Reading Comprehension.
Communications technologies are far from equal when it comes to conveying the truth. A recent
research shows people tend to tell more lies in phone conversations than they are in emails. The fact that
emails are automatically recorded and can come back to haunt you appears to be the key to the finding.
Jeff Hancock of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, asked 30 students to keep a communications
diary for a week. In it they noted the number of conversations or email exchanges they had lasting more
than 10 minutes, and confessed to how many lies they told. Hancock then worked out the number of lies
per conversation for each medium. He found that lies made up 14 percent of emails, 21 percent of instant
messages, 27 percent of face-to-face interactions and an astonishing 37 of phone calls.
His results to be presented at the conference on human-computer interaction in Vienna, Austria, in April,
have surprised psychologists. Some expected emailers to be the biggest liars, reasoning that because deception
makes people uncomfortable, the detachment (非直接接触) of emailing would make it easier to lie. Others
expected people to be more in face-to-face exchanges because we are most practiced at that form of
communication.
But Hancock says it is also crucial whether a conversation is being recorded and could be reread, and
whether it occurs in real time. "People appear to be afraid to lie when they know the communication could
later be used to hold them to account," he says. This is why fewer lies appear in email than on the phone.
"People are also more likely to lie in real time in an instant message or phone call than if they have time to
think of a response," say Hancock. He found many lies are spontaneous responses to an unexpected demand,
such as, "Do you like my dress?"
Hancock hopes his research will help companies work out the best ways for their employees to
communicate. For instance, the phone might be the best medium for sales where employees are encouraged
to stretch the truth. But, given his result, work assessment where honesty is a priority, might be best done
using email.
1. Hancock's study focuses on ______. [ ]
A. the consequences of lying in various communications media
B. the success of communications technologies in conveying ideas
C. people are less likely to lie in instant messages
D. people's honesty levels across a range of communications media
2. Hancock's research finding surprised those who believed that ______. [ ]
A. people are less likely to lie in instant messages
B. people are unlikely to lie in face-to-face interactions
C. people are most likely to lie in email communication
D. people are twice as likely to lie in phone conversations
3. According to the passage, why are people more likely to tell the truth through certain media of
communication? [ ]
A. They are afraid of leaving behind traces of their lies.
B. They believe that honesty is the best policy.
C. They tend to be relaxed when using those media.
D. They are most practiced at those forms of communication.
4. It can be inferred from the passage that ______. [ ]
A. honesty should be encouraged in interpersonal communications
B. more employers will use emails to communicate with their employees
C. suitable media should be chosen for different communication purposes
D. email is now the dominant medium of communication within a company
