6.How can you tell if someone's lying?The answer is,they're probably not.
Traditional economics says that people are rational(理智的)beings who will lie if it's to their advantage.A recent university study has shown that,actually,we're pretty honest--especially when we're at home.
Researchers in Germany phoned people at home and asked them to toss(投擲)a coin.There was a strong financial incentive(刺激) to fake the result:if the coin landed tails-up,the participants would receive money or a gift ticket,while if the coin landed heads-up,they would get nothing.Because they were on the phone,they knew there was no risk of getting caught if they lied.
And yet people told the truth.Over hundreds of tosses,a coin will land tails-up roughly 50% of the time.In this study 0ver half the people asked (55.6%) said that the coin landed heads-up,which meant they would receive nothing.
Previous studies had found that people were more dishonest.In those laboratory studies,75% of people reported a winning coin and claimed a reward.So the research team thinks it's being in our own homes which makes us play fair,although it's not yet clear why.
In fact both types of study show people are surprisingly reliable.Even in the laboratory,25% of people turned down a reward by telling the truth.The researchers say this is because honesty is highly valued in human society.We care about our reputation and our sense of ourselves as respectable people.So lying has a psychological cost and it seems this cost is more important than the financialbenefits of lying.
24.When do people lie according to troditional economics?B
A.When they are at home
B.When it's to their advantage.
C.When they would receive nothing
D.When it comes to financial benefits.
25.Which of the following is TRUE according to the research?A
A.There was no risk of getting caught lying if people were on the phone.
B.The participant would receive nothing if he said the coin landed tails-up.
C.The studies could help to correct the mistakes of the participants
D.people would play fair and behave acceptably if invited to the laboratory.
26.Under what circumstance were the participants more dishonest?D
A.On the phone
B.On the street
C.In their homes
D.In those laboratory studies
27.Researchers have done an experiment in order toD.
A.find out the rates of tossing a coin.
B.prove the finacial benefits of lying.
D.find out the reason why people play fair.
D.a(chǎn)dvocate honesty is highly valued in society.