Passage EIGHT
In her international bestselling Talk to the Hand, author Lynne Truss argues that common courtesies such as saying “Excuse me” are practically extinct. There are certainly plenty who would agree with her.
Is it true? We decided to find out by experiments. In dozens of American cities, our reporters performed two experiments: “door tests”( would anyone hold one open for them?); and “document drops”(who would help them retrieve a pile of “accidentally” dropped papers?). Along the way, the reporters encountered all types: men and women of different races, ages, professions, and income levels.
While 90 percent of the people passed the door test, only 55 percent passed the document drop. Are people less likely to help others when doing so takes extra effort or time? Not always, the reporters found. Take the pregnant woman who thought nothing of bending down to help us with our papers. Or the woman named Liz who balanced two coffees, her keys and her wallet on a takeout tray with one hand, while picking up papers off the wet pavement with the other .Her reason for helping? “I was there,” she said.
Overall, men were the most willing to help, especially when it came to document drops. In those, men offered aid 63 percent of the time, compared to 47 percent among women. Of course, men were not entirely democratic about whom they’d help. All of them held the door for the female reporter, and were more than twice as likely to help her pick up fallen papers than they were to help our male reporter.
By far, the most common reason people cited for being willing to go out of their way to help others was their upbringing. “It’s the way I was raised.” said one young woman who held a door open despite struggling with her umbrella on a rainy day in Brooklyn. We realize this isn’t a rigorous scientific study, but we believe it is a reasonable real-world test of good manners around the globe. And it’s comforting to know that in a place where millions of people push one another each day to get ahead, they’re able to do it with a smile. Hey, if they can make nice here, they can make nice anywhere.
36. Which of the following is the best word to describe he experiments?
A. Scientific.
B. Biased
C. Revolutionary.
D. Realistic
37. The examples of the pregnant woman and Liz are used to show that some people____.
A. may take the trouble to help others
B. won’t take the trouble to help others
C. may help others save time
D. won’t help others save time
38. According to the experiments, ___________.
A. women are more careful
B. woman are more likely to need help
C. men are more ready to help
D. men are more democratic in helping others.
39. Helping others is a behavior that is largely influenced by ______
A. social norm
B. family education
C. specific situation
D. personal character
40 The results of the experiments have shown that common courtesies_____
A. Are still with us
B. are disappearing
C. vary with professions
D. need rigorous study

参考答案：DACBD