The Limits of Lying

Lying is a part of human nature. But how far will people go?

[A] Psychologist Dan Ariely became interested in dishonesty about 15 years ago. During a long-distance flight, he came across an IQ test in a magazine. He answered the first question and checked the answer key to see if he got it right. He then took a quick look at the next answer before looking back at the quiz. He continued in this way through the whole test. Not surprisingly, he scored very well. "When I finished, I thought - I cheated myself," he says. So why did he do it? "Presumably, I wanted to know how smart I am, but I also wanted to prove I'm this smart to myself." The experience led Ariely to develop a lifelong interest in the study of lying and other forms of dishonesty.

[B] To find out more about lying habits, Ariely developed a series of studies known as the Matrix Experiments. In the experiments, volunteers completed a test with 20 simple math problems. They were given five minutes to solve as many as they could. For each correct answer, they were told they would receive a sum of money. When the time was up, the volunteers counted the number of problems they solved correctly. They were then asked to destroy their answer sheets in a shredder. After reporting their own test scores, they were paid accordingly. However, there was something the volunteers didn't know. Their answer sheets were never actually destroyed.

[C] By comparing actual test scores to reported scores, Ariely's research team found out how many volunteers lied, and how much they lied by. The results? Of the 40,000 people who participated in the experiment, nearly 70 percent lied about their test score. On average, volunteers said they solved six problems, but it was closer to four. The results are similar across different cultures. Most of us lie, but only a little.

[D] The question Ariely finds most interesting is not why so many of us lie, but rather why we don't lie a lot more. In one version of the experiment, participants were offered significantly more money for each correct answer. However, this did not cause them to cheat more. "Here we give people a chance to steal lots of money, and people cheat only a little bit. So something stops us - most of us - from not lying all the way," Ariely says.

[E] The reason, he believes, is that we want to see ourselves as honest, because honesty is a value taught to us by society. This is why most of us place limits on how much we lie. We may be able to come up with an excuse for taking Post-it Notes from an office fairly easily. "But it is much more difficult to come up with an excuse for taking $10,000," Ariely explains. The extent of our lying is determined largely by what is acceptable by society. "Cheating is easier," he says, "when we can justify our behavior."

What is the purpose of paragraph A?

The Limits of Lying

Lying is a part of human nature. But how far will people go?

[A] Psychologist Dan Ariely became interested in dishonesty about 15 years ago. During a long-distance flight, he came across an IQ test in a magazine. He answered the first question and checked the answer key to see if he got it right. He then took a quick look at the next answer before looking back at the quiz. He continued in this way through the whole test. Not surprisingly, he scored very well. "When I finished, I thought - I cheated myself," he says. So why did he do it? "Presumably, I wanted to know how smart I am, but I also wanted to prove I'm this smart to myself." The experience led Ariely to develop a lifelong interest in the study of lying and other forms of dishonesty.

[B] To find out more about lying habits, Ariely developed a series of studies known as the Matrix Experiments. In the experiments, volunteers completed a test with 20 simple math problems. They were given five minutes to solve as many as they could. For each correct answer, they were told they would receive a sum of money. When the time was up, the volunteers counted the number of problems they solved correctly. They were then asked to destroy their answer sheets in a shredder. After reporting their own test scores, they were paid accordingly. However, there was something the volunteers didn't know. Their answer sheets were never actually destroyed.

[C] By comparing actual test scores to reported scores, Ariely's research team found out how many volunteers lied, and how much they lied by. The results? Of the 40,000 people who participated in the experiment, nearly 70 percent lied about their test score. On average, volunteers said they solved six problems, but it was closer to four. The results are similar across different cultures. Most of us lie, but only a little.

[D] The question Ariely finds most interesting is not why so many of us lie, but rather why we don't lie a lot more. In one version of the experiment, participants were offered significantly more money for each correct answer. However, this did not cause them to cheat more. "Here we give people a chance to steal lots of money, and people cheat only a little bit. So something stops us - most of us - from not lying all the way," Ariely says.

[E] The reason, he believes, is that we want to see ourselves as honest, because honesty is a value taught to us by society. This is why most of us place limits on how much we lie. We may be able to come up with an excuse for taking Post-it Notes from an office fairly easily. "But it is much more difficult to come up with an excuse for taking $10,000," Ariely explains. The extent of our lying is determined largely by what is acceptable by society. "Cheating is easier," he says, "when we can justify our behavior."

How many problems were on the test in the experiment?

The Limits of Lying

Lying is a part of human nature. But how far will people go?

[A] Psychologist Dan Ariely became interested in dishonesty about 15 years ago. During a long-distance flight, he came across an IQ test in a magazine. He answered the first question and checked the answer key to see if he got it right. He then took a quick look at the next answer before looking back at the quiz. He continued in this way through the whole test. Not surprisingly, he scored very well. "When I finished, I thought - I cheated myself," he says. So why did he do it? "Presumably, I wanted to know how smart I am, but I also wanted to prove I'm this smart to myself." The experience led Ariely to develop a lifelong interest in the study of lying and other forms of dishonesty.

[B] To find out more about lying habits, Ariely developed a series of studies known as the Matrix Experiments. In the experiments, volunteers completed a test with 20 simple math problems. They were given five minutes to solve as many as they could. For each correct answer, they were told they would receive a sum of money. When the time was up, the volunteers counted the number of problems they solved correctly. They were then asked to destroy their answer sheets in a shredder. After reporting their own test scores, they were paid accordingly. However, there was something the volunteers didn't know. Their answer sheets were never actually destroyed.

[C] By comparing actual test scores to reported scores, Ariely's research team found out how many volunteers lied, and how much they lied by. The results? Of the 40,000 people who participated in the experiment, nearly 70 percent lied about their test score. On average, volunteers said they solved six problems, but it was closer to four. The results are similar across different cultures. Most of us lie, but only a little.

[D] The question Ariely finds most interesting is not why so many of us lie, but rather why we don't lie a lot more. In one version of the experiment, participants were offered significantly more money for each correct answer. However, this did not cause them to cheat more. "Here we give people a chance to steal lots of money, and people cheat only a little bit. So something stops us - most of us - from not lying all the way," Ariely says.

[E] The reason, he believes, is that we want to see ourselves as honest, because honesty is a value taught to us by society. This is why most of us place limits on how much we lie. We may be able to come up with an excuse for taking Post-it Notes from an office fairly easily. "But it is much more difficult to come up with an excuse for taking $10,000," Ariely explains. The extent of our lying is determined largely by what is acceptable by society. "Cheating is easier," he says, "when we can justify our behavior."

What does version mean in paragraph D?

The Limits of Lying

Lying is a part of human nature. But how far will people go?

[A] Psychologist Dan Ariely became interested in dishonesty about 15 years ago. During a long-distance flight, he came across an IQ test in a magazine. He answered the first question and checked the answer key to see if he got it right. He then took a quick look at the next answer before looking back at the quiz. He continued in this way through the whole test. Not surprisingly, he scored very well. "When I finished, I thought - I cheated myself," he says. So why did he do it? "Presumably, I wanted to know how smart I am, but I also wanted to prove I'm this smart to myself." The experience led Ariely to develop a lifelong interest in the study of lying and other forms of dishonesty.

[B] To find out more about lying habits, Ariely developed a series of studies known as the Matrix Experiments. In the experiments, volunteers completed a test with 20 simple math problems. They were given five minutes to solve as many as they could. For each correct answer, they were told they would receive a sum of money. When the time was up, the volunteers counted the number of problems they solved correctly. They were then asked to destroy their answer sheets in a shredder. After reporting their own test scores, they were paid accordingly. However, there was something the volunteers didn't know. Their answer sheets were never actually destroyed.

[C] By comparing actual test scores to reported scores, Ariely's research team found out how many volunteers lied, and how much they lied by. The results? Of the 40,000 people who participated in the experiment, nearly 70 percent lied about their test score. On average, volunteers said they solved six problems, but it was closer to four. The results are similar across different cultures. Most of us lie, but only a little.

[D] The question Ariely finds most interesting is not why so many of us lie, but rather why we don't lie a lot more. In one version of the experiment, participants were offered significantly more money for each correct answer. However, this did not cause them to cheat more. "Here we give people a chance to steal lots of money, and people cheat only a little bit. So something stops us - most of us - from not lying all the way," Ariely says.

[E] The reason, he believes, is that we want to see ourselves as honest, because honesty is a value taught to us by society. This is why most of us place limits on how much we lie. We may be able to come up with an excuse for taking Post-it Notes from an office fairly easily. "But it is much more difficult to come up with an excuse for taking $10,000," Ariely explains. The extent of our lying is determined largely by what is acceptable by society. "Cheating is easier," he says, "when we can justify our behavior."

In paragraph C, what does it refer to?

Natural Liars

[A] Lying is something that most of us are very skilled at. We often tell lies to strangers, co-workers, friends, and loved ones. Some might say that we rely on dishonesty just as much as we rely on trust. In short, lying is a part of human nature.

[B] Our natural lying habits were first researched by Bella DePaulo, a social psychologist1 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Two decades ago, DePaulo and her colleagues asked 147 adults to record the number of times and the reasons why they lied or tried to mislead someone over the course of a week. The researchers found that the participants lied once or twice a day on average. Most of these untruths were harmless, as they were used to hide failings or to protect the feelings of others. Some lies were excuses - one individual said that he did not take out the garbage because he did not know where to put it. Other lies - such as claiming to be a diplomat's2 son - were told to give a false image. While these were minor cases, DePaulo and other colleagues found in a later study that most people have, some time in their lives, told one or more "serious lies." These include hiding an affair3 from a partner or making false statements on a college application form. In summary, DePaulo and her colleagues were able to conclude that dishonesty is a common human behavior.

[C] Of course, the results of this experiment should not surprise us. Humans have been lying to each other since the beginning of our history. Researchers believe that humans began to lie soon after the development of language. Thousands of years ago, the ability to control others without using physical force may have helped us compete for food and water. While some animals survive by changing their body colors, humans have survived by changing their words. [D] "Lying is so easy compared to other ways of gaining power," says philosopher Sissela Bok of Harvard University, one expert on the subject. "It's much easier to lie in order to get somebody's money or wealth than to hit them over the head or rob a bank."

1 A social psychologist is a person who uses scientific methods to study human social interactions.

2 A diplomat is a person who represents their country's government in another country.

3 Someone is having an affair if they are already married or has a partner but engages in a secret relationship with another person.

What is this passage mainly about?

Natural Liars

[A] Lying is something that most of us are very skilled at. We often tell lies to strangers, co-workers, friends, and loved ones. Some might say that we rely on dishonesty just as much as we rely on trust. In short, lying is a part of human nature.

[B] Our natural lying habits were first researched by Bella DePaulo, a social psychologist1 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Two decades ago, DePaulo and her colleagues asked 147 adults to record the number of times and the reasons why they lied or tried to mislead someone over the course of a week. The researchers found that the participants lied once or twice a day on average. Most of these untruths were harmless, as they were used to hide failings or to protect the feelings of others. Some lies were excuses - one individual said that he did not take out the garbage because he did not know where to put it. Other lies - such as claiming to be a diplomat's2 son - were told to give a false image. While these were minor cases, DePaulo and other colleagues found in a later study that most people have, some time in their lives, told one or more "serious lies." These include hiding an affair3 from a partner or making false statements on a college application form. In summary, DePaulo and her colleagues were able to conclude that dishonesty is a common human behavior.

[C] Of course, the results of this experiment should not surprise us. Humans have been lying to each other since the beginning of our history. Researchers believe that humans began to lie soon after the development of language. Thousands of years ago, the ability to control others without using physical force may have helped us compete for food and water. While some animals survive by changing their body colors, humans have survived by changing their words. [D] "Lying is so easy compared to other ways of gaining power," says philosopher Sissela Bok of Harvard University, one expert on the subject. "It's much easier to lie in order to get somebody's money or wealth than to hit them over the head or rob a bank."

1 A social psychologist is a person who uses scientific methods to study human social interactions.

2 A diplomat is a person who represents their country's government in another country.

3 Someone is having an affair if they are already married or has a partner but engages in a secret relationship with another person.

In the third sentence of paragraph A, what does the word some refer to?

Natural Liars

[A] Lying is something that most of us are very skilled at. We often tell lies to strangers, co-workers, friends, and loved ones. Some might say that we rely on dishonesty just as much as we rely on trust. In short, lying is a part of human nature.

[B] Our natural lying habits were first researched by Bella DePaulo, a social psychologist1 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Two decades ago, DePaulo and her colleagues asked 147 adults to record the number of times and the reasons why they lied or tried to mislead someone over the course of a week. The researchers found that the participants lied once or twice a day on average. Most of these untruths were harmless, as they were used to hide failings or to protect the feelings of others. Some lies were excuses - one individual said that he did not take out the garbage because he did not know where to put it. Other lies - such as claiming to be a diplomat's2 son - were told to give a false image. While these were minor cases, DePaulo and other colleagues found in a later study that most people have, some time in their lives, told one or more "serious lies." These include hiding an affair3 from a partner or making false statements on a college application form. In summary, DePaulo and her colleagues were able to conclude that dishonesty is a common human behavior.

[C] Of course, the results of this experiment should not surprise us. Humans have been lying to each other since the beginning of our history. Researchers believe that humans began to lie soon after the development of language. Thousands of years ago, the ability to control others without using physical force may have helped us compete for food and water. While some animals survive by changing their body colors, humans have survived by changing their words. [D] "Lying is so easy compared to other ways of gaining power," says philosopher Sissela Bok of Harvard University, one expert on the subject. "It's much easier to lie in order to get somebody's money or wealth than to hit them over the head or rob a bank."

1 A social psychologist is a person who uses scientific methods to study human social interactions.

2 A diplomat is a person who represents their country's government in another country.

3 Someone is having an affair if they are already married or has a partner but engages in a secret relationship with another person.

In paragraph B, what does the word minor mean?

Natural Liars

[A] Lying is something that most of us are very skilled at. We often tell lies to strangers, co-workers, friends, and loved ones. Some might say that we rely on dishonesty just as much as we rely on trust. In short, lying is a part of human nature.

[B] Our natural lying habits were first researched by Bella DePaulo, a social psychologist1 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Two decades ago, DePaulo and her colleagues asked 147 adults to record the number of times and the reasons why they lied or tried to mislead someone over the course of a week. The researchers found that the participants lied once or twice a day on average. Most of these untruths were harmless, as they were used to hide failings or to protect the feelings of others. Some lies were excuses - one individual said that he did not take out the garbage because he did not know where to put it. Other lies - such as claiming to be a diplomat's2 son - were told to give a false image. While these were minor cases, DePaulo and other colleagues found in a later study that most people have, some time in their lives, told one or more "serious lies." These include hiding an affair3 from a partner or making false statements on a college application form. In summary, DePaulo and her colleagues were able to conclude that dishonesty is a common human behavior.

[C] Of course, the results of this experiment should not surprise us. Humans have been lying to each other since the beginning of our history. Researchers believe that humans began to lie soon after the development of language. Thousands of years ago, the ability to control others without using physical force may have helped us compete for food and water. While some animals survive by changing their body colors, humans have survived by changing their words. [D] "Lying is so easy compared to other ways of gaining power," says philosopher Sissela Bok of Harvard University, one expert on the subject. "It's much easier to lie in order to get somebody's money or wealth than to hit them over the head or rob a bank."

1 A social psychologist is a person who uses scientific methods to study human social interactions.

2 A diplomat is a person who represents their country's government in another country.

3 Someone is having an affair if they are already married or has a partner but engages in a secret relationship with another person.

According to DePaulo's study, which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason why people tell small lies?

Natural Liars

[A] Lying is something that most of us are very skilled at. We often tell lies to strangers, co-workers, friends, and loved ones. Some might say that we rely on dishonesty just as much as we rely on trust. In short, lying is a part of human nature.

[B] Our natural lying habits were first researched by Bella DePaulo, a social psychologist1 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Two decades ago, DePaulo and her colleagues asked 147 adults to record the number of times and the reasons why they lied or tried to mislead someone over the course of a week. The researchers found that the participants lied once or twice a day on average. Most of these untruths were harmless, as they were used to hide failings or to protect the feelings of others. Some lies were excuses - one individual said that he did not take out the garbage because he did not know where to put it. Other lies - such as claiming to be a diplomat's2 son - were told to give a false image. While these were minor cases, DePaulo and other colleagues found in a later study that most people have, some time in their lives, told one or more "serious lies." These include hiding an affair3 from a partner or making false statements on a college application form. In summary, DePaulo and her colleagues were able to conclude that dishonesty is a common human behavior.

[C] Of course, the results of this experiment should not surprise us. Humans have been lying to each other since the beginning of our history. Researchers believe that humans began to lie soon after the development of language. Thousands of years ago, the ability to control others without using physical force may have helped us compete for food and water. While some animals survive by changing their body colors, humans have survived by changing their words. [D] "Lying is so easy compared to other ways of gaining power," says philosopher Sissela Bok of Harvard University, one expert on the subject. "It's much easier to lie in order to get somebody's money or wealth than to hit them over the head or rob a bank."

1 A social psychologist is a person who uses scientific methods to study human social interactions.

2 A diplomat is a person who represents their country's government in another country.

3 Someone is having an affair if they are already married or has a partner but engages in a secret relationship with another person.

According to the author, when did humans begin to lie?

Natural Liars

[A] Lying is something that most of us are very skilled at. We often tell lies to strangers, co-workers, friends, and loved ones. Some might say that we rely on dishonesty just as much as we rely on trust. In short, lying is a part of human nature.

[B] Our natural lying habits were first researched by Bella DePaulo, a social psychologist1 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Two decades ago, DePaulo and her colleagues asked 147 adults to record the number of times and the reasons why they lied or tried to mislead someone over the course of a week. The researchers found that the participants lied once or twice a day on average. Most of these untruths were harmless, as they were used to hide failings or to protect the feelings of others. Some lies were excuses - one individual said that he did not take out the garbage because he did not know where to put it. Other lies - such as claiming to be a diplomat's2 son - were told to give a false image. While these were minor cases, DePaulo and other colleagues found in a later study that most people have, some time in their lives, told one or more "serious lies." These include hiding an affair3 from a partner or making false statements on a college application form. In summary, DePaulo and her colleagues were able to conclude that dishonesty is a common human behavior.

[C] Of course, the results of this experiment should not surprise us. Humans have been lying to each other since the beginning of our history. Researchers believe that humans began to lie soon after the development of language. Thousands of years ago, the ability to control others without using physical force may have helped us compete for food and water. While some animals survive by changing their body colors, humans have survived by changing their words. [

D] "Lying is so easy compared to other ways of gaining power," says philosopher Sissela Bok of Harvard University, one expert on the subject. "It's much easier to lie in order to get somebody's money or wealth than to hit them over the head or rob a bank."

1 A social psychologist is a person who uses scientific methods to study human social interactions.

2 A diplomat is a person who represents their country's government in another country.

3 Someone is having an affair if they are already married or has a partner but engages in a secret relationship with another person.

What is the author's main point in the last sentence of paragraph C?

When might someone give an excuse?

During an exam, which of the following would be considered cheating?

In what situation might you get a score?

Choose the correct word to match the definition below.

To give a reason for something

Choose the correct word to match the definition below.

not certainly, but very likely

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truthful

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an amount

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to say something not truthful

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to join an activity

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to describe something that happened

Read the note for a research summary below.

Choose the correct part of the research study.

The aim was to explore our natural lying habits, including how often we lie and what we lie about.

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Choose the correct part of the research study.

Although participants lied once or twice a day, most lies were minor. However, the majority of people told one or two serious lies in their lives.

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Choose the correct part of the research study.

Being dishonest is not unusual behavior for humans.

Read the note for a research summary below.

Choose the correct part of the research study.

A group of adults were asked to make a note of every time they lied to someone