Question

Communications technologies are far from equal when it comes to conveying the truth. The first study to compare honesty across a range of communication media has found that people are twice as likely to tell lies in phone conversations as they are in emails. The fact that emails are automatically recorded―and can come back to haunt (困擾) you―appears to be the key to the finding.

Jeff Hancock of Cornell University in Ithaca,New York,asked 30 students to keep a communications diary for a week. In it they noted the number of conversations or email exchanges they had lasting more than 10 minutes,and confessed to how many lies they told. Hancock then worked out the number of lies per conversation for each medium. He found that lies made up 14 percent of emails,21 percent of instant messages,27 percent of face-to-face interactions and an astonishing 37 percent of phone calls.

His results to be presented at the conference on humancomputer interaction in Vienna,Austria,in April,have surprised psychologists. Some expected emailers to be the biggest liars,reasoning that because deception makes people uncomfortable,the detachment (非直接接觸) of emailing would make it easier to lie. Others expected people to lie more in face-to-face exchanges because we are most practised at that form of communication.

But Hancock says it is also crucial whether a conversation is being recorded and could be reread,and whether it occurs in real time. People appear to be afraid to lie when they know the communication could later be used to hold them to account,he says. This is why fewer lies appear in email than on the phone.

People are also more likely to lie in real time―in a instant message or phone call―than if they have time to think of a response,says Hancock. He found many lies are spontaneous (脫口而出的) responses to an unexpected demand,such as: "Do you like my dress?"

Hancock hopes his research will help companies work out the best ways for their employees to communicate. For instance,the phone might be the best medium for sales where employees are encouraged to stretch the truth. But,given his result,work assessment where honesty is a priority,might be best done using email.

(   ) 5. Hancock's study focuses on         .

   A. the consequences of lying in various communications media

   B. the success of communications technologies in conveying ideas

   C. people are less likely to lie in instant messages

   D. people's honesty levels across a range of communications media

(   ) 6. Hancock's research finding surprised those who believed that         .

   A. people are less likely to lie in instant messages

   B. people are unlikely to lie in face-to-face interactions

   C. people are most likely to lie in email communication

   D. people are twice as likely to lie in phone conversations

(   ) 7. According to the passage,why are people more likely to tell the truth through certain media of communication?

   A. They are afraid of leaving behind traces of their lies.

   B. They believe that honesty is the best policy.

   C. They tend to be relaxed when using those media.

   D. They are most practiced at those forms of communication.

(   ) 8. According to Hancock the telephone is a preferable medium for promoting sales because         .

   A. salesmen can talk directly to their customers

   B. salesmen may feel less restrained to exaggerate

   C. salesmen can impress customers as being trustworthy

   D. salesmen may pass on instant messages effectively

Answer 1

5. D細(xì)節(jié)理解題。題干Hancock的研究集中在哪方面。第1段第2句：比較在使用交流媒介時(shí)誠實(shí)程度的第一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，人們?cè)陔娫捴姓f謊的可能性是在電子郵件中的兩倍。這里提到的研究就是Hancock的研究，故答案為D項(xiàng)。

6. C細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)題干需要在文中定位的依然是Hancock的研究，但關(guān)鍵是給人們帶來的驚訝，對(duì)于哪些人來說由第3段第1 、2句：他的研究使心理學(xué)家大吃一驚。有的原以為人們寫電子郵件時(shí)最容易撒謊，他們推斷說，欺騙使人不舒服，電子郵件不需要直接接觸會(huì)使撒謊變得容易些，故答案為C項(xiàng)。

7. A推理判斷題。題干是根據(jù)這篇短文，為什么使用某種媒介交流時(shí)人們更易說實(shí)話？第4 段2、3句：如果知道交流的內(nèi)容事后能被用來再次閱讀，人們似乎就害怕撒謊。這就是為什么電子郵件中的謊言比電話中少的原因，故答案為A項(xiàng)，他們害怕留下撒謊的痕跡。

8. B推理判斷題。題干是根據(jù)Hancock的研究，電話是促銷的可取媒介。第6段第2句：電話可能是銷售的最好媒介，打電話時(shí)雇員可以夸大事實(shí)，故答案為B項(xiàng)，在夸大事實(shí)時(shí)推銷員會(huì)感到受限制較少。