Question

What exactly is a lie? Is it anything we say which we know is untrue? Or is it something more than that ? For example, suppose a friend wants to borrow some money from you. You say “I wish I could help you but I’m short of money myself”. In fact, you are not short of money but your friend is in the habit of not paying his debts and you don't want to hurt his feelings by reminding him of this. Is this really a lie?

    Professor Jerald Jullion of the University of Southern California has made a scientific study of lying. According to him, women are better liars than men, particularly when telling a“white lie”, such as when a woman at a party tells another woman that she likes her dress when she really thinks it looks awful. However, this is only one side of the story. Other researchers say that men are more likely to tell more serious lies, such as making a promise which they have no intention (意圖) of fulfilling. This is the kind of lie politicians and businessmen are supposed to be particularly skilled at the lie from which the liar hopes to profit (獲利) or gain in some way.

    Research has also been done into the changes of people’s behavior in a number of small, clearly unimportant ways when they lie. It has been found that if they are sitting down at the time they tend to move about in their chairs more than usual. To the trained observer (觀察者) they are saying “I wish I were somewhere else now”. They also tend to touch certain parts of the face more often, in particular the nose. One explanation of this may be that lying causes a slight increase in blood pressure. The nose is very sensitive to such changes and the increased pressure makes it itch (發癢).

    Another gesture which gives liars away is that the writer Desmond Morris in his book Man Watching calls “the mouth cover”. He says there are several typical forms of this, such as covering part of the mouth with fingers, touching the upper-lip or putting a finger of the hand at one side of the mouth. Such a gesture can be understood as an unconscious attempt on the part of the liar to stop himself or herself from lying.

    Of course, such gestures as rubbing the nose or covering the mouth, or moving about in a chair cannot be taken as proof that the speaker is lying. They simply tend to occur more frequently in this situation. It is not one gesture along that gives the liar away but a whole number of things, and in particular the context in which the lie is told.

    1. According to the passage a“white lie”seems to be a lie ________.

    A. that other people believe

    B. that other people don’t believe

    C. told in order to avoid offending (冒犯) someone

    D. told in order to take advantage of someone

    2. Research suggests that women ________.

A. are better at telling lies than men do

B. generally lie far more than men

C. often make promises they intend to break

D. lie at parties more often than men do

    3. Researchers find that when a person tells lies ________.

    A. his blood pressure increases measurably

    B. he looks very serious

    C. he tends to make some small changes in his behaviors

    D. he uses his unconscious mind

    4. One reason people sometimes rub their noses when they lie is that ________.

    A. they wish they were somewhere else

    B. the nose is sensitive to physical changes caused by lying

    C. they want to cover their mouths

    D. they are trying to stop themselves from telling lies

    5. Which of the following may best betray (出賣) a liar?

    A. The touching of the tip of one’s nose.     B. The change of one’s behaviors.

C. “The mouth cover”gesture. 　　　　　　　　　　 D. The situations in which his lies are told.

 

Answer 1

答案：C;A;C;B;D
提示：

1．白色謊言指的是C。 2．According to him, women are better liars than men, particularly when telling a“white lie” 3．參見文章第三段。 4．They also tend to touch certain parts of the face more often, in particular the nose. One explanation of this may be that lying causes a slight increase in blood pressure. The nose is very sensitive to such changes and the increased pressure makes it itch 5．參見文章最后一段。