Question

When things go wrong and we’re to blame, we’re supposed to feel guilty. Right? Not necessarily. It turns out that when we do something that causes a negative outcome, we actually feel less responsible for our actions. And, we see the entire situation differently than we would have if things had turned out well.

The “blame game” is nothing new. Behavior experts have long known that people push responsibility to others, or to outside factors, when things don’t work out. But new research from the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London shows that this response is more than about wanting to escape blame — we actually don’t believe that what happened is our fault.

To learn more about the blame game, researchers conducted a study. They asked 34 participants to press keys that randomly (随机地) produced three different noises. The noises were positive (amusement, laughter), negative (fear, disgust, or anger), or neutral.

The volunteers were asked to estimate (估计) the time that it took between when they pushed the button and when they heard the sound. Volunteers felt there was a longer lag (延迟) time between their actions and the negative sounds than between their actions and the positive ones. In their minds, the negative outcomes were separate from their actions. Therefore, they were able to feel less responsible for them.

The researchers say that when it comes to assigning blame, we can’t always trust our own judgment. “Just because you don’t feel responsible, doesn’t mean you’re actually not,” says study author Patrick Haggard.

The findings suggest that perhaps more of us need to realize that unpleasant or negative situations may actually be our fault — even if we don’t see it that way. And taking more responsibility for our actions could lead to better relationships with others.

42. If things turn out well, people tend to ______.

A. owe the success to others                  B. share the success with others

C. feel more related to their actions D. enjoy much pleasure themselves

43. What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A. Experts knew little about the “blame game”.

B. Similar studies have been done before.

C. The study now has found nothing new.

D. Outside factors lead to our fault.

44. In the study, volunteers were asked to ______.

A. push special buttons                          B. write down the exact time

C. produce different sounds                   D. tell apart unpleasant sounds

45. What’s true of the volunteers?

A. They always doubted their own judgment.

B. They believed someone else pressed the wrong keys.

C. They were not brave enough to take the responsibility.

D. They thought the bad results had little to do with them.

46. What do the experts advise us to do to get along well with others?

A. Be friendly to others.                          B. Take more responsibility.

C. Treat others equally.                          D. Show respect to others.

Answer 1

BAD       B