Unit 6 Door closer, are you?

1 The next time you're deciding between rival options, one which is primary and the other which is secondary, ask yourself this question: What would Xiang Yu do?

1 下次你要在两个难于取舍的、主要的和次要的选择之间做决定时，不妨问自己这样一个问题：项羽会怎么做？

2 Xiang Yu was a Chinese imperial general in the third century BC who took his troops across the Zhang River on a raidinto enemy territory. To his troops' astonishment, he ordered their cooking pots crushed and their sailing ships burned.

2 项羽是公元前三世纪中国古代王朝的一位将军。他带领他的部队横渡漳河，突袭进入了敌方的领地。他下令砸锅烧船，令他的部队大为震惊。

3 He explained that he was imposing on them a necessity for attaining victory over their opponents. What he said was surely motivating, but it wasn't really appreciated by many of his loyal soldiers as they watched their vessels go up in flames. But the genius of General Xiang Yu's conviction would be validated both on the battlefield and in modern social science research. General Xiang Yu was a rare exception to the norm, a veteran leader who was highly respected for his many conquests and who achieved the summit of success.

3 他解释道，他强加给他们的是战胜对手的必要举措。他所说的无疑十分鼓舞士气，但当他那许多忠诚的士兵眼睁睁地看着他们的船只在火焰中被焚毁时，他们并不赞成他的做法。不过项羽将军的这种砸锅焚船的做法所显示出的天赋，在战场上和现代社会科学研究中都将得到肯定。项羽将军是一个罕见的不墨守成规的人，他是一位经验丰富的领袖，由于他征战无数并达到了成功的顶峰，他深受尊敬。

4 He is featured in Dan Ariely's enlightening new publication, Predictably Irrational, a fascinating investigation of seemingly irrational human behavior, such as the tendency for keeping multiple options open. Most people can't marshalthe will for painful choices, not even students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where Dr. Ariely teaches behavioral economics. In an experiment that investigated decision-making, hundreds of students couldn't bear to let their options vanish, even though it was clear they would profit from doing so.

4 丹・阿雷利极富启迪性的新书《可预见的非理性》对项羽作了专题介绍。这本书对看似非理性的人类行为，譬如人类总想留住多项选择机会的倾向，进行了引人入胜的调查。大多数人都不能整理自己的思路来做痛苦的选择，麻省理工学院上阿雷利博士行为经济学这门课的学生也不例外。在调查作决策的一项实验中，几百名学生都不能忍受眼睁睁看着他们的选择机会消失，即使他们很清楚这样做对他们有利。

5 The experiment revolved around a game that eliminated the excuses we usually have for refusing to let go. In the real world, we can always say, "It's good to preserve our options." Want a good example? A teenager is exhausted from soccer, ballet, piano, and Chinese lessons, but her parents won't stop any one of them because they might come in handy some day!

5 实验是围绕着一个游戏展开的，这个游戏排除了我们通常不肯放手的借口。在现实世界里，我们总会说：“保留我们的选择机会是对的。”想要一个好的例子吗？一个十多岁的女孩被足球、芭蕾舞、钢琴、中文课给累得筋疲力尽，但她的父母不会让她停止任何一项活动，理由是它们有一天可能会派上用场！

6 In the experiment sessions, students played a computer game that provided cash behind three doors appearing on the screen. The rule was the more money you earned, the better player you were, given a total of 100 clicks. Every time the students opened a door by clicking on it, they would use up one click but wouldn't get any money. However, each subsequent click on that door would earn a fluctuating sum of money, with one door always revealing more money than the others. The important part of the rule was each door switch, though having no cash value, would also use up one of the 100 clicks. Therefore, the winning strategy was to quickly check all the doors and keep clicking on the one with the seemingly highest rewards.

6 在这个实验里，学生要玩一个电脑游戏: 在电脑屏幕上会显示三扇门，每扇门后都会提供一些现金。该游戏的规则是每个人都只能点击100次，你点击获取的钱越多，你就玩得越好。学生每点击一次打开一扇门，他们会用掉一个点击数，但却不会得到任何钱。然而，随后接着在那扇门上的每次点击都会挣得数额不等的钱，三扇门显示的钱总有一扇比另外两扇多。这个游戏规则的重点是虽然每次换门没有金钱回报，可还是会用掉一次点击数。所以，制胜战略是要迅速查看所有的门，然后只点击那扇似乎是钱最多的门。

7 While playing the game, students noticed a modified visual element: Any door left un-clicked for a short while would shrink in size and vanish. Since they already understood the game, they should have ignored the vanishing doors. Nevertheless, they hurried to click on the lesser doors before they vanished, trying to keep them open. As a result, they wasted so many clicks rushing back to the vanishing doors that they lost money in the end. Why were the students so attached to the lesser doors? They would probably protest that they were clinging to the doors to keep future options open, but, according to Dr. Ariely, that isn't the true factor.

7 在玩游戏时，学生们注意到了一个视觉上的变化：如果有片刻没点击某扇门，那扇门就会慢慢缩小并消失。由于他们已了解了游戏规则，他们本应对要消失的门不予理睬。然而，在它们消失以前，他们却迫不及待地去点击那些变小的门，试图让它们开启着。结果是，他们在匆忙回去点击那些快消失的门时浪费了很多点击数以至于最后输了钱。为什么学生对那些变小的门如此依恋呢？他们可能会争辩说，他们紧抓住这些门是为将来多留一些机会。但是，据阿雷利博士说，这不是真正的原因。

8 Instead of the excuse to maintain future options open, underneath it all the students' desire was to avoid the immediate, though temporary, pain of watching options close. "Closing a door on an option is experienced as a loss, and people are willing to pay a big price to avoid the emotion of loss," Dr. Ariely says. In the experiment, the price was easily measured in lost cash. In life, the corresponding costs are often less obvious such as wasted time or missed opportunities.

8 在他们为将来多留一些机会的借口背后反映出的是所有的学生都不堪目睹眼前的选择机会被剥夺，尽管这种痛苦是临时的。阿雷利博士说：“每闭上一扇选择之门就如同经受了一次损失，人们宁愿付出很大的代价，也要避免情感的失落。”在实验中，损失很容易用丢失的现金来衡量。在生活中，相应的损失就往往没那么明显，如浪费时间，错过机会。

9 "Sometimes these doors are closing too slowly for us to see them vanishing," Dr. Ariely writes. "We may work more hours at our jobs without realizing that the childhood of our sons and daughters is slipping away."

9 “有时候，这些门是慢慢关闭的，我们没有看到它们在悄然消失，”阿雷利博士写道：“我们可能花很多时间在工作上，却没有意识到我们子女的童年正在悄悄溜走。”

10 So, what can be done to restore balance in our lives? One answer, Dr. Ariely says, is to implement more prohibitions on overbooking. We can work to reduce options on our own, delegating tasks to others and even giving away ideas for others to pursue. He points to marriage as an example, "In marriage, we create a situation where we promise ourselves not to keep options open. We close doors and announce to others we've closed doors."

10 那么，我们可以做些什么让我们的生活恢复平衡呢？阿雷利博士说，一个办法是制止更多的超额预约。我们可以自己减少选择，将任务委派给其他人，甚至放弃一些点子，让其他人去做。他用婚姻作为例子：“在婚姻中，我们承诺不保留选择机会，我们就创造了获得最佳选择的有利局面。我们关上可选择的门，并告诉别人我们已作出选择。”

11 Since conducting the door experiment, Dr. Ariely says he has made a conscious effort to lessen his load. He urges the rest of us to resign from committees, prune holiday card lists, rethink hobbies and remember the lessons of door closers like Xiang Yu.

11 阿雷利博士说，自从进行了这个点击门的实验，他已经有意识地努力减轻自己的负担。他敦促我们辞去委员会的工作，删减送节日贺卡的名单，重新思考兴趣爱好，并记住像项羽那样的关门者给我们的启示。

12 In other words, Dr. Ariely is encouraging us to discard those things that seem to have outward merit in favor of those things that actually enrich our lives. We are naturally prejudiced to believe that more is better, but Dr. Ariely's research provides a dose of reality that strongly suggests otherwise.

12 换言之，他是鼓励我们放弃那些似乎只有表面价值的东西，去追求那些能真正丰富我们生活的东西。我们很自然、很偏执地相信选择越多越好，但阿雷利博士的研究却强有力地告诉我们事实并非如此。

13 What price do we pay for trying to have more and more in life? What pleasure and satisfaction can be derived from focusing our energy and attention in a more concentrated fashion? Surely, we will have our respective answers.

13 我们想在生活中得到越来越多选择的代价是什么？我们能从更集中的精力和注意力中获得什么样的喜悦和满足？当然，我们每个人都会有自己的答案。

14 Consider these important questions: Will we have more by always increasing options or will we have more with fewer, carefully chosen options? What doors should we close in order to allow the right windows of opportunity and happiness to open?

14 试想一下这些重要的问题：怎么做会使我们获得更多，是不断增加选择，还是只保持少数精心挑选的选择？我们应关闭什么门，以便让机会和幸福之窗打开？

Detailed Study of Words

1.rival 

· a.

· (only before noun) used about a person or group that competes against sb. or sth. else 竞争的；对抗的

· Fierce fighting broke out between the rival groups. 敌对集团之间爆发了激烈的战斗。

· n.

· [C] a person, group, or organization that you compete with in sport, business, a fight, etc. 对手；竞争者

· Having good international contacts gives the company a competitive advantage over its rivals. 良好的国际社会关系使该公司具备了超过其对手的竞争优势。

2.secondary 

· a.

· not as important as sth. else 次要的；从属的

· Our father's health is what matters, and the cost of his treatment is of secondary importance. 我们父亲的健康是最重要的，他的治疗费用是次要的。

3.imperial

· a.

· (only before noun) relating to an empire or to the person who rules it 帝国的；皇帝的

· In our World History class today, we studied Britain's imperial expansion in the 19th century. 在今天的世界历史课上，我们学了十九世纪英帝国的扩张。

4.raid

· n.

· [C] a short attack on a place by soldiers, planes, or ships, intended to cause damage but not take control 突袭；袭击

· In case there is a foreign attack, the government installed air raid warning sirens throughout the country. 以防外来攻击，政府已在全国各地安装了空袭警报。

They made (staged / carried out) a daring raid on the enemy. 他们对敌人进行了大胆的袭击。

· vt.

· make a sudden military attack on a place （军队）突然袭击

· Police raided five houses in southeast London and recovered stolen goods. 警方突击搜查了伦敦东南部的五所房屋，并追回了被盗货物。

5.territory 

· n.

· [C, U] land that is owned or controlled by a particular country, ruler, or military force 领土；版图；领地

· They are still refusing to withdraw troops from the occupied territories. 他们仍然拒绝从被占领土撤军。

6.opponent

· n. [C]

· 1 sb. who you try to defeat in a competition, game, fight, or argument （竞争、比赛等的）敌手，对手

· He was a tough opponent in debate. 他是个很强硬的辩论对手。

· 2 sb. who disagrees with a plan, idea, or system and tries to stop or change it 反对者

Leading opponents of the proposed cuts in defense spending will meet later today. 建议削减国防开支的主要反对者会在今天的晚些时候见面。●

7.motivate

· vt.

· make sb. feel determined to do sth. or enthusiastic about doing it 激励；激发…的积极性

· The company's profit-sharing plan is designed to motivate its staff to work hard. 该公司的利润分红计划旨在激励员工努力工作。

8.loyal

· a.

· always supporting your friends, principles, country, etc. 忠贞的；忠实的；忠诚的

· When all her other friends deserted her, Steve still remained loyal. 当其他朋友都抛弃她时，史蒂夫仍对她保持忠诚。

Jack has been a loyal worker in this company for almost 50 years. 将近五十年的时间里，杰克一直是这家公司忠诚的员工。

9.vessel

· n.

· [C] (fml.) a ship or large boat 船；舰

10.genius

· n.

· 1 [U] a very high level of intelligence, mental skill, or ability, which only a few people have 天才；天赋

· From the age of three, she showed signs of a genius. 从三岁时，她就表现出天才的迹象。

During his childhood, the genius of this scientist went unrecognized. 这位科学家的天赋在他童年时代并未被发现。

· 2 [C] sb. who has an unusually high level of intelligence, mental skill, or ability 有天才的人；天才人物

· A real comic genius stimulates not only laughter but also thought. 一个真正的喜剧天才不但能引发笑声而且会引发思考。

11.conviction

· n.

· [C] a very strong belief or opinion 坚定的信仰（主张）

· The students possess the conviction that by helping poor people, they can make a difference in their community. 这些学生坚信，通过帮助穷人他们能为社区带来变化。

The foreign minister of this small country is a woman of strong political convictions. 这个小国家的外交部长是一位有坚定政治信仰的女性。

12.validate

· vt.

· (fml.) prove that sth. is true or correct, or make a document or agreement officially and legally acceptable 证实；使生效；使合法化

· Many scientists hesitate to accept the outcome and decide to wait until the results of the study are validated by future research. 许多科学家对接受这个研究结果犹豫不决，决定等该结果被今后的研究证实后再说。

13.exception

· n.

· [C, U] sth. or sb. that is different in some way from other people or things and so cannot be included in a general statement 例外；除外

· You must report on your progress here, every Tuesday, without exception. 你必须每周二无一例外地来这里汇报工作进展。

I like all kinds of films with the exception of horror films. 我喜欢各种的电影，但恐怖片除外。

Her books are always entertaining and this one is no exception. 她的书总是很有趣，这一本也不例外。

14.veteran

· a.

· very experienced and skilled in a particular activity 经验丰富的；老练的

· This famous actress is not only beautiful but also a veteran campaigner for human rights. 这位著名的女演员不仅美丽，而且是一位资深的人权活动家。

The veteran actor has said he is ready to direct a film for the first time in his life. 这位经验丰富的演员说，他已为他人生中首次导演影片做好了准备。

· n.

· [C] sb. who has been a soldier, sailor, etc. in a war 老兵；退伍军人

· The veterans of World War II are now old and gradually dying off. 第二次世界大战的老兵现已年老，并一个个离开了这个世界。

15.conquest

· n.

· 1 [C, U] the act of defeating an army or taking land by fighting 击败；征服；攻占

· The Roman conquest of northern Europe left many ancient Roman architecture in northern European countries. 罗马对北欧的征服使其在北欧国家留下了许多古罗马建筑。

Since ancient times, Jerusalem has seen numerous conquests and occupations. 自古以来，耶路撒冷多次被征服和占领。

· 2 [U] the act of gaining control of or dealing successfully with sth. that is difficult or dangerous （对艰难、危险事物的）攻克，征服

· The conquest of outer space is one of the greatest triumphs of modern science. 征服太空是现代科学最伟大的胜利之一。

16.summit

· n. [C]

· 1 (fml.) the greatest amount or highest level of sth. 某事物的顶峰；某事物的极点

· I am still young, and I certainly haven't reached the summit of my career. 我还年轻，我当然还没有达到我事业的巅峰。

· 2 an important meeting or set of meetings between the leaders of several governments 首脑会议；最高级会议；峰会

· World leaders will meet next week for their annual economic summit. 世界各国领导人将在下周齐聚年度经济峰会。

17.enlighten

· vt.

· (fml.) give sb. information about sth. so that they understand more about it 启发；指导；教导

· The object of his most recent novel is to amuse and enlighten the readers. 他最新的小说旨在娱乐和启发读者。

18.enlightening

· a.

· 具启发性的

· The instruction manual that came with my new computer wasn't very enlightening about how to operate it. 附在我新电脑中的说明书对如何操作这个电脑没啥指导作用。

19.publication

· n.

· 1 [C] a book, magazine, etc. 书；杂志；著作；出版物

· Our latest publication is a fashion magazine for both young women and men. 我们最新的出版物是专为年轻女子和年轻男子办的时尚杂志。

· 2 [U] the process of printing a book, magazine, etc., and offering it for sale 出版

· She was in England for the publication of her new book. 她到英国是为了她新书的出版事宜。

20.irrational

· a.

· not based on clear thought or reason 非理性的；不合理的；荒谬的

· The parents were worried by their son's increasingly irrational behavior. 这对父母对儿子越来越不理性的行为很是担心。

21.investigate

· vt.

· try to find out the truth about sth. such as a crime, accident, or scientific problem 查明，调查，侦查（犯罪、事故或科学问题的真相）

· After the bridge collapsed, engineers were investigating how a disaster like this could have occurred. 桥梁倒塌后，工程师们在调查怎么会发生这样的灾难。

22.investigation

· n.

[C] an official attempt to find out the truth about or the cause of sth. such as a crime, accident, or scientific problem （对犯罪、事故或科学问题等进行的正式的）调查，侦查●

23.marshal

· vt.

· organize thoughts, ideas, etc. so that they are clear, effective, or easy to understand 整理（思路、想法等）

· You should marshal your thoughts before speaking. 你说话前应当理清思路。

· An investigation has been under way for several days into the disappearance of a 13-year-old boy. 对一个13岁男孩失踪案的调查已持续了几天。

24.behavioral

· a.

· relating to the way sb. behaves 行为的；行为方式的

· She studied behavioral psychology at college. 她曾在大学学习行为心理学。

25.profit

· v.

· (fml.) give sb. an advantage 使…得到；有利于

· I think we have reached an agreement which not only profits management but also labor. 我想我们达成的协议对劳资双方都有利。

· n.

· [C, U] money that you gain by selling things or doing business, after your costs have been paid 利润；收益；盈利

· She makes a big profit from selling recycled materials to textile companies. 她将回收的材料卖给纺织企业，以此获取了巨大的利润。

Due to the ongoing recession, company profits are down on last year's figures. 由于连续的经济不景气，公司利润比去年少。

26.revolve

· v.

· move around like a wheel, or make sth. move around like a wheel （使）旋转

· The restaurant revolves slowly, giving customers an excellent view of the city. 餐厅慢慢地旋转，为顾客提供了这个城市绝妙的景观。

27.preserve

· vt.

· save sth. or sb. from being harmed or destroyed 维护；保护；保存

· The agreement preserved our right to limit trade with endangered species. 协议维护了我们对濒危物种进行贸易限制的权利。

We want to preserve the character of the town while improving its facilities. 我们要在改善设施的同时保留该镇的特点。

28.session

· n.

· [C] a period of time used for a particular activity, esp. by a group of people （一批人参加某项活动的）一段时间

· The 21-year-old runner twisted his ankle in a training session last Friday. 上周五的一堂训练课上，那位21岁的跑步运动员扭伤了他的脚踝。

29.fluctuate

· vi.

· change frequently 波动；起伏；涨落

· Her wages fluctuate between £150 and £200 a week. 她的工资每星期在150英镑和200英镑之间波动。

Vegetable prices fluctuate according to the season. 蔬菜价格会根据季节上下波动。

30.modify

· vt.

· (fml.) change sth. slightly, esp. in order to improve it or to make it less extreme 改动；修改；更改

· Instead of simply punishing them, the system encourages offenders to modify their behavior. 该制度鼓励罪犯改过自新，而不是一味地惩罚他们。

34visual

· a.

· (usu. before noun) relating to seeing 视觉的；视力的

· The tall tower adds to the visual impact of the building. 高高的塔楼增强了这栋大楼的视觉效果。

Artists translate their ideas into visual images. 画家把自己的思想转换成视觉画面。

35.protest

· v.

· 1 state very firmly that sth. is true, when other people do not believe you 坚持说；力言

· A young girl was crying, protesting that she didn't want to leave her mother. 一位年轻的女孩哭着坚持说她不想离开她的母亲。

The defendant protested that he had never been near the scene of the crime. 被告坚决声称他从没靠近过犯罪现场。

· 2 come together to publicly express disapproval or opposition to sth. 公开反对；抗议

· "I don't see why I should take the blame for this!" She protested. 她抗议道：“我不明白我为什么要受到这种指责！”

Groups of women took to the streets to protest against unequal pay based on their gender. 妇女团体走上街头，抗议由于性别而造成的不平等报酬. 

 36.cling 

· vi.

· (clung, clung)

· 

· 1 (~ to) continue to believe or do sth. even though it may not be true or useful any more 坚持，墨守（某事物）

· Her husband clung to the hope that she would be cured of cancer. 她丈夫一直抱着希望，认为她的癌症会被治愈。

· 2 hold sb. or sth. tightly, esp. because you do not feel safe （尤指感觉不安全而）紧紧抓住（抱住）

· Passengers from the sinking cruise liner clung desperately to the lifeboats. 下沉的游轮上的乘客们拼命抓住救生艇。

●37.factor 

· n.

· [C] one of several things that influence or cause a situation 因素；要素

· The price of this new product will be a crucial factor in its success. 新产品的价格将是其成功与否的关键因素。

Heavy snow was a contributing factor for the accident. 大雪是造成事故的主要因素。

38.underneath

· prep.

· 1 used for describing what sb. or sth. is really like, despite how they may seem 在…里面；在…背后

· Underneath her shy exterior, she's actually a very warm and friendly person. 在她腼腆的外表里面，她实际上是一个非常热情和友好的人。

· 2 directly under another object or covered by it 在…下面；在…底下

· They found a bomb underneath the car. 他们发现了汽车下面的炸弹。

The tunnel goes right underneath the city. 隧道正好在城市的下面。

39.temporary 

· a.

· continuing for only a limited period of time 暂时的；临时的

· Most adolescent problems are temporary. 大多数的青少年问题是暂时的。

We like Bill, but, unfortunately, his job here is only temporary. 我们喜欢比尔，不过可惜的是，他在这儿的工作只是暂时的。

40.restore

· vt.

· make sth. return to its former state or condition 恢复

· The former leader was restored power today in the first free election in 20 years. 在20多年来的第一次自由选举中，这位前领导人于今日重新掌权。

41.implement 

· vt.

· make sth. such as an idea, plan, system, or law start to work and be used 实施；执行；贯彻

· We have decided to implement the committee's recommendations in full. 我们已决定全面实施委员会提出的建议。

42.delegate

· vt.

· give part of your power or work to sb. in a lower position than you 授权，委托（权限）（给下级）；下放（权力）

· The job had to be delegated to a capable assistant. 这项工作必须委派给一个能干的助理。

· n.

· [C] sb. who has been elected or chosen to speak, vote or take decisions for a group 代表

· Around 350 delegates attended the conference. 大约有350名代表参加了大会。

43.prune

· vt.

· get rid of sth. you don't need or want, esp. in order to reduce the size or cost of sth. （尤指为缩减规模或降低成本）削减，裁减

· Companies must continually prune costs to stay competitive. 企业必须不断削减成本以保持竞争力。

44.discard

· vt.

· get rid of sth. 扔掉；弃置

· Don't discard food containers and bottles in the streets as this will pollute our environment. 不要把食品容器和瓶子丢在街上，因为这会污染我们的环境。

Always discard old and expired medications because using them may damage your health. 要常常丢弃旧的和过期的药物，因为服用它们可能会损害你的健康。

45.outward

· a.

· (only before noun) relating to how a person or situation seems to be, rather than how it really is 外表的；表面的

· This building is a great work of architecture, and its outward appearance has not changed for 200 years. 这栋楼是一个伟大的建筑，其外观两百年来都没有改变过。

46.prejudice

· vt.

· influence sb. so that they have an unfair or unreasonable opinion about sb. or sth. 使有偏见；使有成见

· Her opponent's comments may have prejudiced the voters against her candidacy. 她对手的评论可能已使选民对她的候选资格持有偏见。

· n.

· [C, U] an unreasonable opinion or feeling, esp. the feeling of not liking a particular group of people 成见；偏见

· Laws against racial prejudice must be strictly enforced. 必须严格执行反对种族偏见的法律。

47.prejudiced

· a.

· having an unreasonable opinion or feeling about sb. or sth. 有成见的；有偏见的

· Some companies are prejudiced against taking on employees who are over the age of 40. 一些公司对雇用40岁以上的员工是抱有偏见的。

48.dose

· n. [C]

· 1 (~ of) an amount of a particular quality 一份；一点

· She was born with a healthy dose of self-confidence. 她与生俱来就有一份健康的自信。

She's got a nasty dose of the flu. 她得了讨厌的轻度流感。

· 2 the amount of a medicine or a drug that you should take （药物的）一剂，一服；一次服用量

· The label says to take one dose three times a day to cure your flu. 标签上写着要一次一剂，一天三次来治愈流感。

49.respective

· a.

· (only before noun) belonging separately to each of two or more people or things previously mentioned 各自的；分别的

· Everyone would first go into the hall for assembly and then we'd go to our respective classes. 我们每个人都会先进入大厅参加全校大会，然后回到我们各自的班里。

We all went back to our respective homes to wait for news. 我们都各自回家等待消息。

Useful expressions

50.impose sth. on sb. 

· force sb. to have the same ideas, beliefs, etc. as you 将…强加于…

· To discourage people from smoking, very high taxes have recently been imposed on cigarettes. 为了阻止人们吸烟，最近已对香烟征收了很高的税。

51.be featured in 

· be included or shown as a special or important part of sth., or be included as an important part 在…中被专题介绍；被特写

· The teacher gave his students the homework assignment to visit some of the websites which were featured in the article. 老师给学生的家庭作业是浏览一些在文章中被专题介绍的网站。

52.profit from 

· get an advantage from a situation 从…中受益

· A lot of companies will profit from the fall in interest rates. 很多公司都将受益于利率下调。

I profited enormously from working with her. 我从与她一起工作中获益巨大。

She has certainly profited from spending a year in the United States. 她肯定受益于在美国呆过一年。

53.revolve around 

· have sth. as a main subject or purpose 以…为主题（目的）；围绕…

· The argument revolved around the project's costs. 争论的焦点是项目的费用。

Some people are very selfish and seem to think that the world revolves around them. 有些人很自私，似乎认为整个世界都以他们为中心。

Jane's life revolves around her children. 简的生活以孩子为中心。

54.be exhausted from 

· be extremely tired by 因…而筋疲力尽；因…而疲惫不堪

· Today, many people are exhausted from the stress in their life, their jobs, and their social activities. 如今，很多人都因生活、工作和社会活动的压力而疲惫不堪。

55.come in handy 

· be useful in a particular situation 派得上用场

· Like a birth certificate, a diploma would come in handy for future missions. 正如出生证，文凭会为将来的使命派上用场。

Don't throw that cardboard box away; it may come in handy. 不要把那个纸盒丢掉，以后可能用得着。

56.be attached to sth. / sb. 

· like sb. or sth. very much 喜欢（依恋）某物或某人

· The bird got so attached to her that it would take food from between her lips. 鸟是如此依恋她，以致它会从她的双唇间获取食物。

57.pay a big price to do sth. 

· do sth. at a high price 花很大代价做某事

· It is the most luxurious and beautiful villa I have ever seen; but the owner had to pay a big price to get it. 这是我所见过的最豪华和漂亮的别墅，但屋主得花很大代价才能得到它。

Xiang Yu paid a big price to burn his ships and belongings; but he could have paid an even bigger price if all of his men had died in the battle. 项羽烧毁他的船只和物品付出了巨大的代价，但如果他所有的士兵都死在战斗中的话，他付出的代价会更大。

58.be measured in sth. 

· be judged or assessed by sth. 用某事物来衡量

· Energy is measured in calories. 能量是用热量来计量的。

59.make an effort to do sth. 

· do sth. even though you do not want to or you find it difficult 尽量试着做某事；勉强试着做某事

I. 单词前测

II. 单词后测

试着在课文中找出下列短语的英文表达：

Detailed Study of the Text 

1 The next time you're deciding between rival options, one which is primary and the other which is secondary, ask yourself this question: What would Xiang Yu do? (Para. 1)

Meaning: The next time when you are to make a choice between two competing options, you have to distinguish which is the primary one and which is the minor one. To be enlightened, you can ask yourself what option Xiang Yu would choose.

Meaning beyond words: It suggests that Xiang Yu was a wonderful decision-maker. 

Note: The phrase rival options means that both options seem like good choices, but one choice is somewhat better than the other. In this case, it is the one that Xiang Yu chose to implement.

2 Xiang Yu was a Chinese imperial general in the third century BC who took his troops across the Zhang River on a raid into enemy territory. To his troops' astonishment, he ordered their cooking pots crushed and their sailing ships burned.(Para. 2)

      Meaning: Xiang Yu was an ancient Chinese general in the third century BC. He led his troops across the Zhang River to attack the enemy in its territory.

3 To his troops’ astonishment, he ordered their cooking pots crushed and their sailing ships burned. (Para. 2)

Meaning beyond words: To make sure his troops would win the battle quickly, Xiang Yu ordered the soldiers to crush their cooking pots and burn their sailing boats after he led his troops across the Zhang River to attack the enemy. This way, he closed the door for retreating from the enemy’s territory and sent out a clear message to his men that they only had two choices: to win the battle or die in the battle. However, his decision was obviously against normal practice, which greatly shocked his troops.

4 He explained that he was imposing on them a necessity for attaining victory over their opponents. (Para. 3)

Meaning beyond words: By having their cooking pots crushed and their sailing ships burned, Xiang Yu put his troops in such a desperate condition that they wouldn’t have any hope to escape but fight to survive and eventually win the battle. In other words, Xiang Yu gave his troops only one option.

Usage note: rival, opponent

rival 和 opponent 都可以用作名词， 都可以表示“ 对手”，但两者有区别。

1 rival 指在同一领域中为相同目标相竞争或相匹敌的对手。例如：

The United States’ biggest rival in technological advancement is Japan. 在技术进步方面， 美国最大的对手是日本。

2 opponent 指在某次竞赛或某个场合直接面对的对手。例如：

He’s the best opponent I’ve come across this season, a great player. 他是我本赛季遇到的最出色的对手，一位了不起的运动员。

比较：

The Los Angeles Lakers’ biggest rival is the Boston Celtics. 洛杉矶湖人队最大的对手是波士顿凯尔特人队。（指湖人队一直与凯尔特人队在争高低，其竞争对手多年来一直是凯尔特人队。）

The Los Angeles Lakers’ opponent in the 2010 NBA Finals is the Boston Celtics. 洛杉矶湖人队在 2010 年 NBA 总决赛中的对手是波士顿凯尔特人队。（指在 2010 年 NBA 决赛中湖人队的竞争对手是凯尔特人队。）

3 opponent 不能用作动词，rival 可用作动词，表示“竞争；与…相匹敌”。例如：

Ships can’t rival aircraft for speed. 轮船在速度方面无法与飞机匹敌。

5 What he said was surely motivating, but it wasn’t really appreciated by many of his loyal soldiers as they watched their vessels go up in flames. (Para. 3)

Meaning: Xiang Yu’s order of crushing the cooking pots and burning the sailing ships was definitely inspiring to his troops, but it was hardly valued by his faithful soldiers, who watched their boats burning.

go up in flames: suddenly begin burning in a way that is difficult to control 突然着火

The factory went up in flames last night. 昨晚工厂突然着火了。 

6 But the genius of General Xiang Yu’s conviction would be validated both on the battlefield and in modern social science research. (Para. 3)

Meaning: However, the high level of intelligence expressed in his strong belief would prove to be correct on the battlefield as well as in modern social science research.

Note: The word battlefield is a compound word, which is the combination of two nouns: battle and field. There are more examples of this kind of compound words: armchair, bedtime, birdhouse, birthplace, bookstore, etc. The meaning of many words from such a combination is easy to guess: battlefield — a place where a battle is being fought or has been fought. For example:

They carried the wounded soldiers from the battlefield. 他们把伤员从战场上抬了下来。 

7 General Xiang Yu was a rare exception to the norm, a veteran leader who was highly respected for his many conquests and who achieved the summit of success. (Para. 3)

Meaning: What Xiang Yu did was quite different from what was usually practiced. As an experienced leader, he was very much respected by his soldiers for his many amazing accomplishments, and his highest level of success.

Note: The word norm means “the usual or normal situation, way of doing sth., etc.”. Here it refers to a situation in which other commanders would surely do: Keep more options. an exception to: sth. or sb. that is not included in a general statement, or does not follow a rule or pattern 对…例外

Most basketball players are very tall, but he’s an exception to that rule; he’s relatively

short. 大多数篮球运动员都非常高大，但他是一个例外，他比较矮。 

8 He is featured in Dan Ariely’s enlightening new publication, Predictably Irrational, a fascinating investigation of seemingly irrational human behavior, such as the tendency for keeping multiple options open. (Para. 4)

Meaning: General Xiang Yu, together with his boat burning strategy, was introduced in Dan Ariely’s inspirational new publication, which examines unreasonable human behavior such as the unintentional desire to keep many options open.

Note: The title of the book Predictably Irrational describes an unreasonable or illogical behavior which is predictable because of the nature of human beings. It has to do with the hidden forces that shape people’s decisions. People sometimes make decisions based on irrational thought, and that’s why we see how certain mistakes are made again and again.

9 Most people can’t marshal the will for painful choices, not even students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where Dr. Ariely teaches behavioral economics. (Para. 4)

Meaning: Most people, including the students learning behavioral economics with Dr. Ariely at MIT, can’t think logically and make rational decisions when facing painful choices.

10 In an experiment that investigated decision-making, hundreds of students couldn’t bear to let their options vanish, even though it was clear they would profit from doing so. (Para. 4)

Meaning: In an experiment about decision-making, hundreds of students couldn’t tolerate the pain of seeing their options disappear, even though they knew that they would benefit in the long run if they let them go.

Meaning beyond words: This is a specific example of “predictably irrational” behavior of human beings mentioned earlier.

11 The experiment revolved around a game that eliminated the excuses we usually have for refusing to let go. (Para. 5)

Meaning: The experiment was focused on a game that rejected the excuses we normally have for not letting options go.

12 In the real world, we can always say, “It’s good to preserve our options.” (Para. 5) Meaning beyond words: In the real world, it is always reasonable for people to keep options for the future, so it seemed it’s not a mistake to keep doors open in the experiment. 

13 A teenager is exhausted from soccer, ballet, piano, and Chinese lessons, but her parents won’t stop any one of them because they might come in handy some day! (Para. 5)

Meaning: A teenage girl is worn out from attending classes of soccer, ballet, piano, and Chinese, but her parents won’t allow her to stop any one of them because they might be useful one day.

Meaning beyond words: It reflects human beings’ nature: The more, the better, though

14 In the experiment sessions, students played a computer game that provided cash behind three doors appearing on the screen. (Para. 6)

Meaning: During the period of the experiment, students at MIT played a game on the computer, where they could see three doors appearing on the screen. With each click on a door, students were able to find some cash behind it.

15 The rule was the more money you earned, the better player you were, given a total of 100 clicks. (Para. 6)

Meaning: The rule for the game was that each player could totally click 100 times to get the money that was behind the doors, and at the end of the game the person who earned the most money was the best player.

Sentence structure note: “The more …, the more …” 句型

1 “The more … , the more …” 句型表示“越…，（就）越…”， 是一个复合句，其中第一个the more 引出的句子是条件状语从句，后面的句子是主句。比较部分本身在从句中可以是宾语、状语、表语，也可以是主语。例如：

The more calories they burn up, the leaner they will become. 他们燃烧的卡路里越多就会越瘦。（比较部分 the more calories 在从句中是宾语。）

The more I observed, the more different categories I discovered. 我对鸟观察得越多，发现的不同类别就越多。（比较部分 the more 在从句中是状语。）

Clearly, the more successful and popular the artist is, the greater demands there are from TV, radio and the press. 显然，越成功越受欢迎的艺术家，越受电视、电台和报刊的青睐。

（比较部分 the more successful and popular 在从句中是表语。）

The more air there is inside the tire, the greater pressure there is in it. 轮胎里空气越多， 承受的压力就越大。（比较部分 the more air 在从句中是主语。）

2 若主句的谓语动词用一般将来时，从句是条件状语从句，其谓语动词要用一般现在时表示将来。例如：

The harder you work, the greater progress you will make. 你越用功，进步就越大。

3 “The more … , the more …” 句型的变化。若表示“越…，越不…”时，常用 “the more … , the less …” 句型； 若表示“越不…， 就越…” 时, 常用 “the less…，the more…”句型。例如：

The more she flatters me, the less I like her. 她越奉承我，我就越不喜欢她。

The less he worried, the better he worked. 他越不担心，工作就干得越好。

16 Every time the students opened a door by clicking on it, they would use up one click but wouldn’t get any money. However, each subsequent click on that door would earn a fluctuating sum of money, with one door always revealing more money than the others. (Para. 6)

Meaning beyond words: Even though the click on any door to open it wouldn’t earn any money, each click afterward would give a certain amount of money, with one door always having more money than the other two. To be the winner of the game, the students should quickly check all the doors first and then keep clicking on the one with the highest rewards.

17 While playing the game, students noticed a modified visual element: Any door left un-clicked for a short while would shrink in size and vanish. (Para. 7)

Meaning: In the process of the game, students noticed something changed on the screen: If they didn’t click a door for a short while, the door would become smaller and disappear eventually.

Meaning beyond words: In the game, an un-clicked door would become smaller and finally disappear — an analogy between closed doors in the game and closed future options in life.

18 Since they already understood the game, they should have ignored the vanishing doors. Nevertheless, they hurried to click on the lesser doors before they vanished, trying to keep them open. (Para. 7)

Meaning beyond words: Since students understood the game, they were expected to ignore the doors being closed. Nevertheless, students rushed to click these less important doors. This indicates they couldn’t bear the pain to lose any opportunities and had a strong desire to keep all the options open.

lesser: a. (fml.) (only before noun) not as large, as important, or as much as sth. else 更

小的；次要的；更少的

I’ll spend important holidays with family members and ask others to join me for lesser

holidays. 我会与家人一起过重要的节日，并请其他人和我一起过不甚重要的节日。  

19 As a result, they wasted so many clicks rushing back to the vanishing doors that they lost money in the end. Why were the students so attached to the lesser doors? (Para. 7)

Meaning: Just because students used up so many clicks were trying to keep the vanishing doors open, they lost money or the game in the end. Why were students so unable to see their future options vanish? 

20 They would probably protest that they were clinging to the doors to keep future options open, but, according to Dr. Ariely, that isn’t the true factor. (Para. 7) 

        Meaning: The students would probably argue that they were trying to hold the doors to keep future options open, but, according to Dr. Ariely, that wasn’t the real reason.

Note: protest 在表示“公开反对；抗议”时，常用作不及物动词，后接 about/against/at。在

美语中，protest 在表示“公开反对；抗议”时，也可用作及物动词。例如：

He protested the action in a telephone call to the president. 他在打电话给总统时，抗议了该行动。21 Instead of the excuse to maintain future options open, underneath it all the students’ desire was to avoid the immediate, though temporary, pain of watching

options close. (Para. 8)

Meaning: Keeping future options available was only an excuse. What students couldn’t bear was the immediate but momentary pain of watching options disappear.

22 “Closing a door on an option is experienced as a loss, and people are willing to pay a big price to avoid the emotion of loss,” Dr. Ariely says. (Para. 8)

Meaning beyond words: According to Dr. Ariely, closing a door on an option is felt as a loss. To avoid such an emotional loss, people would rather pay the high cost to keep all the doors of opportunity open.

23 In the experiment, the price was easily measured in lost cash. In life, the corresponding costs are often less obvious such as wasted time or missed opportunities. (Para. 8)

Meaning beyond words: In the experiment, the cost of keeping options open could be easily counted in lost cash, while in life the cost cannot be easily measured.

24 “Sometimes these doors are closing too slowly for us to see them vanishing,” Dr. Ariely writes. “We may work more hours at our jobs without realizing that the childhood of our sons and daughters is slipping away.” (Para. 9)

Meaning: According to Dr. Ariely, sometimes the doors in real life are closing slowly, so we don’t really see the future opportunities vanishing away visually. This is just like when we work long hours, we hardly notice that the childhood of our sons and daughters is disappearing.

Meaning beyond words: People are indifferent to the things which seem to be intangible and trivial to them. They keep themselves busy all the time, but they actually lose a lot in life. 

25 We can work to reduce options on our own, delegating tasks to others and even giving away ideas for others to pursue. (Para. 10)

Meaning: We can take the initiative to close our doors with too many options: Ask others to do our tasks and even give others our ideas to let them carry out our ideas.

26 He points to marriage as an example, “In marriage, we create a situation where we promise ourselves not to keep options open. We close doors and announce to others we’ve closed doors.” (Para. 10)

Meaning beyond word: Marriage is a good example when talking about closing doors of options in order to open windows of opportunity. We tell others that we are married and close the door to new relationships. Doing so makes our marriage successful.

27 So, what can be done to restore balance in our lives? (Para. 10)

Meaning: The tendency to keep all our doors open might have damaged our life already, but what can we do to make our life balanced again?

28 One answer, Dr. Ariely says, is to implement more prohibitions on overbooking. (Para. 10)

Meaning beyond words: In Dr. Ariely’s opinion, one way is to take action to limit the amount of things we schedule in our daily lives and to reduce the amount of things we plan to do in the future. We should simplify our lives.

overbook: v. sell more tickets than you have available 超额预订；超额订出

Planes are crowded, airlines overbook, and departures are almost never on time. 飞机拥挤不堪，航空公司超额售票，起飞时间几乎从未准点过。

Unfortunately, there has been a major problem with overbooking rooms among the hotels

here. 不幸的是，超额预订房间一直是这里的酒店一个主要的问题。

Note: The word overbook is a compound verb from the combination of over and book. Prefix over- combines with verbs to form new verbs. Words formed in this way indicate an action is done to a too large extent.

29 Since conducting the door experiment, Dr. Ariely says he has made a conscious effort to lessen his load. He urges the rest of us to resign from committees, prune holiday card lists, rethink hobbies and remember the lessons of door closers like Xiang Yu. (Para. 11)

Meaning: Since the door experiment, Dr. Ariely has consciously reduced his load. He urges people to quit committees, cut holiday activities, reconsider hobbies and learn the lessons from door closers like General Xiang Yu.

30 In other words, Dr. Ariely is encouraging us to discard those things that seem to have outward merit in favor of those things that actually enrich our lives. (Para. 12) 

       Meaning: That is to say, Dr. Ariely urges us to get rid of things that seem to have only surface value and to engage in those that can actually make our lives better.

31 We are naturally prejudiced to believe that more is better, but Dr. Ariely’s research provides a dose of reality that strongly suggests otherwise. (Para. 12) 

       Meaning: We are biased by nature to believe that it is better to keep more doors open, but Dr. Ariely’s research tells us that in reality the opposite is true: More is not necessarily better.

32 What price do we pay for trying to have more and more in life? What pleasure and satisfaction can be derived from focusing our energy and attention in a more concentrated fashion? Surely, we will have our respective answers. (Para. 13) 

        Meaning: We have paid a big price to keep more options and more material things, but I believe we can get greater pleasure and more satisfaction by focusing our energy and attention to fewer options and things. Of course, each one of us will have a different opinion.

33 Consider these important questions: Will we have more by always increasing options or will we have more with fewer, carefully chosen options? What doors should we close in order to allow the right windows of opportunity and happiness to open? (Para. 14)

Meaning beyond words: Closing doors in order to open windows of opportunity or keeping all the doors open remains an important question to everyone. If you are a door closer, the next question is what doors you should close in order to allow for the right windows of opportunity and happiness to open.

Note: The expression windows of opportunity is a high-frequency collocation meaning “an opportunity to do sth. that will only be available to you for a short time”, which implies individuals must be decisive before the windows close. The text indicates that closing the doors of irrelevant options is to open the windows of opportunity for success and happiness, but leaving too many doors open results in the windows of opportunity being closed.