The city can seem a cold, mean place. In the middle of so many people hurrying a

The citycan seem a cold, mean place. In the middle of so many people hurrying abouttheir own business, a person can feel alone among the millions of others.

   There is a popular view that in cities, strangers are less likely to help anelderly person cross a street or call the police when they see a bike beingstolen. Recently, a New Yorker named Casey Neistat did an experiment. Hechained up his bike in several public places, then "stole" it in anumber of obvious ways, such as using a hacksaw (钢锯). He filmed everything to see whether other NewYorkers would try to stop a shameless bike theft. The result? People justwalked on by.

   Is this evidence of an immoral, selfish urban society? Not necessarily. Accordingto another recent study, the way city people mind their own business is aboutother factors besides morality (道德).

This is called the Bystander Effect, the theory that city people donot react because of the urban enviromnent they live in.

Psychologist Dr. Harold explained why people did not involvethemselves in Neistat's bike theft experiment with the Bystander Effect.

   First, people who live in cities are surrounded by so much activity that theystop noticing what is going on around them. Second, they are less easy tosurprise and assume every activity has a logical explanation.

   "The third is that people notice it, but they don't know what to do,"he continued. "And the fourth is fear — they know they should dosomething, but they're afraid to challenge someone with a hacksaw."

A lack of concern is only a small reason why people don't takeaction, concludes Dr. Harold.

    Despite the results of Neistat's experiment, there is also evidence of a senseof team spirit that connects people in cities. All it takes is a funny joke ora shared interest to start a conversation with someone at a bus stop. When cityfolk are in trouble, they come together for support — famously in New York on September11, 2001.

City society is different, but that doesn't mean it's cold or mean —it just means it's busy!

1.Casey Neistatfihned everything in the experiment with the purpose of       .

   A. proving that he was not the thief

   B. telling people that bike theft was immoral

   C. finding out who had a sense of right and wrong

   D. making his experiment well-known to the public

2.We can infer fromthe third paragraph that morality       .

   A. can partly explain a selfish urban society

   B. is what our society should pay special attention to

   C. is the only factor that leads to a selfish urban society

   D. is the root of the Bystander Effect mentioned in the passage

3.The underlined partSeptember 11, 2001 inParagraph 9 serves as       .

   A. a reminder of the sad memories

   B. a way to prove Dr Harold's Bystander effect

   C. evidence that city life can be really dangerous

   D. an example to show team spirit connecting city people

4.As can be inferredfrom the passage, the writer probably       .

   A. criticizes the loss of morality in urban society

   B. feels sad about the result of Neistat's experiment

   C. thinks city people are too busy to care about others

D. disagrees that city life sometimes can be cold and mean

试题答案

【答案】

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.D

【解析】本文讲述了城市生活中充满了冷淡，这到底是道德的沦丧还是脚步匆匆的缘故？

1.C 推断题。纽约人做这个实验的目的就是想看看是否有人会阻止他“偷”自行车。也就是说证明城市中人时候有是非观。

2.A 细节推理题。根据第三段内容可知，城市中的人只管自己的事，这样的生活方式未必只与道德有关。

3.D推理题。通过9.11事件，作者只是想证明当人们处于困境中时，团队精神还是存在的。

4.D 推理题。根据最后一段可知，作者认为人与人之间的冷漠可能是因为人们太忙。