Passage Two
If you've ever started a sentence with, "If I were you..." or found yourself scratching your headat a colleague's agony over a decision when the answer is crystal-clear, there's a scientificreason behind it. Our own decision-making abilities can become depleted over the course ofthe day causing indecision or poor choices, but choosing on behalf of someone else is anenjoyable task that doesn't suffer the same pitfalls.
The problem is "decision fatigue," a psychological phenomenon that takes a toll on thequality of your choices after a long day of decision making, says Evan Polman, a leadingpsychologist.
Physicians who have been on the job for several hours, for example, are more likely toprescribe antibiotics to patients when it's unwise to do so. "Presumably it's because it'ssimple and easy to write a prescription and consider a patient case closed rather thaninvestigate further," Polman says.
But decision fatigue goes away when you are making the decision for someone else. Whenpeople imagine themselves as advisers and imagine their own choices as belonging to someoneelse, they feel less tired and rely less on decision shortcuts to make those choices. "By takingupon the role of adviser rather than decision maker, one does not suffer the consequences ofdecision fatigue," he says. "It's as if there's something fun and liberating about makingsomeone else's choice."
Getting input from others not only offers a fresh perspective and thought process; it often alsoincludes riskier choices. While this sounds undesirable, it can be quite good, says Polman. "When people experience decision fatigue-when they are tired of making choices—they havea tendency to choose to go with the status quo (现状)," he says. "But the status quo can beproblematic, since a change in the course of action can sometimes be important and lead to apositive outcome."
In order to achieve a successful outcome or reward, some level of risk is almost alwaysessential. "People who are susceptible to decision fatigue will likely choose to do nothingover something," he says, "That's not to say that risk is always good, but it is related to takingaction9whereas decision fatigue assuredly leads to inaction and the possible chagrin (懊恼) ofa decision maker who might otherwise prefer a new course but is unfortunately hindered."
Just because you can make good choices for others doesn't mean you'll do the same foryourself, Polman cautions. "Research has found that women negotiate higher salaries for othersthan they do for themselves," he says, adding that people slip in and out of decision roles.
What does the author say about people making decisions?
本题的题干信息词是people making decisions，信息比较笼统，而且全文都在围绕人们做决定进行阐述，所以考生很难精确定位答案线索所在段落。这时我们可以根据出题顺序与原文顺序基本一致的原则，并采用排除法，逐一分析选项，最终锁定答案。
选项A说人们可能会因为给自己做了太多决定而疲惫不堪，文章第一段指出：“我们自己的决策力会在一天中慢慢耗尽，这会导致优柔寡断或者糟糕的选择，”紧接着第二段又指出这种现象的原因在于“决策疲劳”。显然选项A就是对“决策疲劳”的概念阐述，故为正确答案。选项B说人们给别人做决定时比给自己做决定时更谨慎，选项C说人们倾向于以他们认为对自己有利的方式做决定，这两项的内容文章中都没有提及，很容易排除。选项D说人们在决策能力方面表现出相当大的差异，文章虽然提到决策力的相关内容，但并没有指出人们在决策力方面的差异，所CAD选项也排除。
What does the example about the physicians illustrate?
根据题干中的信息词physicians，答案线索可以定位在文章第三段。
第三段提到：“连续工作几个小时后的内科医生更有可能给病人开抗生素，而这样做是不明智的。”作者给出的这个例子实际上是为了证明第二段的观点，即决策疲劳是一种心理现象，不断做决定的漫长一天结束后，你的决策质量会受到很大的影响。由此可知，举内科医生的例子就是为了说明决策疲劳可能会妨碍人们做出明智的决定，故选项C为正确答案。选项A太过绝对，同时也不能从所举的例子中概括出来，所以排除。选项B表达的内容是正确的，但不是作者举这个例子想要表达的观点。选项D在文中没有提及，而且也不是作者想表达的观点，所以排除。
When do people feel less decision fatigue?
根据题干中的信息词feel less decision fatigue，答案线索可以定位在文章第四段。
文章第四段第一、二句提到：“但是当你替别人做决定时，决策疲劳就会消失。当人们想象自己是建议者，想象他们做出的选择会成为别人的选择时，他们就不会觉得那么累。”由此可知，选项B是对该部分内容的同义转述，故为正确答案。选项A中decision shortcuts(决策捷径)指的是人们在遭受决策疲劳时会采取的行为，和题干要求相反，故排除。文章没有特别指出人们在做重大决定时会感到不那么疲劳，所以排除选项C。选项D是强干扰项，文章提到，当我们是advisers(建议者)时，我们会觉得不那么累，而选项D说的是我们求助于建议者时感到较少的决策疲劳，两者表达的不是相同的概念，故也排除。
What are people likely to do when decision fatigue sets in?
根据题干中的信息词decision fatigue sets in，答案线索可以定位在文章第五段。
文章第五段第三句话提到：“当人们经历决策疲劳时——当他们疲于做决定时——他们更倾向于选择安于现状。”选项D中的refrain from trying anything new是对原文中的choose to go with the status quo的同义转述，故为正确答案。选项A的干扰源来自physicians，文章给出内科医生的例子是为了说明人们在遭受决策疲劳时会做出不明智的决定，而不是求助于内科医生的建议，所以该选项排除。选项B的干扰源是make risky decisions，文章第五段开头提到听取别人的建议会带来更有风险的选择，与题干所问不符。选项C的干扰源是a totally new perspective，原文第五段首句提到听取别人的建议会获得一个全新的视角，与题干所问也不符，故也排除。
What does the passage say about taking some risk in decision making?
根据题干中的信息词taking some risk in decision making，答案线索可以定位在文章第六段。
文章第六段第一句提到：“为了取得成功的结果或者回报，某些程度的冒险几乎总是有必要的。”选项A是对该句话的同义转述，故为正确答案，其中原文中的achieve a successful outcome or reward对应选项A中reach the goal desired，原文中的essential对应选项A中的vital。因此选项A为正确答案。选项B的entail serious consequences在文中没有提及，故排除。选项C提到的creative在文中也没有提及，故很容易排除。选项D的干扰源来自第六段最后一句话，该句话指出决策者有可能因为决策疲劳而选择一条新路，但因不幸被阻止而懊恼不已，和选项D表达的意思不同，故排除。