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. opinion. B. complaint. C. belief. 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.
Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path. I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water or mud. As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack. It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected. I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing. And I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!
Having stopped, laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again. He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain. For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused. I wasn't sure what to do. After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly. I stepped back to look the situation over. My attacker moved back to land on the ground. That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier. He had a mate and she was dying.
Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate's sake （缘故）, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety seemed admirable. I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool. He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed.
Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me.
1. Why did the writer change his direction while walking down a path?
A. To get close to a butterfly. B. To look over the bad situation.
C. To escape a sudden attack. D. To avoid getting his shoes dirty.
2.What made the man feel funny?
A. Making the attacker pause. B. Being attacked by a butterfly.
C. Being stepped on by his mate. D. Discovering the energetic butterfly.
3. From this experience the man learned .
A. what he should do when faced with trouble
B. people should show sympathy to the weak
C. how he should deal with attacks
D. people should protect butterflies
4. Which of the following words can best describe the butterfly?
A. Careless. B. Amusing. C. Courageous. D. Aggressive.
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Stefan and Erika Svanstrom on a four-month honeymoon were hit by several natural disasters, including the Australian floods, Christchurch earthquake and Japanese tsunami.
The 36 couple left Sweden on December 6 and were 37 caught in Munich, Germany, due to one of Europe’s worst snowstorms.
Later, they flew on to Australia which then 38 with one of the most terrible hurricanes in the nation’s history. From there, the couple, 39 , were forced to 40 for 24 hours on the floor of a shopping centre with 2500 others.
“Trees were being 41 and big branches were scattered across the streets,” Stefan told Sweden’s Expressen newspaper. “We 42 escaped”
The couple then flew to Christchurch, New Zealand. 43 their arriving, a massive earthquake 44 magnitude 6.3 hit the city on February 22.
Erika said “We could not visit the city since it was completely in 45 , so instead we travelled around before going to Japan.” But days after the Svanstroms arrived, Tokyo was 46 by Japan’s largest earthquake 47 records began. “The trembling was horrible and we saw roof debris (碎片) fly off the buildings,” Mr. Svantrom said. “ 48 seemed the buildings were swaying 49 .”
The family returned to Sweden on March 29 after a(n) 50 calmer visit to their last destination China.
But Mr. Svanstrom, who also survived the very tsunami 51 hit Southeast Asia in 2004, said “I know marriages have to experience some 52 , but I think we have 53 most of them.” , 54 that the marriage had become strong.
“We’ve certainly experienced 55 our fair share of catastrophes, but the most important thing is that we’re together and happy.” said the couple.
1. A. new-married B. newly-marry C. newly-married D. new-marry
2. A. finally B. eventually C. gradually D. immediately
3. A. met B. faced C. hit D. come
4.A. in vain B. in panic C. in sorrow D. in depression
5.A. hide B. stay C. remain D. shelter
6. A. taken over B. turned over C. got over D. knocked over
7. A. nearly B. narrowly C. almost D. easily
8.A. At B. With C. On D. For
9. A. measuring B. is measured C. measures D. measured
10. A. mess B. order C. chaos D. control
11. A. effected B. destroyed C. shaken D. suffered
12. A. when B. while C. as D. since
13. A. It B. There C. That D. What
14. A. in and out B. here and there C. backwards and forwards D. back and forth
15.A. pretty B. fairly C. much D. even
16. A. which B. as C. that D. what
17.A. trials B. tricks C. trips D. triangles
18. A. looked through B. put through C. come through D. got through
19. A. added B. adding C. added to D .adding to
20. A. rather than B. other than C. more than D. less than
Nobody knows why the boy can tell what's written on the paper in another room without looking at it. It really _______ explanation.
A. prevents B. challenges C. interrupts D. confuses
The prediction from Maya worries residents _______ December 21, 2012 would be the end of the world.
A. if B. that C. whether D. which
The folks were delighted at the message of their relatives _______ that mine explosion.
A. survived B. to survive C. were surviving D. surviving
