新闻报道与评论Passage 4

　　Passage 4

　　At 9:00 Dick Spivak’s bank telephoned and said his payment was late. “The check is in the post,” Dick replied quickly. At 11:45 Dick left for a 12:00 meeting across town. Arriving late, he explained that traffic(交通) had been bad. That evening, Dick’s girlfriend wore a new dress. He hated it. “It looks just great on you,” he said.

　　Three lies in one day! Yet Dick Spivak is just an ordinary man. Each time, he told himself that sometimes the truth causes too many problems. Most of us tell much the same white lies, harmless untruths that help to save trouble. How often do we tell white lies? It depends in part on our age, education, and even where we live. According to one U. S. study, women are more truthful than men, and honesty increases as we get older.

　　While most people use little white lies to make life easier, the majority of Americans care about honesty in both public and personal life. They say that people today are less honest than they were ten years ago. Although it is believed that things are getting worse, lying seems to be an age-old human problem. The French philosopher (哲学家) Vauvenarges, writing in the eighteenth century, touched on the truth when he wrote. “All men are born truthful and die liars (说谎者).”

　　(1998年真题)

　　1. When the writer says “Dick Spivak is just an ordinary man”, he means ____.

　　A. it is common that people tell white lies

　　B. Dick could do nothing about bad traffic

　　C. it is common that people delay their payment

　　D. Dick found it hard to deal with everyday problems

　　2. According to the text, most Americans ____.

　　A. hate white liesB. believe white lies

　　C. value honestyD. consider others dishonest

　　3. Vauvenarges’ remark suggests that ____.

　　A. lying is an age-old human problem

　　B. dishonesty increases as people get older

　　C. people were dishonest in the 18th century

　　D. it is social conditions that make people tell lies

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