People can be addicted to different things—e.g., alcohol, drugs, certain foods, or even television. People who have such an addiction are compulsive, i.e., they have a very powerful psychological need that they feel they must satisfy. According to psychologists, many people are compulsive spenders: they feel they must spend money. This compulsion, like most others, is irrational—impossible to explain reasonably. For compulsive spenders who buy on credit, charge accounts are even more exciting than money. In other words, compulsive spenders feel that with credit, they can do anything. Their pleasure in spending enormous amounts is actually greater than the pleasure that they get from the things they buy.
There is a special psychology of bargain hunting. To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices and discounts. Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things they don't need just because they are cheap. They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game: when they can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning. Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior. a good reason for things that they do and the real reason.
It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also business people. Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business: they consider people's needs for love, power, or influence, their basic value, their beliefs and opinions, and so on in their advertising and sales methods.
Psychologists can often use a method called "behavior. therapy" to help individuals solve their personality problems. In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money.
According to the psychologists, a compulsive spender is one who spends large amounts of money ______.
A. and takes great pleasure from what he or she buys
B. in order to satisfy his or her basic needs in life
C. just to meet his or her strong psychological need
D. entirely with an irrational eagerness
Violent lyrics in songs increase aggression-related thoughts and emotions and could indirectly create a more hostile social environment, a study released on Sunday by a U.S. psychology association found. The Washington D. C.-based American Psychological Association (APA) released the study, resulting from five experiments involving over 500 college students, in the May issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
The violent songs increased feelings of hostility without provocation or threat, according to the study. It said the effect was not the result of differences in musical style, specific performing artist or arousal properties of the songs. Even the humorous violent songs increased aggressive thoughts, the study said.
The group said the study contradicts a popular notion that listening to angry, violent music actually serves as a positive catharsis for people.
The music industry came under criticism from lawmakers in October for failing to use more descriptive parental advisory labels that specify whether the music contains sex, violence or strong language:
But the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has said that current CD labels give parents enough information without violating the right to free expression. The RIAA is the trade group for the world's five big labels, including AOL Time Warner Inc., EMI Group Plc, Bertelsmann AG, Vivendi Universal's Universal Music and Sony Corp.
Results of the APA's experiments showed that violent songs led to more aggressive interpretations of ambiguously aggressive words and increased the relative speed with which people read aggressive versus non-aggressive words. "Such aggression-biased interpretations can, in turn, instigate a more aggressive response, verbal or physical, than would have been emitted in a nonbiased state, thus provoking an aggressive escalatory spiral of antisocial exchanges," said researcher Craig Anderson, in a statement.
While researchers said repeated exposure to violent lyrics could indirectly create a more hostile social environment, they said it was possible the effects of violent songs may last only a fairly short time.
The word "catharsis" in paragraph 3 most probably means ______.
A. an unpopular notion
B. the removal of strong feelings
C. an increase of aggressive emotions
D. the overreaction to violent lyrics
The less the surface of the ground yields to the weight of a fully-loaded truck, ______ to
A. the greater stress is
B. greater is the stress
C. the stress is greater
D. the greater the stress is
Rhode Island was the【C1】______ of American tennis: when the United States National Championships (now the United States Open) were inaugurated in 1881, they were played on the【C2】______ of the Newport Casino. Like Wimbledon, the 【C3】______ became known by its【C4】______ after it was moved to Forest Hills, N.Y., in 1915. That tournament was played on grass until 1975,【C5】______ clay courts were installed to equalize Grand Slam competition.
【C6】______ lawn tennis was devised as a more accessible【C7】______ of the old court game played in French chateaus, the manicured grass courts it【C8】______ were the playgrounds of the elite. Dirt courts brought another【C9】______ of tennis players into competition.
The【C10】______ of cement courts in the【C11】______ parks of southern California finally dispelled the sport's country-club image.【C12】______ , by the 1980s the word lawn had been【C13】______ from the names of all the associations that governed the game.
Tennis can be played by two persons in【C14】______ or by four in doubles. The【C15】______ of the game is to hit the ball【C16】______ a net and keep it in play【C17】______ the opponent loses the point by【C18】______ a good return. The playing area is【C19】______ into two service courts and a backcourt on each side of the【C20】______ . The service area on the player's right is called the deuce court; the one on the left, the ad court.
【C1】
A. cradle
B. basis
C. foundation
D. source