Question

    Honesty is the best policy. We may agree that admitting mistakes and behaving in a genuine way is the right way to lead our lives, but is there something in our human nature that makes us immoral? For example, in some shops and car parks you can find an honesty box — a box where you pay for something by putting money in it — but it relies on you putting the right amount of cash in. This relies on people being honest and not trying to cheat but it does provide a temptation to get away with not paying the full amount.

Philip Graves, a psychologist, suggests that this temptation is part of our evolution. He says, “We have evolved with the ability to be dishonest. It’s part of our evolutionary psychological make-up because if we can gain an advantage over the people around us, we have a greater chance of surviving.”

So why do we place such importance on being honest if we benefit from being dishonest? It’s because it is selfish behavior. If everybody acted selfishly and dishonestly all the time, the world would be a very unpleasant place. As Philip Graves says, “There is a balance to strike between the extent to which we can feather our own nest, so to speak, and the risk of being ostracized (排斥) by the group.” So, for societies to work together we need to trust each other and therefore we need to be honest.

Being trustworthy with money is of course vital for an economy to survive. But being honest with words is another matter, saying what we think to someone can get us into hot water. However, a new anonymous messaging app has been designed that lets anyone with a link to your profile (简介) send you a message without knowing who it’s from. The app now has 300 million users which perhaps indicates how honest we really like to be — but in all honesty, do you want to know what people think about you? Is honesty always the best policy?

1.What does an honesty box require people to do?

A.Get the change out of it freely. B.Put the correct amount of money in it.

C.Donate the pocket money to others. D.Pay a larger amount of money.

2.According to Philip Graves, being dishonest________.

A.is a disadvantage B.should be advocated

C.is part of our evolution D.helps people survive

3.What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A.The reason for being honest. B.The benefit of being dishonest.

C.The outcome of selfishness. D.The importance of group work.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.A

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。在生活、工作中，诚实一定是上策吗？本文讨论“诚实守信”是人的本能还是社交生活的必然产物。

1.细节理解题。根据文章第一段中For example, in some shops and car parks you can find an honesty box-a box where you pay for something by putting money in it-but it relies on you putting the right amount of cash in.可知，诚实盒子要求人们在盒子里放入正确数目的钱。故选B项。

2.细节理解题。根据文章第二段Philip Graves 的话We have evolved with the ability to be dishonest. It's part of our evolutionary psychological make-up-because if we can gain an advantage over the people around us, we have a greater chance of surviving.可知，不诚实是我们进化的一部分。故选C项。

3.主旨大意题。根据文章第三段内容尤其首句 So why do we place such importance on being honest if we benefit from being dishonest? 那么，如果我们从不诚实中获益，为什么我们会如此重视诚实呢？可知，此段主要向我们叙述要诚实的原因。故选A项。