Question

【題目】“Did you hear what happened to Adam Last Friday?” Lindsey whispers to Tori.

With her eyes shining, Tori brags, “You bet I did, Sean told me two days ago.”

Who are Lindsey and Tori talking about? It just happened to be yours truly, Adam Freedman. I can tell you that what they are saying is (a) not nice and (b) not even true. Still, Lindsey and Tori aren’t very different from most students here at Linton High School, including me. Many of our conversations are gossip(閑話). I have noticed three effects of gossip: it can hurt people, it can give gossipers a strange kind of satisfaction, and it can cause social pressures in a group.

An important negative effect of gossip is that it can hurt the person being talked about. Usually, gossip spreads information about a topic-breakups, trouble at home, even dropping out-that a person would rather keep secret. The more embarrassing or shameful the secret is, the juicier the gossip it makes. Probably the worst type of gossip is the absolute lie. People often think of gossipers as harmless, but cruel lies can cause pain.

If we know that gossip can be harmful, then why do so many of us do it? Theanswer lies in another effect of gossip: the satisfaction it gives us. Sharing the latest rumor(傳言) can make a person feel important because he or she knows something that others don’t. Similarly, hearing the latest rumor can make a person feel like part of the “in group.” In other words, gossip is satisfying because it gives people a sense of belonging or even superiority(優(yōu)越感).

Gossip also can have a third effect: it strengthens unwritten, unspoken rules about how people should act. Professor David Wilson explains that gossip is important in policing behaviors in a group. Translated into high school terms, this means that if everybody you hang around with is laughing at what John wore or what Jane said, then you can bet that wearing or saying something similar will get you the same kind of negative attention. The dos and don’ts conveyed through gossip will never show up in any student handbook.

The effects of gossip vary depending on the situation. The next time you feel the urge to spread the latest news, think about why you want to gossip and what effects your “juicy story” might have.

【1】The author uses a conversation at the beginning of the passage to .

A. introduce a topic B. present an argument

C. describe the characters D. clarify his writing purpose

【2】Professor David Wilson thinks that gossip can .

A. provide students with written rules

B. help people watch their own behaviors

C. force schools to improve student handbooks

D. attract the police’s attention to group behaviors

【3】What advice does the author give in the passage?

A. Never become a gossiper

B. Stay away from gossipers

C. Don’t let gossip turn into lies

D. Think twice before you gossip.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】B

【3】D

【解析】古有諺語“謠言止于智者”，本文用一則對話引出“八卦”這一話題，并深入分析了“八卦”所帶來的既有消極方面，也有積極方面的影響，建議人們想要傳播最新的新聞時，要知道你為什么想要八卦，以及你的“蜜汁故事”可能會帶來什么影響，要三思而后行。

【1】A 推理判斷題。該題考察文章的寫作技巧。作者開篇引用一則對話作為一個實例，用來引出“閑話”這一話題。第三段第五句“Many of our conversations are gossip.”,其中，conversations為關鍵詞，因為作者引用的就是一個conversation。因此，選A。

【2】B 推理判斷題。第六段第二句Professor David Wilson explains that gossip is important in policing behaviors in a group，police在此處的意思是“監(jiān)督”，和B項中的watch有語義上的聯(lián)系。另外根據(jù)該段后半部分的解釋可以知道，所八卦別人的事情，也正是自己力求避免的東西。因此可以推斷出團體中的人自覺地根據(jù)自己的觀察來自律自己的行為。A項錯在written一詞；C項說法沒有依據(jù)；D項中police一詞屬于對動名詞policing的曲解。

【3】D 細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第七段，八卦的影響因情況而異。作者認為，下次當你想要傳播最新的新聞時，要知道你為什么想要八卦，以及你的“蜜汁故事”可能會有什么影響，要三思而后行。故選D。