1. Integrated English -3 Unit Eleven The Real Truth about Lies

2. Suggested topics for speech • Truth and Lies/ Honesty and Lies • White Lies • It is (not) always essential to tell the truth. • Should doctors always tell the truth?

3. Questions for general understanding • Pre-reading question: If somebody lied to you for your own good, how would you feel? • What’s this text about? • What type of writing is the text? • What paragraphs constitute Introduction? Body? Conclusion?

4. What type of writing is this text? • Argumentation • In a journalistic style (p. 162)

5. 3 parts Part I (Para. 1-6) The writer introduces the topic by reporting two survey results. Part II (Para. 7-15) (7-11) By citing an example, the writer goes on to explain that telling little white lies is a common practice and the reasons for telling such lies are familiar – we do not want to hurt others. (12-15) the consequences of telling lies Part IV (Para. 16-18) whether lies should be avoided at all costs. Text structure

6. Questions to be addressed • Do people tell lies? • Why do they tell lies? • What consequences /harms do lies have? • Are all white lies to be avoided at all costs?

7. Part I –Introduction • Do people tell lies? • What is the purpose and result of Professor Bella DePaulo’s survey? What conclusion can we draw from the result? • What is the result of the survey conducted by Josephson Institute of Ethics? What can we learn from it?

8. What is the purpose and results of Professor Bella DePaulo’s survey? What conclusion can we draw from the result? • Purpose: to survey the numbers and details of the lies 147 subjects told in a week • Results: • 1)140 out of 147 people (95.20%) admitted having told lies. • 2) Men and women told lies for different reasons. • 3) As some of the lies are well-intentioned, people may not regard them as lies (causing “little preoccupation or regret”). • Conclusion: • This result shows that telling lies is common.

9. Language work • 1. profess:-- to make a claim (of / about) • James professed to know everything about sculpture. • He professed the greatest respect for the law.

10. 2. earth-shattering:惊天动地的-- of the greatest importance to the whole world • After years of hard work, they finally made an earth-shattering discovery. • The new invention is of earth-shattering importance.

11. 3. feign:-to pretend to have or be; to put on a false air of • She feigned to be ill in order not to do the exercises. • He feigned surprise and they all believed him.

12. 4. spare one’s feelings:-- to avoid doing something that would upset somebody 避免伤害某人的感情; 不使某人难堪 • He simply wished to minimize the fuss and to spare her feelings. • We carefully avoided mentioning the news to spare his feelings.

13. 5. preoccupation:-- the state of constantly thinking or worrying about something全神贯注, 入神 • Because of his preoccupation with his books, he didn’t realize we were already back. • Such preoccupation with your work isn’t healthy.

14. 6. Might that, too, be a lie?:-- Is it possible to consider that a lie? • “Might” here means “possibility.” • Note that “may,” when used to mean “possibility,” is normally not used in a question.

15. 7. prevarication:-- the state of avoiding giving a direct answer or making a firm decision支吾，搪塞 • After months of prevarication, a decision was finally made. • The report was full of lies and prevarications. • 这篇报道不是颠倒黑白就是含糊其辞.

16. What is the result of the survey conducted by Josephson Institute of Ethics? What can we learn from it? • Participants: 20,000 students • Results: • 1) 92% professed to have told lies; 73% characterized themselves as “serial liars” • 2) 91% never doubted about their own ethics or character • Conclusion: Telling lies is common and people seldom relate telling lies to morality.

17. 8. devote ... to:-- to give all or a large part of one’s time or resources to (a person, activity, or cause)投入于，献身 • I want to devote more time to my family. • He devotes himself to philanthropy.

18. step out 暂时外出 • He’s not in the office. He’s just stepped out for a smoke. • They stepped out of the sun into the coolness. • 他们到阴凉处躲避烈日。

19. 9. profession:-- a form of employment, especially one that is possible only for an educated person and that is respected in society as honorable职业（尤指须受高深教育及专业训练者, 如建筑师﹑ 律师或医师之职业） • She intends to make teacher her profession. • According to the report, forty percent of the lawyers entering the profession are women.

20. 10. pundit:-- a person who is an authority on a particular subject; an expert某一学科的权威; 专家 • Mr. Johnson is a well-known political pundit. • We’ve invited a foreign-policy pundit to give us a lecture.

21. 11. shape or spin the truth: -- to modify the truth • 12. client:-- somebody who pays for services or advice from a person or organization委托人, 当事人，客户 • a solicitor and his client • cf. a shopkeeper and his customer

22. Part II -example • Why do people tell lies (or fibs, little white lies…)? • What are little white lies? • According to the writer, what could be considered “nice lies”? • What does this sentence mean: “What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”?

23. What are little white lies? (Para.7) • Little white lies are those harmless lies that are told so as not to hurt someone else.

24. 13. ubiquitous:-- seeming to be everywhere普遍存在的, 无处不有的 • By the end of last century, the computer had become ubiquitous. • We are now confronted with the ubiquitous spread of English.

25. 14. fib:-- a small unimportant lie 小谎 • Have you ever told fibs? • She told innocent fibs like anyone else.

26. 15. invariably: always • It’s invariably wet when I take my holidays. • She invariably forgets to take her keys.

27. 16. blurt out:-- to say something suddenly and without thinking, usually because one is nervous or excited 冲口说出; 不经意说出 • To our surprise, he blurted his secret out at table. • John blurtedout that he dreamed of becoming a computer programmer.

28. 17. lubricant:-- a substance such as oil which causes a machine to operate more easily润滑油, 润滑剂 • The sort of lubricant which we use depends largely on the running speed of the bearing. • 我们使用哪种润滑剂，主要取决于轴承的转速如何。 • I think humor is a great lubricant for life.

29. 18. tangled:-- complicated or made up of many confusing parts 纠缠的；紊乱的，混乱的 • She twisted up her tangled hair. • 她把散乱的头发卷起来。 • Do you know how he got tangled in the quarrel? • 你知道他是怎么卷入争吵的吗?

30. According to the writer, what could be considered “nice lies”? (Para.11) • complimenting people on their appearance • expressing appreciation for gifts or food.

31. What does this sentence mean: “What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”? (Para. 11) • When we tell a fib, very likely we will have to tell more lies to cover up（掩盖，包住）the lie we have told. One lie will lead to more lies. Then we will get ourselves entangled with the web we weave. • E.g. No amount of lies can cover up reality. • Translate the sentence.

32. Part II –consequences • What are the grave or unforeseen consequences of telling lies?

33. (idm 习语) the slippery slope (infml 口) course of action that can easily lead to disaster, failure, etc 易导致失败﹑ 灾难等的情况 • A one-party state can be the start of the slippery slope towards fascism. • 一党专政有可能是滑向法西斯主义的起点.

34. 19. wear down:-- to reduce or become weaker until useless磨损, 损耗, 使疲劳, 削弱 • The strategy was designed to wear down the enemy's resistance. • 这一策略旨在逐步削弱敌人的抵抗力. • The tread (胎面) on the tyres has (been) worn down to a dangerous level. • 轮胎胎面花纹已经磨损得到了能发生危险的地步了.

35. 20. warp:-- to (cause to) turn or twist out of shape弄歪, 使不正常, 使翘曲; 变弯 • Left in the garage where it was damp, the wooden frame had warped. • The hot sun had warped the cover of the book. 太阳把这本书的书皮晒弯了. • His judgment was warped by self-interest. • 他受私心影响判断不确.

36. 21. think highly of :-- to have a good opinion of认为...很了不起; 重视 • We thinkhighlyof your proposals. • I can assure you that the management (管理部门，资方) thinks very highlyof you.

37. 22. proliferation:-- a rapid increase in the amount or number of something 增殖; 扩散; 激增 • Smoking triggers off cell proliferation. • Over the past two years, we have witnessed the proliferation of TV channels. • Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) • 防止核扩散条约 • 23. cynicism:-- the belief that people always act selfishly 愤世嫉俗

38. What are the grave or unforeseen consequences of telling lies? • The ubiquityof lies may cause people to be distrustful of each other, thus leading to the collapse of the whole society. • After the initial deceit one needs to tell more lies to cover up the first one. • “Psychological barriers wear down; the ability to make more distinctions can coarsen; the liar’s perception of his chances of being caught may warp.” • “When [trust] is damaged, the community as a whole suffers; and when it is destroyed, societies falter and collapse.”

39. Part III –avoid all white lies? • Are all white lies to be avoided at all costs? • A: Not necessarily.

40. at all costs --不惜任何代价; 无论如何 • The bridge must be repaired within three days at all costs. 要不惜一切代价在三天内把桥修好。 • The stamp collector decided to get that rare stamp at all costs. • 这个集邮迷决心无论代价如何都要搞到那枚稀有的邮票。 • … be avoided at all costs:-- must not be allowed to happen under any circumstances

41. What does “an exchange of ... the principle of trust for the principle of caring” mean? (Para. 16) • The rule of honesty is violated so as to establish the principle of showing love and care.

42. exchange • ~ A for B; ~ sth (with sb) give or receive sth/sb (of the same kind or value) in place of another 交换; 互换; 调换; 更换 • He exchanged the blue sweater for a red one. 他把蓝毛衣换成了红的. • Ali exchanged seats with Ben. 阿里与本调换了座位. • They exchanged hostages with each other. 他们相互交换了人质.

43. set sb up • set sb upinformal • 1) provide sb with the money to start a business, buy a house, etc 使某人有钱创业﹑ 买房子等 • Her father set her up in business. 她父亲出钱帮她创业. • 2) to trick someone in order to achieve what you want, especially to make it appear that they have done something wrong or illegal • Cox claimed that the police had tried to set him up.

44. 25. associate:--somebody whom you work or do business with合伙人; 同事; 伙伴 • He is not a friend, but a business associate. 业务合伙人 • They are associates in crime. 他们是共犯.

45. 26. undermine:-- to gradually make somebody or something less strong or effective逐渐削弱或暗中破坏 • undermine sb's position, reputation, authority, etc, eg by spreading scandalous rumors暗中损害某人的地位﹑ 声誉﹑ 威信等（如散播诽谤性的谣言） • She jealously tried to undermine our friendship. • Lack of food has undermined his health.

46. 27. rule of thumb:-- a rough method of calculation, based on practical experience 经验法则(靠经验估计) • Every student's rule of thumb should be: study hard! • 每一个学生的法则应该都是用功读书。 • I never weigh anything when I'm cooking-I just do it by rule of thumb. • 我烹饪从来不称重量——只是凭经验下料。

47. 28. confound:-- to confuse and surprise people, causing them to be unable to explain or deal with a situation使困惑，使混乱 • Don't confound the means with the ends. • 不要把手段和目的混淆起来。 • His amazing recovery confounded the medical specialists.

48. 29. astound:-- to make somebody very surprised or shocked 使震惊; 使大惊 • It astounds me that anyone could ever consider declaring war. • The incident astounds both China and foreign countries. • 这个事件震惊中外。

49. Text comprehension -III 1. Professor DePaulo's study suggests that lying is a common phenomenon and most of the lies we tell are small, insignificant. She also points out that different sexes lie for different reasons, but nobody that lies suffers from a guilty conscience.

50. 2. According to the passage, the nature of white lies is to seek self-interest: People tell white lies basically for self-promoting purposes. White lies may have different receptions in different cultures. In western cultures as is illustrated by the example, white lies may not be well received as the people value honesty and integrity more than caring and face value; but in the eastern cultures, they may be received as a sign of concern and respect for each other’s face.