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1、智课网TOEFL备考资料托福阅读背景知识:盘点人类忌讳的数字摘要:托福阅读背景知识:盘点人类忌讳的数字。背景知识在托福考试中发挥着重要的作用,很多考生都是通过背景知识了解托福考试的,希望小编整理的这一系列背景知识对大家能有所帮助。Everyonecanagreethat1+1=2.Buttheideathat7isgreaterthan13--thatsomenumbersareluckierthanothers--makesnosensetosomepeople.Suchnumericalbiasescancausedeepdivisions.Andthatiswhathap
2、penedearlierthismonthinHongKong.PropertydeveloperHendersonLandDevelopmentCo.madenewsforsellingacondominiumfor$56.6million,apricethedevelopercalledaresidentialrecordinAsia.Butafterthatsalewasannounced,thepropertybeganmakingnewsforotherunusualnumbers.Hendersonislabelingthefloorsofitspropertyat
3、39ConduitRoadwithnumbersthatincrease,butnotintheconventional1-then-2way.Thefloorabove39,forexample,is60.Andthetopthreefloorsareconsecutivelylabeled66,68and88.Thisoffendedsomepeople'ssenseoforder.AtaprotestSundayagainsthighhousingprices,HongKongDemocraticPartylegislatorsexpresseddissatisfacti
4、onwiththenumberingscheme'stenuousrelationshiptoreality.'Youcouldcallthegroundfloorthe88thfloor,butit'smeaningless,'saysEmilyLau.'Whenyousayyouliveonthe88thfloor,peopleexpectyoutobeonthe88thfloor,notthe10thfloororsomething.'Numerology,abeliefthatcertaindigitshavegreatermeaningbeyondmerelythei
5、rquantity,haslongbeenbeenviewedasakindofloonyuncletomathematics.Numerologistsfavororfearcertainnumbersdependingonfactorssuchasthesoundofthewordsforthosenumbersortheletterinthealphabettheycorrespondto.Thatkindofreasoningleadssomemathematicians,whoaregovernedbynumericallawsandproperties,tobeli
6、evetheyhaveoneuponnumerologists.Butmanymathematicianshavetheirownemotionalattachmentstonumbersthatdrovethemtoenterthefieldinthefirstplace.Somewillcoptohavingnumericalcrushesthatmightnotlookthatdifferentfromnumerologists'.'Theideathatnumbersaresomehowpureandimmunetosuperstitiousthinking,becau
7、sethey'resomehowmore'objective'thanwords,doesn'ttakeintoaccountthefactthateveryconceptexists(inourminds)inaninterconnectedtapestryofemotionallyandculturallychargedsignifiers,'GolanLevin,designeroftheinteractiveprojectTheSecretLivesofNumbers,whichtr