2011同等学力英语二卷班——翻译讲义(郭崇兴老师(3)

Forthepastseveralyears,theSundaynewspapersupplementParadehasfeatureda

columncalled“AskMarilyn”.PeopleareinvitedtoqueryMarilynvosSavant,whoatage10hadtestedatamentallevelofsomeoneabout23yearsold;thatgaveheranIQof228—thehighestscoreeverrecorded.IQtestsaskyoutocompleteverbalandvisualanalogies,toenvisionpaperafterithasbeenfoldedandcut,andtodeducenumericalsequences,amongothersimilarwhatisthenatureofluckandClearly,intelligenceencompassesmorethanascoreonatest.Justwhatdoesitmeantobesmart?Howmuchofintelligencecanbespecified,andhowmuchcanwelearnaboutitfromneurology,genetics,computerscienceandotherfields?

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ForthepastdecadestelevisionandtechnologyexecutivesintheU.S.havebeen

promisingthatviewerswouldusetheirremotecontrolsforsomethingotherthanchannelsurfing.Well.we’veseenhowthat’sturnedout.VentureslikeMicrosoft’sWebTVflopped.InBritain,however,thatdreamhasbecomeareality.Thirty-onepercentofBritain’s26millionhouseholdshaveinteractiveTV,comparedwithonly8%intheUS.

HowdidBritain,acountrynotknownforitshigh-techpowers,achievesuchdominanceininteractivetelevision?BecausecablewasanoveltyinEnglanduntilrecetly,thecountrywasabletoskipagenerationoftechnologyandgostraighttodigitalTV,whileU.S.cable

companiesarestillupgradingtheirnetworks.Consumerbehaviordifferstoo.FewerBritonsownPCs,andthosewhohaveInternetaccess.

spendlesstimeonlinethanAmericans,makingthemmorewillingtoutilizeWeb-like

functionsontheirTVsets.

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Becausepeoplemakedecisionsbycomparingcostsandbenefits,theirbehaviormay

changewhenthecostsorbenefitschange.Thatis,peoplerespondtoincentives,Whenthepriceofanapplerises,peopledecidetoeatmorepearsandfewerappplesbecausethecostofbuyinganappleishigher.Atthesametime,appleorchardsdecidetohiremoreworkersandharvestmoreapples,becausethebenefitofsellinganappleisalsohigher.Aswewillsee,theeffectofpriceonthebehaviorofbuyersandsellersinamarketiscrucialforunderstandinghowtheeconomyworks.

Publicpolicymakersshouldneverforgetaboutincentives,formanypolicieschangethecostsorbenefitsthatpeoplefaceand,therefore,alterbehavior.Forexample,ataxongasolineencouragespeopletodrivesmallerandmorefuel-efficientcars.Italsoencouragespeopletotakepublictransportationratherthandriveaprivatecarortoliveclosertowheretheywork.