Question

Soaping up your hands may do more than just get rid of germs. It may wash away the inner confusion you feel right after being forced to make a choice between two appealing choices, according to a new study. The study builds on past research into a phenomenon known as “the Macbeth effect”.

It turns out that Shakespeare was really onto something when he imagined lady Macbeth trying to clean her conscience（良心）by rubbing invisible bloodstains from her hands. A few years ago, scientists asked people to describe a past wrong act. If people were then given a chance to clean their hands, they later expressed less guilt than people who hadn’t cleaned.

This finding fascinated W. S. Lee, a researcher. “Anything from the past, any kind of negative emotional experiences, might be washed away,” says Lee.

He decided to test hand washing’s effect on one kind of bad feeling: the tension we feel after being forced to choose between two attractive choices, because picking one choice makes us feel that we’ve lose the other. People usually try to calm this inner conflict by later exaggerating（夸大）the positive aspects of their choice.

He had students rank 10 different music CDs. Then he offered students one CD as a gift. Some students then use liquid soap. Others only looked at the soap or sniffed（嗅）it. “Actually, you do not need water and soap,” says Lee.

Later, the students again had to rank all the music. People who didn’t wash their hands had the normal response — they scored their take-home CD higher, suggesting that they now saw it as even more attractive than before. But this wasn’t true for the hand washers. They ranked the music about the same. “they feel no need at all to justify the choice,” say Lee.

But the implications of it just aren’t clear. Schwarz says it’s too soon to know whether people should head for a sink after making a tough choice. He says washing may help decision-makers by cleaning away mental disorder, but perhaps if they don’t go through the usual post-decision process of justifying their choice, they might feel more sorrow in the long run.

1.The Macbeth effect refers to the fact that ________.

A. Shakespeare did scientific research before writing Macbeth

B. soaping up one’s hand may help wash away the inner confusion and make a decision

C. people feel less guilty by getting rid of invisible germs from their hands

D. people feel less ashamed after washing their hands

2.According to Lee, after people make the choice ________.

A. they will overstate the goodness of their chosen choice

B. they will feel regretful for not choosing another

C. they will feel free due to the feeling of losing the other choice

D. they will think nothing of their chosen choice any more to calm their inner conflict

3.According to Lee, the hand washers consider the judgment of choice ________.

A. more scientific    B. unnecessary

C. a little convincing    D. absolutely useless

4.What does Schwarz need to research more?

A. Whether people need to justify their choice.

B. Whether people feel more sorrow after washing hands.

C. Whether washing hands help over a long period of time.

D. Whether washing hands is helpful to make a choice.

5.What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

A. Is Washing Hands Necessary to Defeat Tension?

B. Washing Hands, Washes Our Mind

C. Washing Hands, Helps Make a Better Choice

D. Washing Hands, Reduces the Stress of Decision

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.C

5.D

【解析】

本文讲述了洗手可以减轻做出选择之后的困惑或愧疚。

1.D细节题。由第二段If people were then given a chance to clean their hands, they later expressed less guilt than people who hadn’t cleaned.可知，人们洗完手后愧疚感会减弱。因此D项符合。

2.A细节题。根据第四段中by later exaggerating(夸大) the positive aspects of their choice.可知，他们会夸大他们选择的积极方面。答案为A。

3.B细节题。由第七段最后一句中的they feel no need at all to justify the choice可知，他们根本不需要为选择辩护。故选B。

4.C细节题。根据最后一段中Schwarz says it’s too soon to know whether people should head for a sink after making a tough choice. He says washing may help decision-makers by cleaning away mental disorder, but perhaps if they don’t go through the usual post-decision process of justifying their choice, they might feel more sorrow in the long run.可知，他说洗手有助于决定做出者清理思路，但是可能如果他们没有经过通常的事后决策过程来证明他们的选择，他们可能会感到在一段长时间内感到悲伤。所以洗手是否有助于一段长的时期还需要更多的研究，故答案为C。

5.D主旨大意题。通读全文可知，文章目的是在说明洗手可以减轻做出选择之后的困惑或愧疚，也就是洗手有助于减轻做决定的压力。文章讲了Lee做的实验，证明了这个观点，故D项是最适合的标题。