What a strange world this would be if everyone told the truth! Even though all world religions caution(告诫) people against lying, it seems that lying is a universal communication style. Most of us get angry at big lies—especially those in government, business, and the social world. But how about truth-telling in our private life? Should we always tell the truth to husbands, wives, mothers, fathers and children? Do we?
We all lie. National public opinion polls find that only about one in ten Americans say they never tell a lie. One study of college students found that each student told about two lies a day. Half of all adults interviewed in a CBS New Poll last year admitted they had told a lie they regretted, and nearly as many said they had been deeply hurt by a lie someone told them.
We all lie about lies. Researchers asked subjects to describe the lies they told over a period of weeks. Subjects over-reported “white lies”(harmless lies—I really like your dress) and under-reported serious lies( I graduated with honors).
We lie differently to different types of people. We tell more lies to men than to women. Men and women tell more lies about themselves when talking to men, but more lies about others when talking to women. Men are particularly likely to lie about themselves. Women tell more lies than men, but only because women tell white lies in order to flatter or avoid confrontation (对抗).
Lies are hard to detect(察觉). Surveys show that nearly everyone believes most people are truthful. That’s why people are so bad at detecting lies.
1. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. When asked, the subjects admitted they told more serious lies.
B. People are not good at detecting lies.
C. White lies are harmless.
D. Men tell fewer lies than women.
2. The underlined word “flatter (in Paragraph 4)” probably means “_______”.
A. to anger somebody by telling a lie
B. to praise somebody in order to win his favor
C. to avoid somebody so as to escape payment
D. to warn somebody by shouting
3. Lies are not easy to detect because _______.
A. most people get angry at big lies
B. people tell more lies about themselves
C. nearly everyone believes most people are truthful
D. everyone tells the truth
