A
''Do not tell anyone''. We often hear these words when someone tells us a secret. But keeping a secret is hard. We're often tempted(引诱) to ''spill the beans'', even if we regret it later.
According to the professor, Asim Shah, keeping a secret may well ''become a burden''. This is because people often have an ''eager and anxious urge(冲动) to share it with someone''. An earlier study, led by Anita, a scientist at the University of Notre Dame, US, suggested that keeping a secret could cause stress. People entrusted(托付) with secrets can suffer from depression, anxiety, and body aches, reported the Daily Mail.
Secrets are so often getting out, why do people share them at all? Shah explained that people often feel that it will help them keep a person as a friend. Another reason people share secrets is guilt over keeping it from someone close to them. A sense of distrust can develop when people who are close do not share it with each other. ''Keeping or sharing secrets often puts people in a position of either gaining or losing the trust of someone. '' according to Shah.
He added that talkative people could let secrets slip out. But this doesn't mean that it is a good idea only to share secrets with quiet people. A quiet person may be someone who keeps everything inside. To tell such a person a secret may cause them stress, and make them talk about the secret.
Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret, you'd better put yourself in their position. Think about how you would feel to be told that you mustn't give the information away. Shah also recommended that if you accidentally give up someone's secret you should come clean about it. Let the person know that their secret isn't so secret anymore.
1. What does the underlined phrase ''spill the bean'' in Para 1 mean? ________.
A. tell the truth B. let out a secret
C. eat our words D. talk nothing
2. What can we learn from the passage?
A. A person entrusted with a secret will suffer from psychological problems only.
B. Sharing secrets helps establish friendship or get over the sense of guilt.
C. Quiet people are more likely to keep the secrets to themselves.
D. Putting yourself in others' shoes helps realize the difficulty of keeping secrets.
3. What may be the best title for the passage?
A. Still tongues make wise heads. B. Walls have ears.
C. Every wall has a crack. D. A word spoken is past recalling.
【答案】1. B 2. D 3. C
【解析】
这是一篇议论文。保守秘密很难，有可能成为一种负担，因此人们常常急切地想与他人分享秘密，而我们也常常会将秘密告诉自己信任的人。两人之间分享秘密往往会令彼此更加亲密，不过不小心把秘密说漏嘴的情况也时有发生。
1题详解】
词义猜测题。根据第一段的But keeping a secret is hard. We're often tempted(引诱) to ''spill the beans'', even if we regret it later.可知，保守秘密很难。我们经常受到引诱spill the beans，即使后来我们会后悔。结合句意，尤其是even if we regret it later可猜测划线部分的意思是“泄露秘密”。B. let out a secret(泄露秘密)符合以上说法，故选B项。
【2题详解】
细节理解题。根据最后一段的Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret, you'd better put yourself in their position. Think about how you would feel to be told that you mustn't give the information away. (Shah说，要判断是否要告诉别人一个秘密，你最好设身处地地为他们着想。想象一下你被告知不要把信息说出去时的感受)可知，我们应该设身处地地为他人考虑他们保守秘密的难处。D. Putting yourself in others' shoes helps realize the difficulty of keeping secrets.( 设身处地地为他人着想帮助意识到保守秘密的难处)符合以上说法，故选D项。
【3题详解】
主旨大意题。根据文章的主要内容，尤其第一段的''Do not tell anyone''. We often hear these words when someone tells us a secret.(“不要告诉任何人！”当有人告诉我们一个秘密时，我们经常听到这句话。)可知，本文主要讲述了保守秘密很难，而且是一个很大的负担，因此人们才急切地想分享秘密。C. Every wall has a crack.(没有不漏风的墙)可以作为本文标题，故选C项。
