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(单词翻译)

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin. This will just take a minute.

 

If you’ve ever gotten sucked into a bidding war on eBay, you know the feeling. With one minute left in the auction1, the bidding is fast and furious2 as everyone tries to come out on top. Higher and higher you up the ante, each click of the mouse a painful reminder3 that you’ve already bid more than you wanted to spend. But why do we do that: overbid at public auctions4? Now a team of neuroscientists says that, rather than the joy of winning, it’s an aversion to losing that drives such economic misbehavior.

In one experiment, the scientists set up a series of auctions. They told half the subjects that they would start the auction with a $15 bonus, which they got to keep if they won. The other subjects were told that, when the auction was done, if they won they’d get an extra 15 bucks5. Either way, the winners would get the same bonus. But the researchers found that people bid more when they were afraid they might lose the money they already had, results that appear in the September 26th issue of Science. Of course, it could also be that people get possessive when they have money in their pockets, even if it’s just a fake6 $15 that you can’t even use to buy an experimental cup of coffee.

 

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.

 


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1 auction 3uVzy     
n.拍卖;拍卖会;vt.拍卖
参考例句:
  • They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
  • They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。
2 furious Zfdzc     
adj.狂怒的,暴怒的,强烈的,激烈的
参考例句:
  • I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
  • His wife was furious with him.他妻子对他大发雷霆。
3 reminder WkzzTb     
n.提醒物,纪念品;暗示,提示
参考例句:
  • I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
  • It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知,她才付应该交的房租。
4 auctions 1c44b3008dd1a89803d9b2f2bd58e57a     
n.拍卖,拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They picked up most of the furniture at auctions in country towns. 他们大部分的家具都是在乡村镇上的拍卖处买的。 来自辞典例句
  • Our dealers didn't want these cars, so we had to dump them at auctions. 我们的承销商都不要这些车子,因此我们只好贱价拍卖。 来自辞典例句
5 bucks a391832ce78ebbcfc3ed483cc6d17634     
n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 );钱;(英国十九世纪初的)花花公子;(用于某些表达方式)责任v.(马等)猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 );抵制;猛然震荡;马等尥起后蹄跳跃
参考例句:
  • They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
  • They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 fake RlDx4     
vt.伪造,造假,假装;n.假货,赝品
参考例句:
  • He can tell a fake from the original.他能分辨出赝品和真品。
  • You can easily fake up an excuse to avoid going out with him.你可以很容易地编造一个借口而不与他一同外出。

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