Computer Fiction (小说)

　　 Now computer fiction is popular in more than 80 countries.

　　 To write computer fictions, the authors don’ t have to rack (绞尽) their brains to make any plot, like journalists, they just go to a lot of places and collect materials: what most women want, their ideas about life and love, their happiness and sufferings and emotions. All these materials are led into the computer to be processed and classified(分类). Then some of the writers just pick some material from every part and fill in some details and a story is made up.

    The first computer fiction was edited by 13 editors and published in Canada in 1976. It was a great success and 45 million copies were sold．Seeing this new process as profit making (获利的) a big American publishing company bought over the majority of the 13 Canadian editors and soon a series of computer fictions were published in the United States.

    All the computer fictions have very romantic titles. The heroine is invariable about 20 while the hero is a 30 to 40 bachelor (单身), handsome, with money and power. The hero and heroine have a happy reunion after all kinds of misunderstandings and setbacks(挫折). Computer fictions appeal to most women readers of the west. But people doubt if they have literary value.

1. When writing computer fictions, the authors

A．think hard

B．collect materials from many places

C．express what they want to

D．describe women’s sufferings and emotions

2. How do writers write computer fictions?

A．They classify the materials and make up a story according to the information put into the computer.

B．They pick up some useful materials.

C．They make up the story in detail.

D．They are no more than typists.

3. The first computer fiction was published in Canada and now computer fiction has spread in________ countries.

A．13

B．45

C．20

D．80

4. Computer fictions are all about ________.

A．Romantic stories

B．20 year - old beautiful women

C．rich, strong and handsome young men

D．the happy life of heroines and heroes

5. Computer fictions are popular for the following possible reasons EXCEPT that ________.

A．readers like them

B．they are easily sold

C．people are curious about the written by computers

D．people doubt if they have literary value

    Professor Jerald Jullion of the University of Southern California has made a scientific study of lying. According to him, women are better liars than men, particularly when telling a“white lie”, such as when a woman at a party tells another woman that she likes her dress when she really thinks it looks awful. However, this is only one side of the story. Other researchers say that men are more likely to tell more serious lies, such as making a promise which they have no intention (意图) of fulfilling. This is the kind of lie politicians and businessmen are supposed to be particularly skilled at the lie from which the liar hopes to profit (获利) or gain in some way.

    Research has also been done into the changes of people’s behavior in a number of small, clearly unimportant ways when they lie. It has been found that if they are sitting down at the time they tend to move about in their chairs more than usual. To the trained observer (观察者) they are saying “I wish I were somewhere else now”. They also tend to touch certain parts of the face more often, in particular the nose. One explanation of this may be that lying causes a slight increase in blood pressure. The nose is very sensitive to such changes and the increased pressure makes it itch (发痒).

    Another gesture which gives liars away is that the writer Desmond Morris in his book Man Watching calls “the mouth cover”. He says there are several typical forms of this, such as covering part of the mouth with fingers, touching the upper-lip or putting a finger of the hand at one side of the mouth. Such a gesture can be understood as an unconscious attempt on the part of the liar to stop himself or herself from lying.

    Of course, such gestures as rubbing the nose or covering the mouth, or moving about in a chair cannot be taken as proof that the speaker is lying. They simply tend to occur more frequently in this situation. It is not one gesture along that gives the liar away but a whole number of things, and in particular the context in which the lie is told.

    1. According to the passage a“white lie”seems to be a lie ________.

    A. that other people believe

    B. that other people don’t believe

    C. told in order to avoid offending (冒犯) someone

    D. told in order to take advantage of someone

    2. Research suggests that women ________.

A. are better at telling lies than men do

B. generally lie far more than men

C. often make promises they intend to break

D. lie at parties more often than men do

    3. Researchers find that when a person tells lies ________.

    A. his blood pressure increases measurably

    B. he looks very serious

    C. he tends to make some small changes in his behaviors

    D. he uses his unconscious mind

    4. One reason people sometimes rub their noses when they lie is that ________.

    A. they wish they were somewhere else

    B. the nose is sensitive to physical changes caused by lying

    C. they want to cover their mouths

    D. they are trying to stop themselves from telling lies

    5. Which of the following may best betray (出卖) a liar?

    A. The touching of the tip of one’s nose.     B. The change of one’s behaviors.

C. “The mouth cover”gesture. 　　　　　　　　　　 D. The situations in which his lies are told.