Like the drunk looking for his wallet under the lamppost,

[keannu]

[FONT=&#54632] What distinguishes recycling is not its importance, but rather the ease with which individuals can participate, and the visibility of actions taken to promote the common good. You may care passionately about the threat of global warming or the destruction of the rain forests―but you can’t have an immediate effect on these problems that is perceptible to yourself or others. The rain forest salvation truck doesn’t make weekly pickups, let alone the clean air truck. When a public opinion poll in 1990 asked people what they had done in connection with environmental problems, 80 to 85% answered that they or their households had participated in various aspects of recycling; no other significant steps had been taken by a majority of respondents. Like the drunk looking for his wallet under the lamppost, we may focus on recycling because it is where the immediate tasks are best illuminated.
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Hi, teachers. What does this metaphor mean related to the next sentence? Does it mean that this action best shows showmanship of pretending to be working hard for recycling?
Like the drunk looking for his wallet under the lamppost, we may focus on recycling because it is where the immediate tasks are best illuminated. [/FONT]

 

[Rover_KE]

Source and author?

 

[keannu]

Source and author?

it's.from a Korean highschool mockup test, so I can't find its source.

 

[Tarheel]

It's based on an old joke about a drunk looking for something under a lamppost. Well, he didn't lose it there, but that's where the light is.

 

[Rover_KE]

It's from a Korean high school mock-up test, so I can't find its source.

The high school test is the source.

What's a mock-up test?

 

[Tarheel]

The high school test is the source.

What's a mock-up test?

It's a test that's not graded. (Guess.)

 

[kilroy65]

Yes, although it's commonly known as a "mock exam".

 

[keannu]

In Korea, this exam is held in almost every month to evaluate high schoolers' academic performance, especially 3rd graders preparing for university entrance exam in Nov. Through the result of this exam, they can target at which university they can apply for.