Question

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.

 

Answer 1

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：一项研究说谎的调查发现，孩子跟母亲的谈话中，有将近一半的时候是在对母亲撒谎。研究选择了77大学生作为个被试，结果显示，他们平均每天说两次谎话。人们很少对亲近的朋友说谎，而且，对他们说的谎话大多都是善意的谎言。

1.half the time, their children are lying to them”可知，孩子多半时间在对妈妈说谎，这件事情可以添加到妈妈的抱怨清单里，故选C。

2.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,”可知，大学生对关系好的人很少撒谎，而且很多都是善意的谎言，故选B。

3.Female students constantly told their plain-looking roommates that they were pretty.”可知，女同学经常夸奖相貌平平的室友长得漂亮，其实是为了斗她开心，故选D。

4.How Many Lies Do the Children Tell You? ...A study designed to expose the truth about lying shows that undergraduates lie to their mothers in 46% of their conversations.”可知，文章主要介绍了一项研究成果，孩子对妈妈说的谎话占他们谈话的一半左右，随着谈话对象的改变，人们说谎的概率也不一样，可见，文章主要揭示了说谎的概率这一事实，故选A。

考点：教育类短文阅读