Haveyoueverdonesomethingthatwasreallydangerousjustbecauseyouthoughtitwassafe?Maybeyoudidadangeroustrick(杂耍动作)onyourbicycleorskateboardbecauseyouwerewearingahelmet(头盔）andthoughtyoucouldn'tge

题目详情

Have you ever done something that was really dangerous just because you thought it was safe? Maybe you did a dangerous trick (杂耍动作) on your bicycle or skateboard because you were wearing a helmet (头盔） and thought you couldn't get hurt. The psychology (心理) of this sort of behavior is called the Peltzman Effect named after Sam Peltzman professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Peltzman believes that those moments when people think they are the safest are the times when they act most dangerously.

Peltzman said that people drove more dangerously when they wore seat belts (安全带). Driving a large four-wheel drive vehicle has a similar effect on drivers' behavior. Because drivers of large vehicles sit up higher and can see better they feel they can make better judgments when they drive. They are better protected in accidents so they act more dangerously. This makes driving more hazardous to other drivers.

The Peltzman Effect isn't just limited ( 限于) to driving. In 1972 the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) passed a law requiring child safety caps on most medicine bottles. The safety caps were designed to prevent children from accidentally taking the medicine especially painkillers such as aspirin. Requiring safety caps sounded like a great idea but there was an unexpected side effect. Because the safety caps are so hard to take off some people leave them off altogether. Worse some parents leave the bottles where kids can reach them because they feel that it is safe because of the cap. A study on the Peltzman Effect showed that more than 3 500 children have been harmed by aspirin because of the safety caps.

The Peltzman Effect describes how we' re likely to take more risks and act more dangerously when we feel safest. What's more the effects of these behaviors can be quite different from what

we expect.

1. What is the Peltzman Effect?

A. People feel safest when they are under protection.

B. People behave less safely when they feel safe.

C. People who act dangerously are likely to be together.

D. Something that seems dangerous turns out to be safe.

2. What does the underlined word "hazardous" in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. Expensive. B. Interesting. C. Important. D. Dangerous.

3. Why do some people leave the safety caps of medicine bottles open?

A. The caps can' t be opened easily.

B. The caps don' t work at all.

C. The bottles without caps are less attractive to kids.