吉林省四平市2014高考英语阅读理解巩固全程训练（20）及答案
[社会生活型阅读理解(二)]
People turn to magic(魔力)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
