Question

【题目】 You’re rushing to school and a man ahead of you suddenly falls down. Do you stop to help? In a study of bystanders, it was found that some people look away or keep on walking rather than stop and get involved.

“There is an inclination(倾向) to decide that no action is needed,” says Ervin Staub, a psychologist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, who studies the role of bystanders. “ The first thoughts that come into your mind often keep you from offering help.”

Time and again, good and caring people fail to come to the aid of others. They know they should act and yet, for reasons they themselves don’t understand, people sometimes don’t respond. Longtime researchers of bystander behavior continue to struggle with the question, “Why?”

One thing we do know is that the more ambiguous a situation is, the less likely people are to help. Let’s say you see vapors(水汽) coming out of a building. You ask yourself, “Is it steam(蒸汽) or smoke?” If you are not sure, you look to other people for a clue about how to react. If you see other people doing nothing, you think, “Of course, that’s just steam.” You don’t want it to be smoke, because then you would have to do something about it.

Another one is known as “ the bystander effect”. This says that the more people there are observing an emergency, the less responsible each one of them personally feels. For example, if you are the only person in the world who can act to save someone in a dangerous situation, you are more likely to act. However, if you are one of 100,000 people who could save the situation, you would be happier if one of the other 99,999 people did it!

“If you notice trouble, force yourself to stop and judge the situation instead of walking on,” says Ervin Staub. Then try to involve other people; you don’t have to take on all the responsibility of being helpful. According to Staub, it is sometimes just a matter of turning to the person next to you and saying, “It looks like we should do something.” Once you take action, most people will follow you and also offer help.

【1】Ervin Staub probably agrees that _____.

A. the bystanders force them to solve the troubles

B. people’s first thoughts usually prevent them from helping

C. the researchers often lead to the embarrassment

D. the person next to you often asks you to deal with emergency

【2】The word “ambiguous” in Paragraph 4 probably means “_____”.

A. difficultB. dangerousC. unclearD. unpleasant

【3】The writer uses “ the bystander effect” to show that _____.

A. people usually think others a lot before the difficulties

B. people like to carry out the responsibility in emergency

C. people often share their ideas when they’re in dangerous situations

D. people are likely to behave in the same way as most other people do

【4】Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Is it important to offer help?

B. Is it difficult to get involved?

C. To stand there or take actions?

D. To change the decision or stick it?

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】C

【3】D

【4】C

【解析】

文章大意：本文主要讲的是当你看到危急情况的时候，是选择旁观还是做出行动来帮助别人。

【1】句意：Ervin Staub可能同意人们最初的想法通常阻止他们帮助。

细节理解题，根据文章第二段第三行“ The first thoughts that come into your mind often keep you from offering help.”可知，应该是最初的想法是阻止他们帮助，故答案选B。

【2】句意：在第四段中划线单词ambiguous是什么意思？—不清楚的。

词句猜测题，根据文章第四段第一行One thing we do know is that the more ambiguous a situation is, the less likely people are to help“我们知道的一件事是，情况越ambiguous，人们就越不可能提供帮助”，可推知是不清楚的意思，故答案选C。

【3】句意：作者用“旁观者效应”来说明人们的行为可能和大多数人一样。

细节理解题，根据文章第五段第一、二行Another one is known as “ the bystander effect”. This says that the more people there are observing an emergency, the less responsible each one of them personally feels可知，人们可能会像大多数人一样行事，故答案选D。

【4】句意：下列哪一个可以作为文章的最佳标题？—站在那还是采取行动？

主旨大意题，根据文章第一段You’re rushing to school and a man ahead of you suddenly falls down. Do you stop to help? In a study of bystanders, it was found that some people look away or keep on walking rather than stop and get involved.可知，本文讲的主要是你选择站在那里，还是采取行动帮助别人，故答案选C。