Question

“Don’t tell anyone”. We hear these words when someone tells a secret to us. But it can be hard to keep a secret. Often, we can’t help “spilling the beans”, even if we regret it later.

According to Asim Shah, professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, US, keeping a secret may well “become a burden”. This is because people often have an “obsessive and anxious urge(沖動) to share it with someone.

An earlier study, led by Anita E. Kelly, a scientist at the University of Notre Dame, US, suggested that keeping a secret could cause stress. People entrusted with secrets can suffer from depression, anxiety, and body aches, reported the daily Mail.

But with secrets so often getting out, why do people share them at all? Shah explained that people often feel that it will help them keep a person as a friend. Another reason people share secrets is guilt over keeping it from someone close to them. A sense of distrust can develop when people who are close do not share it with each other. “Keeping or sharing secrets often puts people in a position of either getting or losing the trust of someone.” according to Shah.

He added that talkative people could let secrets slip out. But this doesn't mean that it is a good idea only to share secrets with quiet people. A quiet person may be someone who keeps everything inside. To tell such a person a secret may cause them stress, and make them talk about the secret.

Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret, you'd better put yourself in their position. Think about how you would feel to be told that you mustn’t give the information away. Shah also recommended that if you accidentally give up someone’s secret you should come clean about it. Let the person know that their secret isn't so secret any more.

1.The underlined phrase “spilling the beans” in paragraph 1 probably means _______.

A. Keeping a secret B. Discussing a secret

C. Letting out a secret D. Thinking about a secret

2.Why may keeping a secret “become a burden”?

A. Because people who tell a secret may feel regretful.

B. Because people who keep a secret may feel stressed.

C. Because people may feel depressed after letting out the secrets.

D. Because people are forced to share their secrets with others.

3.From the passage, we can infer that _______.

A. People may feel guilty if they keep secrets for someone close to them

B. Keeping a secret may lead to distrust between close friends

C. To tell talkative people a secret may cause them much stress

D. It’s always a good idea to share secrets with quiet people

4.What’s the best title of the passage?

A. Keeping secrets is a burden. B. Don’t tell secrets to anyone.

C. Always share secrets with others. D. Others’ secrets are no more secrets.

Answer 1