Passage 5
Honesty may well be the policy, but it often deserts us when no one is watching, psychologists report today. Experiments with an honesty box to collect payments for hot drinks show that people are better at paying up when under the gaze of a pair of eyes. The surprise was that the eyes were not real but photographed.
Researchers at Newcastle University set up the experiment in secret. They attached a poster to a cupboard of mugs above an honesty box alongside a kettle, with tea, coffee and milk. Over 10 weeks, they alternated each week between images of eyes and pictures of flowers.
Dr. Bateson, a behavioral biologist and leader of the study, said that even though the eyes were not real they still seemed to make people behave more honestly. The effect may arise from behavioral characteristics that developed as early humans formed social groups that increased their chances of survival. Individuals had to co-operate for the good of the group, rather than act selfishly.
“If nobody is watching us, it is in our interests to behave selfishly. But when we think we’re being watched we should behave better, so people see us as co-operative and behave the same way towards us,” Dr. Bateson said.
“We thought we’d get a slight effect with eyes, but it was quite striking how much difference they made. Even at a subconscious（潜意识的）level, it seems people respond to eyes, and that might be because eyes send a strong biological signal we have evolved（进化）to respond to.”
The findings, which researchers believe sheds light on our evolutionary past, could be turned to practical use. The psychologists say images of eyes could promote ticket sales on public transport and improve systems to prevent antisocial behavior.
1. This passage is mainly about ___.
A, the policy of honesty
B, an honesty box to collect money
C, evolution on honesty
D, an experiment on honesty
2. The reason for doing the experiment secretly is that the researchers ___.
A, wanted to get a comparatively more exact result
B, had known they wanted to do something illegally
C, meant to get the co-operation of their colleagues
D, intended to sell the hot drinks at a higher price
3. People behave honestly under watchful gaze of eyes because ___.
A, they want to leave a good impression
B, they fear to be laughed at by others
C, they’ve got the nature through evolution
D, they take the photo for a real pair of eyes
4. The underlined phrase “sheds light on” in the past paragraph means ___.
A, causes somebody to become cheerful
B, makes something easier to understand
C, comes upon something by accident
D, brings something into the broad daylight
【语篇解读】
本文是一篇实验研究文章，主要讲的是研究人员在秘密状态下做了一个关于测量人在没有别人注视的情况下表现出来的不同行为举止，用以发现人在此种状态下是不是能够做到表里如一、诚实可信。
1.D。主旨大意题。撰文通篇在讲这个关于honesty的实验，及透过实验的发现。
2.A。事实细节题。文章第二段告知：秘密状态下做实验的目的是为了确保一个相对可信的调查结果。
3.C。事实细节题。文章第三段中”The effect may arise from behavioral characteristics that developed as early humans formed social groups that increased their chances of survival”得知答案。
4.B。词义猜测题。根据文章最后一段，研究人员相信这些研究 成果可以让我们对过去的进化有更清楚的理解，也必将应用于现实中。
