Peopleturntomagicchieflyasaformofinsurance—thatistheyuseitalongwithactionsthatactuallybringresults.Forexamplehuntersmayuseahuntingcharm(咒语).Buttheyalsousetheirhuntingskillsandknowledgeofani

题目详情

People turn to magic chiefly as a form of insurance—that is they use it along with actions that actually bring results. For example hunters may use a hunting charm (咒语). But they also use their hunting skills and knowledge of animals. The charm may give hunters the extra confidence they need to hunt even more successfully than they would without it. If they shoot a lot of game (猎物) they credit the charm for their success. Many events happen naturally without magic. Crops grow without it and sick people get well without it．But if people use magic to bring a good harvest or to cure a patient they may believe the magic was responsible.

People also tend to forget magic’s failures and to be impressed by its surface successes. They may consider magic successful if it appears to work only 10 percent of the time. Even when magic fails people often explain the failure without doubting the power of the magic. They may say that the magician made a mistake in reciting the spell or that another magician cast a more powerful spell against the magician.

Many anthropologists (人类学家) believe that people have faith in magic because they feel a need to believe in it. People may turn to magic to reduce their fear and uncertainty if they feel they have no control over the outcome of a situation. For example farmers use knowledge and skill when they plant their fields. But they know that weather insects or diseases might ruin the crops. So farmers in some societies may also plant a charm or perform a magic rite (仪式) to ensure a good harvest．

1. From the passage we can learn that the writer of the passage may be _______.

A. a hunter B. a farmer

C. a magician D. an anthropologist

2. Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?

A. Magic And Hunting.

B. Magic And Farming.

C. Why Magic Works?

D. Why People Believe in Magic?

3. The underlined word “spell” (Paragraph 2) most likely means ______.

A. magic words B. magic events

C. words or expressions D. magicians

4. People believe in magic because________.