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Many teens make risky decisions. Lab experiments have shown risky behavior drops steadily as people grow from children into adults. But real-life data show a different pattern: Adolescents take more risks and are also more likely to be injured or die as a result of such behaviors.

To resolve why teens behave this way, Wouter van den Bos and Ralph Hertwig, two German psychologists, employed 105 people, all from 8 to 22 years old. All were made to spin a wheel. The wheel was divided into 10 equal-sized wedges(楔子). Some were orange, while others blue. If the wheel stopped spinning on an orange wedge, the participant won or lost money. This could be between 3 and 32 euros. But if the wheel stopped on a blue wedge, they got nothing. Meanwhile, the five-euro option, a guaranteed win, was provided.

The researchers designed trials like this: in half of the trials, the orange and blue wedges were visible around the entire wheel, and in the other trials, part of the wheel was covered and thus participants had no idea how likely they were to win. As more of the wheel was covered, the risks of spinning became more and more ambiguous.

Teens were more likely to spin the wheel, even when much of it was covered, van den Bos and Hertwig found. Children and adults, however, avoided those ambiguous situations. Instead, they chose the guaranteed reward in these trials.

“In the teenage years, there’s much to explore and to learn by exploration.” Van den Bos says. Many experiences are new, he notes, and teens don’t know how they’ll turn out. “Many of these situations aren’t dangerous and are helpful in becoming an independent adult. So in general, this seems to be a good attitude to have,” he concludes.

1.What inspired the two psychologists to conduct their study?

A A steady drop in teens’ risky behavior.

B Teenagers’ adventurous performances.

C More deaths caused by risky behavior.

D Adolescents’ tendency to make decisions.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第一段并结合第二段第一句可推断是青少年的冒险行为使两位心理学家决定去做相关实验，故选B项。

2.What does the underlined word “ambiguous” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A Obvious.

B Enormous.

C Stressful.

D Unclear.

解析：选D。词义猜测题。根据more of the wheel was covered可推断轮子被盖住当然无法看清楔子的颜色，即风险就变得模糊不清了，故选D项。

3.What can be concluded from the experiment conducted by the psychologists?

A One is likely to take more risks as he ages.

B The older one grows, the more adventurous he is.

C Teens make riskier decisions than children or adults.

D Teens tend to base their decisions on what they know.

解析：选C。推理判断题。根据倒数第二段Teens were more likely to spin the wheel, even when much of it was covered…Children and adults, however, avoided those ambiguous situations. Instead, they chose the guaranteed reward in these trials.可推断青少年比更小的孩子们和成员更愿意冒险，故选C项。

4.What does van den Bos think of teenagers’ attitudes toward uncertainty?

A They make sense.

B They are harmful.

C They are natural.

D They are unchangeable.

解析：选A。推理判断题。根据最后一段So in general, this seems to be a good attitude to have可推断van den Bos认为青少年的敢于冒险的行为在一定程度上是很好的，即有意义的，故选A项。