問題詳情：
To err is human. Society is suffering from an inability to acknowledge as much.
For individuals, errors are painful. The trick, then, is to err well: to recognize mistakes and learn from them. Worryingly, humanity may be getting worse at admitting its mistakes.
Few enjoy the feeling of being caught out in an error. But real trouble starts when the desire to avoid a punishment leads to a refusal to deal with contrary evidence. Economists often assume that people are sensible. When faced with a new fact, these people should update their view of the world to take better decisions in future. Yet years of economic research confirms that people frequently disregard information that conflicts with their view of the world.
Why should that be? Last year Roland Benabou, of Princeton, presented a framework for thinking about the problem. In many ways, beliefs are like other economic goods. People spend time and resources building them, and get value from them: some beliefs make owners feel good and show their public identity; other beliefs provide value by shaping behavior—for example, religious asceticism(禁慾主義) can help one avoid unhealthy habits.
Because beliefs, however, are not simply tools for making good decisions, but are treasured in their own right, new information that challenges them is unwelcome. People often engage in “motivated reasoning” to manage such challenges. Mr Benabou classifies this into three categories. “Strategic ignorance” is when a believer avoids information offering conflicting evidence. In “reality denial”， troubling evidence is rationalized(合理化)：real estate investors might make up fanciful theories for why prices should behave unusually, and supporters of a disgraced politician might claim the negative news to be fake. And lastly, in “selfsignalling”， the believer creates his own tools to interpret the facts in the way he wants: an unhealthy person, for example, might decide that going for a daily run proves he is well.
“Motivated reasoning” is a cognitive bias(偏見). Not all the errors it leads to are costly: praising the performance of one's supported football team despite contradictory evidence does little harm. But when biases are broadly shared—within financial world or political parties—danger arises. Motivated reasoning helps explain why viewpoints polarize (兩極分化) even as information is more easily available than ever before.
Work by Mr Benabou suggests that groupthink is highest when people within groups face a shared fate: when choosing to break from a group is unlikely to spare an individual the costs of the group's errors or bring much individual benefit. The incentive(動力) to engage in motivated reasoning is high as a result. Even as the fact on a particular issue is obvious, parties can still become increasingly polarized. That, in turn, can make it harder still for a member of one party to get any benefit from breaking from a group. Indeed, the group has an incentive to silence independent voices.
Public statements of regret are risky in a rigidly polarized world. Admissions of error can not only annoy partners but also provide opportunities for opponents. But it is rarely in the interest of those in the right to pretend that they are never wrong.
52．According to the passage, beliefs are similar to economic goods in that ________．
A．both are entertaining and valuable B．both can be shaped by religious faith
C．both can reflect who the owners are D．both promote religious development
53．Which of the following is an example of “selfsignalling”？
A．A fan speaks highly of his team although it has just lost the game.
B．A man covers his ears when stealing a bell, believing the bell won't ring.
C．Supporters of Trump believe the news about his affairs with a lady is fake.
D．Suspected AIDS carriers refuse to be tested though it can be done for free.
54．What can be inferred from Paragraphs 6 and 7?
A．Polarization causes individuals to break from the group.
B．Richer sources of information decrease motivated reasoning.
C．Individuals with independent voices are dismissed from the group.
D．Individuals in a group engage in motivated reasoning for their own interests.
55．Which of the following opinions might the author agree with?
A．Denying errors is unavoidable.
B．Failure to admit errors is harmful.
C．Humans are getting better at erring well.
D．Wise people ignore contrary worldviews.
【回答】
52．C
53．B
54．D
55．B
【分析】
本文是議論文，我們都會犯錯，正確的態度是勇於承認錯誤，認識錯誤並從中吸取教訓。我們不能假裝不犯錯，但現實生活中人類在承認錯誤方面越來越糟糕。
52．推理判斷題。根據第四段In many ways, beliefs are like other economic goods. People spend time and resources building them, and get value from them: some beliefs make owners feel good and show their public identity; other beliefs provide value by shaping behavior可知信念和經濟商品的相似之處：人們花費時間和資源來構建它們，並從中獲得價值。它們都能反映主人的身份和價值，故選C。
53．推理判斷題。根據第五段in “selfsignalling”，the believer creates his own tools to interpret the facts in the way he wants: an unhealthy person, for example, might decide that going for a daily run proves he is well.可知selfsignalling指的是信徒創造他自己的工具，以他想要的方式解釋事實，並且舉了不健康的人用跑步來掩蓋事實的例子。選項中B項掩耳盜鈴的例子就屬於“selfsignalling”，故選B。
54．推理判斷題。根據第六段Motivated reasoning helps explain why viewpoints polarize (兩極分化) even as information is more easily available than ever before.第七段that groupthink is highest when people within groups face a shared fate. That, in turn, can make it harder still for a member of one party to get any benefit from breaking from a group.可知動機推理有助於解釋為什麼當比之前更容易得到有效信息時，觀點兩極分化，更能在面臨共同的命運時，不脱離羣體，並且為自己的利益努力。故選D。
55．推理判斷題。根據第二段The trick, then, is to err well: to recognize mistakes and learn from them. Worryingly, humanity may be getting worse at admitting its mistakes.最後一句But it is rarely in the interest of those in the right to pretend that they are never wrong. 可知我們應該認識錯誤並從中吸取教訓。令人擔憂的是，人類在承認錯誤方面可能越來越糟糕。我們不能假裝不犯錯誤，由此可見作者認為不承認錯誤是有害的。故選B。
知識點：熱點話題
題型：閲讀理解
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