I had an experience some years ago which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to officiate at two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died out "full of years," as the Bible would say; both yielded to the normal wearing out of the body after a long and full life. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence calls on the two families on the same afternoon. At the first home, the son of the deceased woman said to me. "If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today: It's my fault that she died." At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said," If only I hadn't insisted on my mother's going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride, the abrupt change of climate, was more than she could take. It's my fault that she's dead." When things don't turn out as we would like them to, it is very tempting to assume that had we done things differently, the story would have had a happier ending. Priests know that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out badly, they believe that the opposite course-keeping Mother at home, postponing the operation- would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse? There seem to be two elements involved in our readiness to feel guilt. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds. The second element is the notion that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood. Psychologists speak of the infantile myth of omnipotence. A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to its tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that infantile notion that our wishes cause things to happen.
单选题
What is said about the two deceased elderly women? A. They lived out a natural life. B. They died of exhaustion after the long plane ride. C. They weren't accustomed to the change in weather. D. They died due to lack of care by family members.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】细节题。本题问有关这两个死者的说法哪个是正确的。根据第一段第三句“Both had died out 'full of years' as the Bible would say; both yielded to the normal wearing out of the body after a long and full life.”可知，这两位死者都是正常的死亡，所以答案为[A]。[B]她们因为长途旅行劳累过度而死亡；[C]她们不适应气候的变化；[D]她们凶为缺少家庭成员的关心而死亡。
单选题
The author had to conduct the two women's funerals probably because______. A. he wanted to console the two families B. he was an official from the community C. he had great sympathy for the deceased D. he was priest of the local church
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】推理题。本题问作者必须去参加这两个葬礼有可能是因为什么。从原文中看到，作者多次提到《圣经》中的词句，如“as the Bible would say”由此可以推断，作者是一个牧师，所以答案应该是[D]。[A]他想安慰这两家人；[B]他是社区里的官员；[C]他对死者非常同情。
单选题
People feel guilty for the deaths of their loved ones because______. A. they couldn't find a better way to express their grief B. they believe that they were responsible C. they had neglected the natural course of events D. they didn't know things often turn out in the opposite direction
单选题
In the context of the passage, "…the world makes sense"(Line 2, Para4), probably means that "______". A. Everything in the world is predetermined B. They world can be interpreted in different ways C. there's an explanation for everything in the world D. we have to be sensible in order to understand the world
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】词汇题。本题问从上下文来看，the world makes sense的意思应该是什么。根据文章，我们可以看出“the world makes sense”指的是下面所说的，即“there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens”。四个选项中，只有[C]项符合这句话的意思，所以答案为[C]。[A]世界上所有的事情都是注定要发生的；[B]世界可以从不同的角度来认识；[D]我们必须有敏锐的观察力才能认识这个世界。
单选题
People have been made to believe since infancy that______. A. everybody is at their command B. life and death is an unsolved mystery C. every story should have a happy ending D. their wishes are the cause of everything that happens
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】细节题。本题问人们自童年起就相信什么。根据文章最后一句话“Very often，we do not completely outgrow that infantile notion that our wishes cause things to happen”可知，选项[D]“所有的事情都是因为他们的愿望而发生的”为正确答案。[A]他们可以命令所有人；[B]生与死是个未解的难题；[C]所有的故事都应该有个完美的结局。