Question

    Throughout our daily lives, we have known plenty of people and will know more. But how can we tell if someone is trustworthy? In a paper published recently in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researcher gave us the answer.

The researchers asked 401 adults from the United States to fill out a questionnaire measuring their guilt-proneness(内疚倾向) in different situations as well as several other qualities, and then play a short online game. In this game, Player 1 is given $1, which they can choose to give to Player2. Any money given to Player 2 is then automatically increased to $2.50. Player 2 can then decide whether to keep all of the money or behave in a trustworthy way by returning a portion of the money to Player 1. The researchers found more guilt-prone people were more likely to share the money with Player1. Actually, in follow-up studies, guilt-proneness predicted trustworthiness better than other personality qualities the researchers measured.

Why might guilt lead to trustworthy behavior? The researchers found people who were guilt-prone also reported feeling an obligation to act in ethical(合乎道德的) and responsible ways while interacting(互动) with their partners in the game. People who are guilt-prone tend to avoid engaging in behavior that might harm or disappoint others. If they do something bad, guilt encourages them to try to make things right again.

Then， how can we use this research to ascertain whether someone is trustworthy? “One way to do this might be observe how they respond to experience regret,” lead author Emma Levine, assistant professor at the University of Chicago Levine, explains. Another way is to ask them to describe a difficult dilemma they faced in the past, suggests co-author Taya Cohen, associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University. This is particularly effective, Cohen and her colleagues have found, because it allows us to see if they’re concerned about the effects their actions have on others.

1.What may make others feel that we are reliable according to the text?

A.Our good qualities to help them out.

B.Our tendency to experience guilt.

C.Our kind attitude towards them.

D.Our team spirit in the game.

2.What may connect guilt with trustworthy behavior?

A.A sense of responsibility.

B.A feeling of disappointment.

C.The way one interacts with others.

D.The ability to tell right from wrong.

3.What does the underlined word “ascertain” in the last paragraph mean?

A.Ask B.Express

C.Describe D.Determine

4.How is the text organized and developed?

A.By providing background.

B.By making a lot of comparisons.

C.By answering the raised questions.

D.By analyzing effects of guilt-proneness.

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇科学研究类说明文。生活中，我们会遇到各种各样的人，那如何确定一个人是不是值得信任呢？科学家做了一个实验，发现内疚倾向性格的人更值得信任。内疚性格能驱使人的行为更加合乎道德，具有责任感。所以看一个人后悔时的表现以及通过让他描述一个两难事件，就可以确定这个人是否可靠。

1.细节理解题。文章第四段首句提出问题“我们如何用这个研究结果确定某人是不是值得信赖呢？”，第四段第二句给出了答案之一就是观察他们经历后悔的事情时的反应是什么。所以放在我们身上，我们内疚时的反应就能让别人看出我们是不是可靠。故选B。

2.细节理解题。文章第三段第二句话的意思是：研究发现，内疚倾向的人在和伙伴玩游戏时，感觉自己有义务采取合乎道德，有责任感的行为。也就是感到内疚，就会有责任感，有了责任感行为就值得信赖。故选A。

3.词义猜测题。句意：我们如何用这项研究来确定那些人是可靠的呢？“ascertain”与首段首句中的“tell”以及本段最后一句中的“allow us to see”呼应，意为“确定”。A. Ask问；B. Express表达；C. Describe描述；D. Determine 确定。故选D。

4.推理判断题。文章首段提出问题：我们如何确定一个人是否可靠？下文是通过研究发现内疚倾向的人行为更加可靠，又从心理学角度分析了为什么内疚倾向的人值得信赖。随后推荐给我们两种判断对方是否可靠的办法。最后一段的回答与首段中的问题呼应。故文章是通过问答方式编排的。故选C。