，
of the Tyndall Centre
for Climate Change
Research in
Norwich
。
”It is
actually about what their peers think
of them
，
what
their social norms are
，
what
is seen as desirable in
society
。” In other
words，
our inner caveman is continually
looking
over his shoulder to see what
the rest of the tribe are up
to
。
I) The passive attitude we have to
climate change as individuals
can be
altered by counting us
in
—
and measuring us
against
—
our peer
group
。
“Social norms are primitive and
elemental，” says Dr。
Robert
Cialdini
，
author of
Influence
：
The Psychology of
Persuasion
。
“Birds flock together，
fish
school together
，
cattle
herd togethe
r … just
perceiving norms is enough to cause people to
adjust their behavior in the direction
of the crowd
。”
J) These norms can take us
beyond good
intentions
。
Cialdini
conducted a study in San Diego in which
coat hangers bearing messages
about
saving ene
rgy were hung on people’s
doors。
Some of the
messages
mentioned the environment
，
some financial savings
，
others
social
responsibility
。
But it was
the one that mentioned the actions
of
neighbours that drove down power
use
。
K) Other studies show that simply
providing the facility for
people to
compare their energy use with the local average is
enough
to cause them to modify their
behaviour
。
The Conservatives
plan to
adopt this strategy by making
utility companies print the average
local electricity and gas
usage on people’s bills。
L) Social
science can also teach politicians how to avoid
our
collective capacity for self-
destructive behaviour
。
Environmental
campaigns that tell us
how many people drive SUVs unwittingly
(
不经意
地
) imply that
this behaviour is widespread and thus
permissible
。
Cialdini recommends some careful
framing of the message
。
“Instead
of normalising the
undesirable behaviour
，
the
message needs to
marginalise
it
，
for
example
，
by stating that if
even one person
buys yet another
SUV
，
it reduces our ability
to be energy-
independent
。”
M)
Tapping into how we already see ourselves is
crucial
。
The
most
successful environmental strategy will marry the
green message
to our own sense of
identity
。
Take your average
trade union member
，
chances are they will be politically
motivated and be used to
collective
action
—
much like Erica
Gregory
。
A retired member of
the
Public and Commercial Services
Union
，
she is setting up one
of 1
，
100 action groups with
the support of Climate
Solidarity
，
a two-year
environmental campaign aimed at trade
unionists
。
N) Erica is proof that a
great-grandmother can help to lead the
revolution if your get the psychology
right
—
in this
case
，
by
matching
her enthusiasm for the environment with a fondness
for
organising
groups
。
“I
think
there must be something in
it
。” She
is expecting up to
20 people at the first meeting she has
called
，
at
her
local pub in the Cornish village of
Polperro
。
O) Nick
Perks
，
project director for
Climate Solidarity
，
believes this sort of activity is where
the future of environmental
action
lies
。
“Using
existing civil society structures or networks
is a more effective way of creating
change … and obviously trade
unions are
one of the biggest civil society networks in the
UK
，” he
says
。
The “Love Food，
Haste
Was
te” campaign entered into a
collaboration last year with another
such network
—the Women’s
Institute
。
Londoner Rachel Talor joined the campaign with the
aim of
making new
friends
。
A year
on
，
the meetings have made
lasting
changes to what she throws away
in her kitchen
。
“It’s always more
of an
incentive if you’re doing it with other people，”
she says。
“It motivates you
more if you know that you’ve got to provide
feedback to a
group
。”
P) The power of such simple
psychology in fighting climate change
is attracting attention across the
political establishment
。
In
the
US
，
the House
of Representatives Science Committee has approved
a
bill allocating $$10 million a year to
studying energy-related
behaviour
。
In the
UK
，
new studies are in
development and social
scientists are
regularly spotted in British government
offices
。
With
the
help of psychologists
，
there
is fresh hope that we might go
green
after all
。
46. When people find they
are powerless to change a
situation
，
they
tend to live with it
。
47. To be
effective
，
environmental
messages should be carefully
framed
。
48. It is the
government’s responsibility to persuade people
into making environment-friendly
decisions
。
49. Politicians are
beginning to realize the importance of
enlisting psychologists’
h
elp in fighting climate
change
。
50. To find effective
solutions to climate change
，
it is
necessary to understand what
motivates people to make
change
。
51. In their
evolution
，
humans have
learned to pay attention to
the most
urgent issues instead of long-term
concerns
。
52. One study shows that
our neighbors’ actions are influential
unchanging our
behavior
。
53. Despite clear signs of
global warming
，
it is not
easy for
most people to believe climate
change will affect their own
lives
。
54. We would take our
future into consideration in making
decisions concerning climate change
before it is too late
。
55. Existing
social networks can be more effective in creating
change in people’s
behaviour。
参考答案：
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篇二：
In the 1962 movie Lawrence
of Arabia, one scene shows an American
newspaper reporter eagerly snapping
photos of men looting a sabotaged
train. One of the looters, Chief Auda
abu Tayi of the Howeitat clan,