Section C: Reading Comprehension

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Three children in every classroom have a diagnosable mental health condition. Half of these are behavioural disorders, while one third are emotional disorders such as stress, anxiety and depression, which often become outwardly apparent through self-harm. There was an astonishing 52 per cent jump in hospital admissions for children and young people who had harmed themselves between 2009 and 2015.

Schools and teachers have consistently reported the scale of the problem since 2009. Last year, over half of teachers reported that more of their pupils experience mental health problems than in the past. But teachers also consistently report how ill-equipped they feel to meet pupils' mental health needs, and often cite a lack of training, expertise and support from the National Health Service.

Part of the reason for the increased pressure on schools is that there are now fewer early intervention and low-level mental health services based in the community. Cuts to local authority budgets since 2010 have resulted in a significant decline of these services, despite strong evidence of their effectiveness in preventing crises further down the line.

The only way to break the pressures on both mental health services and schools is to reinvest in early intervention services inside schools. There are strong arguments for why schools are best placed to provide mental health services. Schools see young people more than any other service, which gives them a unique ability to build meaningful relationships with them over time. Recent studies have shown that children and young people largely prefer to see a counsellor in school rather than in an outside environment.

There are already examples of innovative schools which combine mental health and wellbeing provision with a strong academic curriculum. This will, though, require a huge cultural shift. Politicians, policymakers, commissioners and school leaders must be brave enough to make the leap towards reimagining schools as providers of health as well as education services.

46. What are teachers complaining about?

A) There are too many students requiring special attention.

B) They are under too much stress counselling needy students.

C) Schools are inadequately equipped to implement any intervention.

D) They lack the necessary resources to address pupils' mental problems.

47. What do we learn from the passage about community health services in Britain?

A) They have deteriorated due to budget cuts.

B) They facilitate local residents' everyday lives.

C) They prove ineffective in helping mental patients.

D) They cover preventative care for the local residents.

48. Where does the author suggest mental health services be placed?

A) At home.

B) At school.

C) In hospitals.

D) In communities.

49. What do we learn from the recent studies?

A) Students prefer to rely on peers to relieve stress and anxiety.

B) Young people are keen on building meaningful relationships.

C) Students are more comfortable seeking counselling in school.

D) Young people benefit from various kinds of outdoor activities.

50. What does the author mean by a cultural shift (Line 2, Para. 6)?

A) Simplification of schools' academic curriculums.

B) Parents' involvement in schools' policy-making.

C) A change in teachers' attitudes to mental health.

D) A change in the conception of what schools are.

Passage Two

Picture this: You're at a movie theater food stand loading up on snacks. You have a choice of a small, medium or large soda. The small is $3.50 and the large is $5.50. It's a tough decision: The small size may not last you through the whole movie, but $5.50 for some sugary drink seems ridiculous. But there's a third option, a medium soda for $5.25. Medium may be the perfect amount of soda for you, but the large is only a quarter more. If you're like most people, you end up buying the large.

If you're wondering who would buy the medium soda, the answer is almost no one. In fact, there's a good chance the marketing department purposely priced the medium soda as a decoy, making you more likely to buy the large soda rather than the small.

I have written about this peculiarity in human nature before with my friend Dan Ariely, who studied this phenomenon extensively after noticing pricing for subscriptions to The Economist. The digital subscription was $59, the print subscription was $125, and the print plus digital subscription was also $125. No one in their right mind would buy the print subscription when you could get digital as well for the same price, so why was it even an option? Ariely ran an experiment and found that when only the two “real” choices were offered, more people chose the less-expensive digital subscription. But the addition of the bad option made people much more likely to choose the more expensive print plus digital option.

Brain scientists call this effect “asymmetric dominance” and it means that people gravitate toward the choice nearest a clearly inferior option. Marketing professors call it the decoy effect, which is certainly easier to remember. Lucky for consumers, almost no one in the business community understands it.

The decoy effect works because of the way our brains assign value when making choices. Value is almost never absolute; rather, we decide an object's value relative to our other choices. If more options are introduced, the value equation changes.

51. Why does the author ask us to imagine buying food in the movie theater?

A) To illustrate people's peculiar shopping behavior.

B) To illustrate the increasing variety of snacks there.

C) To show how hard it can be to choose a drink there.

D) To show how popular snacks are among movie fans.

52. Why is the medium soda priced the way it is?

A) To attract more customers to buy it.

B) To show the price matches the amount.

C) To ensure customers drink the right amount of soda.

D) To make customers believe they are getting a bargain.

53. What do we learn from Dan Ariely's experiment?

A) Lower-priced goods attract more customers.

B) The Economist's promotional strategy works.

C) The Economist's print edition turns out to sell the best.

D) More readers choose the digital over the print edition.

54. For what purpose is “the bad option” (Line 7, Para. 3) added?

A) To cater to the peculiar needs of some customers.

B) To help customers to make more rational choices.

C) To trap customers into buying the more pricey item.

D) To provide customers with a greater variety of goods.

55. How do we assess the value of a commodity, according to the passage?

A) By considering its usefulness.

B) By comparing it with other choices.

C) By taking its quality into account.

D) By examining its value equation.

Answers & Explanations

Passage One: Mental Health in Schools

46. D。题干问老师在抱怨什么。第二段末尾指出：teachers also consistently report how ill-equipped they feel... cite a lack of training, expertise and support（老师们感到能力不足...缺乏培训、专业知识和支持），也就是缺乏处理问题的资源，对应 D 选项 (They lack the necessary resources)。

47. A。题干问关于英国社区健康服务能了解到什么。第三段指出：Cuts to local authority budgets since 2010 have resulted in a significant decline of these services（自 2010 年以来，地方预算削减导致这些服务显著下降），对应 A 选项 (They have deteriorated due to budget cuts)。

48. B。题干问作者建议将心理健康服务设在哪里。第四段首句指出：reinvest in early intervention services inside schools（在学校内重新投资早期干预服务），并在下文论证了学校的最佳位置，对应 B 选项 (At school)。

49. C。题干问从最近的研究中了解到什么。第四段末尾指出：Recent studies have shown that children and young people largely prefer to see a counsellor in school rather than in an outside environment（最近的研究表明，年轻人非常喜欢在学校而不是在校外见辅导员），对应 C 选项 (Students are more comfortable seeking counselling in school)。

50. D。题干问“cultural shift (文化转型)”是什么意思。最后一段解释了这个转型：reimagining schools as providers of health as well as education services（重新将学校想象为健康和教育服务的提供者），也就是改变了学校的传统概念，对应 D 选项 (A change in the conception of what schools are)。

Passage Two: The Decoy Effect

51. A。题干问作者为什么让我们想象在电影院买食物。文章首段通过这个买饮料的例子，引出了下文“原本没人买中杯，但加上中杯后大家反而都去买大杯”这种不符合绝对理性的行为，也就是引出诱饵效应，对应 A 选项 (To illustrate people's peculiar shopping behavior 说明人们古怪的购物行为)。

52. D。题干问为什么中杯要这样定价（5.25美元，仅比大杯便宜0.25美元）。第二段指出，它是作为一个 decoy（诱饵），让你觉得买大杯很划算，对应 D 选项 (To make customers believe they are getting a bargain 让你觉得捡到了便宜)。

53. B。题干问从 Dan Ariely 的实验中了解到什么。第三段指出，《经济学人》加上了一个“坏选项”（同等价格的纯纸质版）后，made people much more likely to choose the more expensive print plus digital option（让人们更倾向于选择更昂贵的套餐），说明它的营销策略成功了，对应 B 选项 (The Economist's promotional strategy works)。

54. C。题干问“糟糕的选项”被加进去是为了什么目的。第四段解释了这种效应就是为了让人 gravitate toward the choice nearest a clearly inferior option（偏向最接近劣质选项的那个选项），实际上就是为了诱导消费者买更贵的，对应 C 选项 (To trap customers into buying the more pricey item 诱捕顾客购买更贵的商品)。

55. B。题干问根据文章，我们如何评估一件商品的价值。最后一段指出：Value is almost never absolute; rather, we decide an object's value relative to our other choices（价值几乎从不绝对；相反，我们是相对于其他选择来决定物品价值的），对应 B 选项 (By comparing it with other choices 通过与其他选项比较)。