Can We Learn More by Trusting than by Not Trusting?

Most of us have been burned by misplaced trust. These experiences lead us to believe that people are too trusting.

But in fact we don't trust enough. A survey about trust in the United States has found that interpersonal trust, a measure (测量) of whether people think others are in general trust worthy is at its lowest in nearly 50 years.

If people are more trustworthy, why don't we trust more?

When you trust someone, you end up working out whether your trust is justified (证明合理) or not. A child next door asks if he can visit your place. If you accept you will find out whether or not he's a good neighbor. A classmate advises you to adopt a new reading method. If you follow the advice you will find out whether the new method works better than the one you were used to.

However, when you don't trust someone. You never find out whether you should trust them. If you don't invite the child over, you won't know whether he would have made a good neighbor or not. If you don't follow your classmate's advice, you won't know if the new method is in fact superior.

This information means that we learn more by trusting than by not trusting. Moreover, when we trust, we learn not only about specific persons, we learn more generally about the type of situations in which we should or shouldn't trust. We get better at trusting.

When our trust is disappointing, the coats are visible (明显的), and our reaction (反应) changes from trouble all the way to hopelessness. The benefit that we've learnt from our mistake is easy to overlook. However, the costs of not trusting someone we could have trusted are invisible. We won't know about the friendship we could have built if we don't let that child go into our place. We won't realise how useful some advice would have been if we don't use our classmate's tip about the new reading method.

Giving people a chance isn't only the moral (道德的) thing to do. It's also the smart thing to do.

1.The writer mentions the survey about trust in the United States in Paragraph 2 to show that ________.

A.Americans are popular B.the measure is unbelievable

C.interpersonal trust is important D.people are short of enough trust

2.We can ________ to make us get better at trusting.

A.try to refuse other people's help

B.change our feelings of disappointment

C.find out the balance between trust and mistrust

D.make a smart decision and give people a chance

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A.The friendship between friends is trustworthy.

B.The costs of mistaken mistrust are largely hidden.

C.We can get more from not trusting than from trusting.

D.It is unlikely that people are less trustworthy than before.

4.What is the writer's main purpose in writing this passage?

A.To stress we should trust other people.

B.To question all the experiences of misplaced trust.

C.To introduce some of the trust that can bring us benefits.

D.To discuss which situation we should or shouldn't trust in.

Friendship in a Car Race

There were small wild cars that would drive freely around the countryside. So the wild car races became very famous. Everyone _______ about driving them in the races. For boys, their light weights and their honesty made them ideal (理想的) drivers. As it was difficult to find light children with such good hearts, competitions were held to discover new _______ once a year.

One day, a testing team arrived at the small town where Nick lived. Like many others, Nick didn't sleep that night while waiting his turn to join in the competition _______ . During the wait, many boys rehearsed (排练) and practiced a lot. Unfortunately a great deal of elbowing (用肘推) and pushing told that not all were as good as they _______ when the gates were opened.

When Nick's turn came, he rushed into a car. He was so excited that he hardly noticed a boy with crutches(拐杖)waiting behind him. Then he heard the head of the testing team say, "I'm very _______ , there are no cars left, and this is the last test of the day." Seeing the boy's deep sadness, Nick quickly got out of his car and said, "It's OK. He can have my _______ ."

The boy got in, filled with joy. But before setting off, he saw the sad expressions on Nick's face and he _______ out his hand, saying, "Get in. We'll go together, even though it'll make us a bit slower."

Nick jumped in. Their car sounded like a rocket (火箭)! The race broke all known records, and during that season Nick and his friend won every competition they entered, _______ their friendship and good wishes to every corner of the world.

1.A.dreamed B.argued C.cared D.thought

2.A.coaches B.methods C.talents D.fields

3.A.bravely B.worriedly C.patiently D.politely

4.A.became B.seemed C.behaved D.appeared

5.A.regretted B.happy C.surprised D.sorry

6.A.car B.seat C.gloves D.glasses

7.A.pulled B.reached C.took D.pointed

8.A.showing B.sending C.spreading D.offering

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