Question

    Did you hear what happened at yesterday’s meeting? Can you believe it? If you find those sorts of quietly whispered questions about your co-workers irresistible, you're hardly alone. But why are we drawn to gossip?

A new study suggests it’s because the rumors are all about us”. Gossip receivers tend to use positive and negative group information to improve, promote, and protect the self,” writes a research team, led by Elena Martinescu of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. In the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, the researchers described two experiments team, led by Elena Martinescu of the University described two experiments testing the personal value gossip receivers get.

The first featured 178 university undergraduates, who had all previously worked on at least one course assignment with a group of four or more students. Participants were asked to recall and write a short description of an incident, in which a group member shared with them either positive or negative information about another group member’s secret. They then reported their level of agreement with a series of statements. Some of these measured the self-improvement value of the gossip (“The information received made me think I learn a lot from X”); others measured its self-promotion value (“The information I received made me feel that I am doing well compared to X”). Still others measured whether the gossip raised personal concerns (“The information I received made me feel that I must protect my image in the group”).

In the second experiment, 122 undergraduates were assigned the role of “sales agent” at a major company. They received gossip from a colleague that a third person either did very well or very badly at a performance evaluation, and were then asked about the emotions that information caused. They also responded to the above-mentioned set of statements presented to the participants in the first experiment.

In each experiment, participants found both negative and positive gossip to be of personal value with different reasons. “Positive gossip has self-improvement value,” they write. “'Competence-related positive gossip about others contains lessons about how to improve one's own competence. On the other hand, negative gossip has self-promotion value, because it provides individuals with social comparison information that justifies self-promoting judgments which results in feelings of pride.”

In addition, the results showed that negative gossip brought about self-protection concerns, the researchers write. “Negative gossip makes people concerned that their reputations may be at risk, as they may personally become targets of negative gossip in the future, which generates fear”. Fear is hardly a pleasant sensation (感觉), but it can be a motivating one. As researchers put it: “Gossip conveniently provides individuals with indirect social-comparison information about relevant others.”

1.Why are we drawn to gossip according to the researchers?

A.We need evaluative information about others to evaluate ourselves.

B.We are interested in the news that arouses our personal concerns.

C.We tend to gain a sense of pride from judging others.

D.We are likely to learn lessons from others’ mistakes.

2.According to the first experiment, which of the following shows self-promotion value?

A.I have to learn from Mary according to what Tom said about her.

B.I should behave myself in case of being gossiped about like Mary.

C.I’ve done better than Mary according to what Tom said about her.

D.I have no comments on what Tom said about Mary.

3.What’s the critical difference of the second experiment compared with the first one?

A.The identities of the participants.

B.The number of the participants studied.

C.The time during which the experiment lasted.

D.The role-play technique used in experiment.

4.What role does “negative gossip” play according to the researchers?

A.A fear killer. B.A protector.

C.A motivator. D.A subject provider.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.C

【解析】

本文属于说明文。作者通过这篇文章主要向我们描述了人们为什么会被八卦吸引的原因，以及正面八卦和负面八卦对人们的影响。

1.推理判断题。根据第二段中的“A new study suggests it’s because the rumors are all about us. Gossip receivers tend to use positive and negative group information to improve, promote, and protect the self.”可知，一项新研究表明，我们被八卦吸引是因为谣言与我们有关。八卦接收者倾向于使用正面和负面的群体信息来改善，促进和保护自我。即我们需要别人的评价信息来评价自己。故选A。

2.细逻辑推理题。根据文章第三段中的“others measured its self-promotion value （“The information I received made me feel that I am doing well compared to X”.）”可知，其中一些衡量了八卦的自我提升价值（“收到的信息使我觉得我比某人做得好”）。结合选项，A项（根据汤姆所说的关于玛丽的情况，我做的比玛丽好。）这样的话可以提升自我价值。故选C。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“The first featured 178 university undergraduates, who had all previously worked on at least one course assignment with a group of four or more students. Participants were asked to recall and write a short description of an incident, in which a group member shared with them either positive or negative information about another group member’s secret.”可知，第一个实验邀请了178名在校大学生，他们都曾同四名或四名以上的同学组成小组，一起完成过至少一项课程作业。研究人员写道，这些被测试者被要求回忆并写下一段简短的描述，描述小组成员之间一起分享有关于另一组员信息的八卦，无论好坏。根据文章第四段中的“In the second experiment,122 undergraduates were assigned the role of “sales agent ”at a major company.”可知，第二个实验的不同之处在于角色扮演的作用。故选D。

4.推理判断题。根据文章最后一段中的“In addition, the results showed that negative gossip elicited self-protection concerns, the researchers write.”可知，研究人员写道，结果表明负面的八卦引起了人们对自我的保护。即负面流言发挥着激发的作用，会引起自我保护。motivator：激发因素；动因。故选C。