托福阅读材料之“姓氏效应”

 　　外国有研究说，姓氏字母在字母表中位置靠后的人，购物时做决定往往很迅速，并把这种现象叫做“姓氏效应”。估计这种情况在中国就不适用了吧。下面，就请跟新东方网托福频道一起，进入今天的托福阅读材料。

　　According to a new study, people whose surnames start with letters late in the alphabet may be the fastest to buy. What could possibly explain this weird¹ phenomenon, which the study authors dubbed² "the last-name effect"? The research didn't provide a definitive³ reason, but the authors offer an intriguing⁴ theory.

　　一项新的研究显示，姓氏首字母在字母表中位置越靠后的人在购物时做决定越快。研究人员将这种现象叫做“姓氏效应”。至于为什么会有这样奇怪的现象，该研究没有提供明确的解释，不过研究人员给出了一个比较有趣的理论。

　　Since America's obsession⁵ with alphabetical⁶ order often forces the Z's to the back of the line in childhood, they suffer. They were always the last to get lunch in the cafeteria —sorry, Young, the other kids bought all the chocolate milk again —and had to beg for the teacher's attention from the back of the classroom. So later in life, when the Z's —and even onetime Z's who became A's through marriage —see an item they really like for sale or are offered a deal, they jump on it, afraid that supplies won't last.

　　因为美国人一直热衷于按照字母顺序排队，所以姓氏字母靠后的人从小就开始遭受排在队尾的境遇。中午吃饭的时候，他们总是排在最后，轮到他们的时候，巧克力奶都卖光了;坐在教室后排的他们还得想办法吸引老师的注意。所以，长大以后，当这些总是排在队尾的人看到他们喜欢的东西或者合适的交易，他们会立马出手，生怕晚了就没了。

　　以上就是今天的材料，大家可以积累其中的高分词汇及句型，并且练习提升阅读速度，迅速找到托福阅读的主题句和出题点。

1 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

2 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

4 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

6 alphabetical   

adj.字母（表）的，依字母顺序的

参考例句：

• Please arrange these books in alphabetical order.请把这些书按字母顺序整理一下。
• There is no need to maintain a strict alphabetical sequence.不必保持严格的字顺。