【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 r more than 20 years—stood up and quickly headed to the back of the plane. She found the boy in the passage between rows of seats, lying on his belly, and lay down on her stomach to face him. She began chatting calmly with him, asking his name, his favorite book, and his favorite characters. He told her he felt sick and she tried to fort him.Minutes later, he allowed her to hold his hand—and then together they got properly back into airplane seats. Murphy asked for sick bags, and held them as the boy threw up several times, including on her. As she helped him clean up, she repeatedly told him everything would be okay and that they’d get through it together.After the plane was finally able to land, no one was impatient to step off the flight as one might expect. Instead, calmed passengers—obviously following Murphy’s amazing example—allowed the boy and his family to depart first, smiling at them as they passed. His parents tearfully thanked Murphy for what she had done, and a doctor sitting nearby also let her know he had even taken notes on her expert way of handling the situation.59. The landing was delayed because _____.A. a family ignored the warningsB. a boy refused to sit in his seat C. smoke was ing out of the engine D. the pilot was forced to change the destination60. Murphy successfully handled the “awful tension” by _____.A. fighting against unfair treatment B. calling on other passengers to join herC. municating with the boy D. asking an experienced doctor to help 61. What changed the angry passengers’ attitude at last? A. The boy’s improvement. B. The plane’s safe landing. C. The crew’s behavior. D. The teacher’s efforts.62. Which of the following words can best describe Murphy?A. Generous and cautious. B. Patient and enthusiastic.C. Wise and cooperative. D. Kind and coolheaded.C In some islands north of Scotland, head lice, which live on the hair or skin of people or animals, were a part of life. If the lice left their host, he became sick and feverish. Therefore, sick people had lice put in their hair intentionally. There was a method to their madness: As soon as the lice had settled in again, the patient improved. The story explains the confusion of cause and effect. If the lice leave the sick, it is because he has a fever and they simply get hot feet. When the fever breaks, they return. We may laugh at this story, but false causality misleads us practically every day. Consider the headline: “Fact: Women Who Use Shampoo XYZ Every Day Have Stronger Hair.” This statement says very little—least of all, that the shampoo makes your hair stronger. It might simply be the other way round: Women with strong hair tend to use Shampoo XYZ—and perhaps that’s because it says “especially for thick hair” on the bottle. A further example: Scientists found that long periods in the hospital did harm to patients. This was music to health insurers’ ears, who, of course, are keen to make stays as brief as possible. But, clearly, patients who are dismissed immediately are healthier than those who must stay on for treatment. Recently I read that students get better grades at school if their homes contain a lot of books. This study was surely a shot in the arm for booksellers, but it is also an example of false causality. This simple truth is that educated parents tend to value their children’s education more than uneducated ones do. Plus, educated parents often have more books at home. In short, a dustcovered copy of War and Peace alone isn’t going to influence anyone’s grades。 what counts is parents’ education levels, as well as their genes. Another example of false causality was the supposed relationship between the birth rate and the numbers of stork (鸛) pairs in Germany. Both were in decline, and if you plot them on a graph, the two lines of development from 1965 to 1987 appeared almost the same. Does this mean the stork actually does bring babies? Obviously not, since this was a purely accidental connection. In conclusion: Connection is not causality. Take a closer look at linked events: Sometimes what is presented as the cause turns out to be the effect, or just the other way around. And sometimes there is no link at all—just like with the storks and babies. 63. Which is an example of false causality? A. Women with strong hair tend to use a certain shampoo. B. Birth rate and the stork population are connected. C. Longer periods in the hospital benefit patients. D. Lice can make a person sick and feverish.64. The underlined phrase “a shot in the arm” in Paragraph 4 means _____. A. pain B. defeat C. guidance D. encouragement65. According to the author, students get better grades probably because _____. A. their homes are full of books B. they have read War and Peace C. their educated parents value education D. their parents are successful booksellers66. It can be concluded from the passage that _____. A. connections are pure accidents B. cause and effect are interdependent C. connections are mostly cause and effect D. linked events may turn out to be unrelatedD Would you rather be an impressive employee in an ordinary firm, or land a role at the most wellknown pany in your industry? The answer to that question might seem highly personal, based on factors like whether or not you are a petitive person and how much you enjoy a challenge. In fact, there’s another strong factor at play: People from different cultures react very differently to that question. The psychologists from the University of Michigan asked people theoretical questions about the decisions they take. Specifically, the researchers pared people with East Asian backgrounds and European American backgrounds. They found that Americans are much more likely to favor being a big fish in a small pond. East Asians, and specifically Chinese people, are much more likely than Americans to lean towards being