How Many Lies Do the Children Tell You?
Mothers who feel their children don’t appreciate them can add another grievance to the list: half the time, their children are lying to them. A study designed to expose the truth about lying shows that undergraduates lie to their mothers in 46% of their conversations. Still, mums should feel better than total strangers, who are told lies an astonishing 77 % of the time.
Bella Depaulo and a team of psychologists from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, asked 77 undergraduates to keep a record of all their conversations for a week, and write down whether they lied at any time. DePaulo named lying broadly, as "when you intentionally try to mislead someone", so she would catch the smallest of lies.
The students told an average of two lies a day. They said they had been studying when they had been out drinking. One told his parents that a textbook cost $50 rather than $20 so that they would send him extra money. Female students constantly told their plain-looking roommates that they were pretty. "They are everyday lies," says DePaulo.
DePaulo and her colleagues conclude that people tend to tell fewer lies to those they feel closest to. College students lied to their best friends 28% of the time but lied to acquaintances 48% of the time. In close relationships, people were more likely to tell "kind-hearted" lies, designed to protect feelings, rather than self-serving lies.
Romantic（浪漫的）partners lie somewhere between close friends and acquaintances. Students lied to romantic partners about a third of the time. DePaulo thinks that unmarried lovers can expect less honesty than best friends because of the insecurity that comes with romance.
Mothers can take heart from one other finding. They may have been lied to, but at least their children talked to them. The students were recorded telling few lies to their fathers because they had little interaction with them.
1.What is the meaning of the underlined word "grievance" in Paragraph 1?
A. Belief. B. Opinion.
C. Complaint. D. Difficulty.
2.According to the passage, college students felt closest to .
A. mothers. B. best friends
C. acquaintances D. romantic partners
3.Female students lied to their roommates to .
A. get money from them B. offer them the services
C. gain more security D. make them happy
4.What is the purpose of this article?
A. To present a fact. B. To argue an idea.
C. To tell a story. D. To explain a theory.
Last night I was driving from Harrisburg to Lewisburg, a distance of about eighty miles. It was late. Several times I got stuck behind a slow-moving truck on a narrow road with a solid white line on my left, and I became increasingly impatient.
At one point along an open road, I came to a crossing with a traffic light. I was alone on the road by now, but as I drove near the light, it turned red and I made a stop. I looked left, right and behind me. Nothing. Not a car, no suggestion of car lamps, but there I sat, waiting for the light to change, the only human being for at least a mile in any direction.
I started wondering why I refused to run the light. I was not afraid of being caught, because there was clearly no policeman around, and there certainly would have been no danger in going through it.
Much later that night, the question of why I'd stopped for that light came back to me. I think I stopped because it's part of a contract(契约) we all have with each other. It's not only the law, but it's an agreement we have, and we trust each other to honor it: we don't go through red lights.
Trust is our first inclination(倾向). Doubting others does not seem to be natural to us. The whole construction of our society depends on mutual(相互)trust, not distrust. We do what we say we'll do；we show up when we say we'll show up; and we pay when we say we'll pay. We trust each other in these matters, and we're angry or disappointed with the person or organization that breaks the trust we have in them.
I was so proud of myself for stopping for the red light that night.
1.Why did the author get impatient while driving?
A. He was lonely on the road.
B. He was slowed down by a truck.
C. He got tired of driving too long.
D. He came across too many traffic lights.
2.What was the author's immediate action when the traffic light turned red?
A. Stopping still.
B. Driving through it.
C. Looking around for other cars.
D. Checking out for traffic police.
3.The event made the author strongly believe that ________.
A. traffic rules may be unnecessary
B. doubting others is human nature
C. patience is important to drivers
D. a society needs mutual trust
4.Why was the author proud of himself?
A. He kept his promise.
B. He held back his anger.
C. He made a right decision.
D. He followed his inclination
Mardy, a special education teacher, wanted to build a playground for kids with disabilities. She knew it wouldn’t long to arouse（引起）interest in the project. But she expected that a third of the town would their sleeves to bring her vision to life!
“A lot of learning comes through play,” said Mardy, “But my students (with special needs) are too often left out because playgrounds will stop wheelchairs dead in their tracks.”
The city committee to mark out a piece of land for the playground.
The Kiwanis Club came through with $7,000 and that’s the grassroots movement really got started. Soon small businesses were giving some money. The local Pieper Foundation to donate half of the remaining $170,000 balance.
Finally Mardy a considerable sum of money that could the construction materials. And what Mardy was 500 volunteers work six 12-hour days.
On the first day of the construction, a lot of people came. Two women heard about the on the way to work and took the day to help. A couple drove the tool truck. Families brought pieces of wood for the fence and bricks for walkways.
“It was truly a(n) week, you know,” said Mardy very proudly. with construction experience became organizers. Those who could power tools formed a separate group. One team served donated from local churches, and another organized activities for children of volunteers.
Today the playground is one of most 3 destination in the area. There’s a rocking ship, a climbing wall, high and low rings, and monkey bars. All children play shoulder to shoulder on the same playground having whether they are able-bodied or disabled. It’s what Mardy imagined. You’ll love it.
1.A. release B. update C. take D. spare
2.A. always B. never C. even D. still
3.A. roll up B. bring up C. keep off D. cut off
4.A. dishonest B. disabled C. unpleasant D. unknown
5.A. reasonable B. convenient C. suitable D. traditional
6.A. failed B. agreed C. demanded D. expected
7.A. why B. where C. what D. when
8.A. refused B. demanded C. offered D. required
9.A. spent B. made C. raised D. saved
10.A. distribute B. cover C. import D. cost
11.A. needed B. predicted C. implied D. committed
12.A. business B. discussion C. experience D. project
13.A. away B. out C. off D. down
14.A. interesting B. attracting C. inviting D. amazing
15.A. Youths B. Children C. Volunteers D. Students
16.A. afford B. operate C. carry D. donate
17.A. meals B. fruits C. coffee D. water
18.A. complex B. casual C. permanent D. popular
19.A. fun B. money C. materials D. tracks
20.A. exactly B. accurately C. properly D. barely
—Can you speed it up a little? I'll be late for my flight.
—________. I'm taking a short-cut. We'll make it on time.
A. OK, I'll speed it up B. That’s right
C. Take it easy D. That’s all
“______ to Michelle and having two beautiful girls in my house never allows me to look down upon women,” said Obama.
A. Marrying B. Married
C. Having married D. Being married
Unfortunately, no one knows ________ prevented the rumor from spreading.
A. what was it that B. what it was that
C. how was it that D. how it was that
