Unit 5 The Real Truth about Lies
Key to the Exercises
Text comprehension
I.    Decide which of the following best sums up the argument of the passage.
    C
II.    Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or false.
1.    T (Refer to Paragraph 3. It is true that women tell lies because they care about others' feelings, and men are more selfish; they tell lies generally for self-promoting purposes.)
2.      T (Refer to Paragraph 5.)
3.      T (Refer to Paragraph 6.)
4.    F (Refer to Paragraph 12. Even seemingly harmless falsehoods, or white lies, can hav
e unforeseen consequences.)
5.    F (Refer to Paragraph 16. There are still occasions where lies are acceptable.)
III.    Answer the following questions.
1.    Refer to Paragraphs 2-5. Professor DePaulo's study suggests that lying is a common phenomenon and most of the lies we tell are small and insignificant. Meanwhile, as she points out, it is common that people take lies lightly: their lies have caused them little preoccupation or regret.
2.    Refer to Paragraph 3. According to the passage, the purpose of telling lies or white lies varies: women tell lies according to the principle of caring, or to spare other's feelings, and men tell lies basically for utilitarian self-promoting purposes.
3.    Refer to Paragraphs 7-10. The story of Tom supports the argument that little white lies are ubiquitous, and people have taken such lies for granted, believing that they are well-intended. When he consulted with Michael Josephson, the reply is very negative: his
mother-in-law may feel hurt when she discovers the deceit some day. Or even worse, she may question: "And what else have you lied to me about?" In short, such white lies may produce mistrust among people.
4.    Refer to Paragraphs 12-15. The consequences of lying are three-fold: the deceived may feel cheated and won't trust the liar anymore; the liar will lose trust and get entangled in the lies he fabricates; and, if lies proliferate endlessly, society as a whole would falter and collapse as trust is damaged or destroyed.
5.    Refer to Paragraph 16. Not all white lies are unacceptable. Some falsehoods like setting somebody up for a surprise party or telling children about the tooth fairy can be justified. However, you have to consider the attitude of the deceived towards lying and the consequences, i.e. whether your act will undermine his trust in you.
IV.    Explain in your own words the following sentences.
1.      When we start to tell a lie, we have entered a very intricate situation, as a lie often r
equires further lies until the whole structure of lies becomes so complex that it ensnares the liar.
2.      One is less inhibited from lying; his ability to make moral right and wrong judgments is dulled, and he may become less cautious against being caught.
3.      The most understandable and acceptable lies are those which are told for the sake of love and care at the expense of trust, according to the ethicists.
Structural analysis of the text
Paragraphs 12-15: the consequences of telling lies
Paragraphs 16-18: which lies to be avoided
Rhetorical features of the text
Example 1: 20,000 middle- and high-schoolers were surveyed by the Josephson Institute of Ethics -- a nonprofit organization in Marina del Rey, California. (Paragraph 5)
Example 2: Philosopher Sissela Bok warns us that ... (Paragraph 12)
Vocabulary exercises
I.    Explain the underlined part in each sentence in your own words.
1.      very important/shocking/traumatic
2.    avoid hurting the other's feelings/avoid doing something that would upset the other person
3.      telling the truth with a favorable emphasis or slant/modifying the truth
4.    a course of action which can easily lead to something unacceptable, wrong, or disastrous
5.      under any circumstances/whatever might happen
    (Some similar expressions: at any cost, whatever the cost)
II.    Fill in the blank in each sentence with a word taken from the box in its appropriate form.
1. supportive      2. perceived
3. prevarication    4. astounded
5. undermine      6. faltered 
7. fibs              8. volunteered
III.    Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.
1. unethical        2. feigned 
3. unsparing        4. cynical
5. confoundedly    6. lubricated 
7. entangled      8. Willful
IV.    Fill in the blank in each sentence with an appropriate phrasal verb or collocation taken from the text.
1. cover up           
2. blurted out
3. set up             
4. find out
understandable5. wear/wore down   
6. specializes in
7. professes to       
8. complimented ... on
V.    Give a synonym or an antonym of the word underlined in each sentence in the sense
it is used.
1. Synonym: evasion (equivocation) 

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