Passage 4

学霸导读　人们总是忍不住要“买买买”，背后到底是什么心理在作祟？

Dr. Thomas Gilovich， psychology professor at Cornell University， has studied the psychology of spending for over 20 years. According to Dr. Gilovich， “We buy things to make us happy， and we s 1 ， but only for a while. New things are exciting to us at f irst， but then we adapt to （ 适应 ） them.” In other w 2 ， once the freshness of our newest purchase wears off （ 逐渐消逝 ）， we begin looking for something else to buy to make us happy.

Dr. Gilovich found that our satisfaction with possessions （ 所有物，财产 ） becomes weaker over time. Yet our happiness over things we’ve experienced i 3 . For that reason， he has concluded that we are spending our money on the wrong things. A study out of San Francisco State University agrees. The r 4 showed that those people who spent money on experiences instead of possessions were happier. They also thought their money was better invested.

To begin with, activities like a trip, an adventure, a hobby, etc., tend to bring the participants together and unite them over a s 5 interest. According to Gilovich, “We consume experiences directly with other people.” As a result, these experiences create a positive link and good feelings towards the other person or people.

Besides, your experience shows others who you are and what you are. For example, you might be someone who loves taking cooking classes. More than l 6 , you’ll become known by friends and family as a great cook. They won’t know you as someone who owns the latest kitchen equipment.

Lastly, planned experiences are frequently something we look forward to. Then when the moment arrives, if we enjoy the time in the activities, we’re left with happy memories. These memories will o 7 last a lifetime. Even our worst trips, on many occasions, are later remembered with laughter.

1.__________2.__________3.__________4.__________5.__________6.__________7.__________

高频词汇

occasion /ə'keɪʒən/　 n. 特殊场合；重大活动；盛会