Question

Keeping secrets is a burden

“Don’t tell anyone”. We hear these words when someone tells a secret to us. But it can be hard to keep a secret. We’re often tempted to “spill the beans(说漏嘴)”，even if we regret it later.

According to Asim Shah, professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, US, keeping a secret may well “become a burden”. This is because people often have an “obsessive and anxious urge to share it with someone”.

An earlier study, led by Anita E. Kelly, a scientist at the University of Notre Dame, US, suggested that keeping a secret could cause stress. People entrusted(受委托的) with secrets can suffer from depression, anxiety, and body aches, reported the Daily Mail.

But with secrets so often getting out, why do people share them at all? Shah explained that people often feel that it will help them keep a person as a friend. Another reason people share secrets is guilt over keeping it from someone close to them. A sense of distrust can develop when people who are close do not share it with each other. “Keeping or sharing secrets often puts people in a position of either gaining or losing the trust of someone,” according to Shah.

He added that talkative people could let secrets slip out (泄露).But this doesn’t mean that it is a good idea only to share secrets with quiet people. A quiet person may be someone who keeps everything inside. To tell such a person a secret may cause them stress, and make them talk about the secret. Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret.

Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret, you’d better put yourself in their position. Think about how you would feel to be told that you mustn’t give the information away. Shah also recommended that if you accidentally give up someone’s secret you should come clean about it. Let the person know that their secret isn’t so secret anymore.

1.What does underlined word “obsessive” mean?

A. Unwilling.

B. Confusing.

C. Wanting to do something very much.

D. Refusing to accept facts.

2.What did researchers at the University of Notre Dame discover about secret-keeping?

A. It can result in mental and physical problems.

B. It can help promote friendships between people.

C. It can harm relationships between friends

D. It can result in a sense of distrust between friends

3.What is the main message of Paragraph 5?

A. It’s better to share your secrets with quiet people.

B. Quiet people suffer less stress from keeping secrets.

C. Talkative people are unlikely to keep secrets.

D. It’s not a good idea to share your secrets with others.

4.What does Shah suggest people do if they give away someone’s secret by accident?

A. Stay away from the person.

B. Tell the affected person what happened.

C. Exchange a new secret with the person.

D. Buy the person a gift as an apology.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章提到保守秘密的人会因为秘密而造成压力，从而可能会有心理和生理方面的问题。且分析了人们为何要分享秘密的原因，以及建议人们不要和他人分享秘密，和如果偶然泄露了别人的秘密，一定要及时告知受到影响的人。

1.词义猜测题。根据后文“……and anxious urge to share it with someone”（与某人分享的强烈渴望）是由and连接的两个并列形容词，故可推测划线部分单词“obsessive”应为“非常想要做某事”。A. Unwilling不情愿的；B. Confusing困惑的；C. Wanting to do something very much非常想要做某事；D. Refusing to accept facts拒接接受现实。故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段第一句“a scientist at the University of Notre Dame, US, suggested that keeping a secret could cause stress. People entrusted(受委托的) with secrets can suffer from depression, anxiety, and body aches, reported the Daily Mail.”可知Notre Dame大学的科学家认为保守秘密可能会造成压力。据英国《每日邮报》报道，保守秘密的人可能会患上抑郁症、焦虑症和身体疼痛。即研究人员发现保守秘密会导致人们的心理和生理方面的问题。故选A。

3.判断推理题。根据第五段第一、二句“He added that talkative people could let secrets slip out (泄露).But this doesn’t mean that it is a good idea only to share secrets with quiet people.”可知多嘴的人会泄露秘密，但是和安静的人分享秘密也不意味着就是个好主意，根据后文可知因为这样会加重他们的内心压力，从而使他们谈论这个秘密。即第五段的主旨大意是和别人分享秘密并不是个好主意。故选D。

4.细节理解题。根据最后一段倒数第一、二句“Shah also recommended that if you accidentally give up someone’s secret you should come clean about it. Let the person know that their secret isn’t so secret anymore.”可知Shah建议人们，如果他们偶然泄露了别人的秘密，应该让受到影响的人得知这一情况。故选B。