1 Read the first paragraph of an article about economics. What is ‘economics’?
Answers
Students’ own answers
2 Read the article on page 31 and choose the correct answers.
1 Why does the author consider that a pros and cons list isn’t very effective?
a It doesn’t take the relative importance into account.
b It gives a false illusion of control over the outcome.
c We only use it because we’re used to doing it.
d A problem isn’t always just about two alternatives.
2 The author implies that we put things off because:
a we are naturally inclined to be lazy.
b we don’t care enough about future benefits.
c we don’t have enough willpower.
d we don’t sufficiently analyse our motives.
3 What had the biggest impact on whether people ate the chocolate cake?
a how full they were feeling at the time
b how difficult they thought it was to get
c how friendly the researchers were
d how fond they were of chocolate cake
4 Which phrase could correctly replace ‘falling prey to’ in line 70?
a being left unaff ected by
b being damaged by
c being influenced by
d being enhanced by
5 What lesson does the author think we should learn from the law of diminishing returns?
a Don’t expect too much.
b Don’t make risky investments.
c Don’t do anything too obvious.
d Don’t overdo things.
Answers
1 a 2 c 3 b 4 b 5 d
3 Study the words in the box and discuss their meaning with a partner. Then replace the underlined parts of the sentences from the text with one or two synonyms from the box.
| bear in mind cancel out detrimental dispassionate impartial negate notion persevere pitfall plough on propensity snare |
1 Just one of the cons might easily outweigh all of the pros.
2 A cost-benefi t analysis allows you to be more objective.
3 There are also other costs to take into account, such as the cost in your time.
4 People have a tendency to overvalue immediate rewards.
5 Another trap is the sunk-cost fallacy.
6 Because you have already invested, you should persist no matter what.
7 After a certain point, investing more money does not lead to increased benefi ts, and may even have a damaging impact.
8 Nowadays, it’s worth considering this concept when it comes to free social media sites.
Answers
1 cancel out / negate 2 dispassionate / impartial 3 bear in mind 4 propensity 5 pitfall / snare 6 persevere / plough on 7 detrimental 8 notion
