Let’s say you have a piece of wood, a nail, and a hammer. Pretend the wood is a person, and the nail is a mean rumor(谣言) about that person. If you hammer in the nail, you’re obviously hurting him or her. If you then pull out the nail, there’s still a hole in the wood, and the damage has been done.
There are many reasons why that nail of a rumor can be so harmful. Rumors are, quite simply, a form of bullying(欺侮). When a person or a group makes up a rumor about someone or decides to spread gossip, it’s usually to hurt someone, break up a friendship, or make someone less popular. It’s the same thing as teasing, only it’s done behind someone’s back instead of to his or her face.
When you spread a rumor about someone, you’re sending a signal that the person is outside of the group, and somehow less worthy of friendship than others. You’re making fun of that person or pointing out negative things about him or her. This can let others think that it’s okay to make the person feel bad, and make him or her an outsider.
We need to be able to trust our friends, and gossip and rumors can break this trust. If you tell a personal secret to a friend, and he turns around and tells it to someone else, you might feel like you will get burned if you ever get close to him again.
Letting a rumor influence your behavior is like letting someone else make a big decision for you. Let’s say you hear that the teacher plans to call a Snow Day tomorrow because a blizzard (暴风雪) is coming. Expecting a day off, you don’t do your homework. The next morning, the blizzard turns out to be nothing more than a drizzle(毛毛雨), and school isn’t off after all. You get zeroes on your work.
小题1:To tell a rumor and a tease apart, you depend on ______.
A．whether it is done behind someone
B．whether it is painful or not
C．whether it is a kind of bullying
D．whether it is spread fast.小题2:If a rumor is spread about someone, others may_______.
A．point out his or her advantages
B．keep away from him or her
C．not feel he or she is an outsider
D．be hurt if getting close to him or her again.小题3:The purpose of this passage is to _______.
A．advise on how to deal with rumors
B．teach us how to judge a rumor
C．find out why rumors spread fast
D．explain why rumors hurt
小题1:A
小题2:B
小题3:D
题目分析：这篇文章讲述的是谣言为什么会伤害人。你散布一个人的谣言，别人也会远离他。一旦伤害造成，是不能消除影响的。
小题1:细节题：从第二段的句子：It’s the same thing as teasing, only it’s done behind someone’s back instead of to his or her face. 可知谣言和取笑的不同是是否当着别人的面在说。选A
小题2:细节题：从第三段的句子：This can let others think that it’s okay to make the person feel bad, and make him or her an outsider. 可知你散布一个人的谣言，别人也会远离他。选B。
小题3:主旨题：从第二段的段首， There are many reasons why that nail of a rumor can be so harmful. 可知这篇文章讲述的是谣言为什么会伤害人。选D
点评：这篇文章讲述的是谣言为什么会伤害人。你散布一个人的谣言，别人也会远离他。一旦伤害造成，是不能消除影响的。集中考查了句意理解题和细节题，要求考生有较强的细节理解能力。做题时也可以结合自己的生活常识和经验，再通过逻辑推理和判断。文章结构图的解答关键是弄清每段的大意。