As little children,most of us were taught the virtue of honesty from fairy tales and other stories. The story of Pinocchio, who begins life as a puppet, teaches us the ___36__of telling the truth. In the story of young George Washington, who lies about cutting down the cherry tree, we learn that he earns his father’s praise only when he ___37__what he has done. Even though we know that “honesty is the best policy,” why do we often lie in our everyday life? There is more than one factor__38___what we do.
We sometimes lie to___39__ our errors and mistakes. For example,some students might lie to their teachers about unfinished homework. They might say that they left the work at home when, __40___, they didn’t even do the work. These students don’t want to be irresponsible, so they ___41__a lie to save face.
Another reason we lie is to __42___situations we don't want to be in.If we just don’t want to attend the dorm meeting early on Saturday morning, we might give this__43___: “I've been fighting off a cold all week,and I need to sleep on Saturday morning.”
We lie because we___44__ believe that telling the truth will cause problems. When we don’t know how to say no, we often use lies to avoid difficulties.
However, lies are not always negative; in fact two kinds of lies can __45___ positive results. The first is commonly __46___ as a “white lie.” We tell white lies when we don’t want to __47___ other people's feelings. For example, if a good friend __48___ with an unflattering(难看的)haircut, it is awful to tell the truth and say, “That haircut is terrible. It doesn't suit you at all!” ___49__, we are more likely to lie and say, “I like your haircut.It looks good on you,” thus __50___ our friend’s feelings.
The second kind of positive lie is the “protective lie”.This one can help us get out of or avoid __51___ situations. Parents often teach their children to use this kind of lie. For example, parents tell their children not to say that they are home alone if they receive phone calls from strangers. In this situation, lying can ___52__ harm or disasters.
People lie for many reasons, both good and bad. __53___, before we resort to(采用)lying to cover up __54___ or to avoid unpleasant situations, perhaps we should rethink our __55___ for lying.
36. A. way | B. lesson | C. significance | D. difficulty |
37. A. realizes | B. admits | C. regrets | D. knows |
38. A. applying to | B. subscribing to | C submitting to | D. contributing to |
39. A. solve | B. minimize | C. correct | D. reject |
40. A. in fact | B. as usual | C. in particular | D. on purpose |
41. A. pick up | B. sum up | C. make up | D. do up |
42. A. break up with | B. get hold of | C. do away with | D. get out of |
43. A. excuse | B. reason | C. fact | D. description |
44. A. highly | B. firmly | C. thoroughly | D. obviously |
45. A. represent | B. reveal | C. yield | D. release |
46. A. shown | B. mentioned | C. called | D. known |
47. A. hurt | B. destroy | C. ruin | D. injure |
48. A. gets up | B. takes up | C. shows up | D. holds up |
49. A. Still | B. Personally | C. Honestly | D. Rather |
50. A. hiding | B. sparing | C. defending | D. maintaining |
51. A. risky | B. inconvenient | C. embarrassing | D. boring |
52. A. abandon | B. abolish | C. cause | D. prevent |
53. A. However | B. Therefore | C. Besides | D. Instead |
54. A. disadvantages | B. feelings | C. mistakes | D. dangers |
55. A. motivations | B. possibilities | C. reputations | D. consequences |