What defines who we are? Our habits? Our tastes? Our memories? I would say it must be my deep-seated sense of right and wrong.
And yet, like many other people who speak more than one language, I often have the sense that I’m a slightly different person in each of my languages — more confident in English, more relaxed in French. Is it possible that my moral compass also points in somewhat different directions depending on the language I’m using?
Several recent psychological studies suggest that when people are faced with moral dilemmas, they do respond differently when considering them in their native and foreign tongue.
In a 2014 paper led by Albert Costa, volunteers were presented with a moral dilemma known as the “trolley problem”: imagine that a runaway trolley is dashing toward a group of five people standing on the tracks, unable to move. You are next to a switch that can shift the trolley to a different set of tracks, thereby sparing the five people, but resulting in the death of one who is standing on the side tracks. Do you pull the switch?
Most people agree that they would. But what if the only way to stop the trolley is by pushing a large stranger off a footbridge into its path? People tend to be very reluctant (不情愿的) to say they would do this. But Costa and his colleagues found that posing the dilemma in a language that volunteers had learned as a foreign tongue dramatically increased their willingness, from fewer than 20% of respondents working in their native language to about 50% of those using the foreign one.
Why does it matter whether we judge morality in our native language or a foreign one? According to one explanation, such judgments involve two separate and competing modes of thinking — one of these, a quick, gut-level “feeling,” and the other, careful deliberation about the greatest good for the greatest number. When we use a foreign language, we unconsciously sink into the more deliberate mode simply because the effort of operating in our non-native language cues our cognitive (认知) system to prepare for strenuous (费力的) activity. An alternative explanation is because our childhood languages change with greater emotional intensity than do those learned in more academic settings. As a result, moral judgments made in a foreign language are less burdened with the emotional reactions.
What then is a multilingual (多语言的) person’s true “moral self”? Is it my moral memories? Or is it the reasoning I’m able to apply when free of such unconscious restrictions? Or perhaps, as the research implies, regardless of how many languages we speak: that our moral compass is a combination of the earliest forces that have shaped us and the ways in which we escape them.
1. In the author’s opinion, it is your_____that defines who you are.| A．habit |
| B．taste |
| C．memory |
| D．morality |
| A．most volunteers agree to pull the switch |
| B．most volunteers attempt to push a stranger off a footbridge |
| C．20% of the volunteers choose to shift the tracks of the trolley |
| D．50% of the volunteers are reluctant to kill the five people on the tracks |
| A．make decisions unconsciously in a foreign language |
| B．take more time to make decisions in a foreign language |
| C．learn a lot about academic settings in their native language |
| D．are more likely to be influenced by emotions in their native language |
| A．What is Our True Moral Self |
| B．How Languages Shape People’s Personality |
| C．What is the Key Factor in Decision Making |
| D．How Morality Changes in a Foreign Language |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】When one looks back upon the fifteen hundred years that are the life span of the English language, he should be able to notice a number of significant truths. The history of our language has always been a history of constant change—at times a slow, almost imperceptible change, at other times a violent collision between two languages. Our language has been a living growing organism, it has never been static. Another significant truth that emerges from such a study is that language at all times has been the possession not of one class or group but of many. At one extreme it has been the property of the common, ignorant folk, who have used it in the daily business of their living, much as they have used their animals or the kitchen pots and pans. At the other extreme it has been the treasure of those who have respected it as an instrument and a sign of civilization, and who have struggled by writing it down to give it some permanence, order, dignity, and if possible, a little beauty.
As we consider our changing language, we should note here two developments that are of special and immediate importance to us. One is that since the time of the Anglo-Saxons there has been an almost complete reversal of the different relationship of words in a sentence. Anglo-Saxon (old English) was a language of many inflections. Modern English has few inflections. We must now depend largely on word order and function words to convey the meanings that the older language did by means of changes in the forms of words. Function words, you should understand, are words such as prepositions, conjunctions, and a few others that are used primarily to show relationships among other words. A few inflections, however, have survived. And when some word inflections come into conflict with word order, there may be trouble for the users of the language, as we shall see later when we turn our attention to such matters as WHO or WHOM and ME or I. The second fact we must consider is that as language itself changes, our attitudes toward language forms change also. The eighteenth century, for example, produced from various sources a tendency to fix the language into patterns not always set in and grew, until at the present time there is a strong tendency to restudy and re-evaluate language practices in terms of the ways in which people speak and write.
1. In contrast to the earlier linguists, modern linguists tend to ________.| A．attempt to continue the standardization of the language |
| B．evaluate language practices in terms of current speech rather than standards or proper patterns |
| C．be more concerned about language than its analysis or history |
| D．be more aware of the rules of the language usage |
| A．Changes in the forms of words. |
| B．Changes in sentence structures. |
| C．Changes in spelling rules. |
| D．Words that have similar meanings. |
| A．It is generally believed that the year 1500 can be set as the beginning of the modern English language. |
| B．Some other languages had great influence on the English language at some stages of its development. |
| C．The English language has been and still in a state of relatively constant change. |
| D．Many classes or groups have contributed to the development of the English language. |
| A．historian | B．philosopher |
| C．anthropologist | D．linguist |
| A．The history of the English language |
| B．Our changing attitude towards the English language |
| C．Our changing language |
| D．Some characteristics of modern English |
【推荐2】Perhaps at one point in time, it was acceptable to start any letter or e-mail with “To Whom It May Concern.”
Grammarly uses the example of needing to write a letter of recommendation, for a colleague who will have to make several copies to distribute to interviewers,
If you do happen to find that using “To Whom It May Concern” is appropriate, don’t make grammar mistakes, for example, letters or punctuation.
| A．However, it maybe interesting. |
| B．Those times have changed, though. |
| C．Making mistakes in writing will surely get you low scores. |
| D．It’s also very impersonal, which some employers might not appreciate. |
| E．In that circumstance, sending and receiving letters is more of a formal greeting. |
| F．You might want to take note of other common errors you might be committing, too. |
| G．But according to Grammarly, there are four times when it’s OK to use this greeting. |
【推荐3】Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopian novel by George Orwell, was set in a totalitarian state where even the language they use is controlled. Adjectives are forbidden and instead they use phrases such as “ungood”, “plus good” and “double plus good” to express emotions. As I first read this I thought how impossible it would be in our society to have such vocabulary. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realised in its own way it's already happening. I type messages to my friends and alongside each is the obligatory (惯用的) emoji. I often use them to emphasise something, or to not seem too serious, or because this specific GIF conveys my emotions much better than I ever could using just words. And I wonder, with our too much use of emojis, are we losing the beauty and diversity of our vocabulary?
English has the largest vocabulary in the world, with over one million words, but who's to say what it'll be like in the future? Perhaps we will have a shorter language, full of saying “cry face” if something sad happens or using abbreviations like LOL (laugh out loud) or BRB (be right back) instead of saying the full phrase. So does this mean our vocabulary will shrink? Is it the start of an exciting new era? Will they look back on us in the future and say this is where it all began—the new language? Or is this a classic case of the older generations saying, “Things weren't like that when I was younger. We didn't use emoticons to show our emotions?”
Yet when you look back over time, the power of image has always been there. Even in the prehistoric era they used imagery to communicate, and what's even more incredible is that we are able to analyse those drawings and understand the meaning of them thousands of years later. Pictures have the ability to go beyond the usual limits of time and language. Images, be it cave paintings or emojis, allow us to convey a message that's not restrictive but rather universal.
1. Why does the author mention Nineteen Eight Four?| A．To introduce the topic. | B．To show an example. |
| C．To give the reason. | D．To describe a phenomenon |
| A．To reduce the use of words. | B．To save time of typing. |
| C．To express naturally and casually. | D．To make fun of friends. |
| A．Disappear. | B．Lower. |
| C．Reform. | D．Change. |
| A．We can recognise the pictures' time period with technology. |
| B．We have kept the same vocabulary since the prehistoric era. |
| C．Pictures is an only way to record history. |
| D．Pictures can express human feelings accurately and vividly. |
【推荐1】I read somewhere that we spend a full third of our lives waiting. But where are we doing all of this waiting, and what does it mean to an impatient society like ours? To understand the issue, let’s take a look at three types of “waits”.
The very purest form of waiting is the Watched-Pot Wait. It is without doubt the most annoying of all. Take filling up the kitchen sink(洗碗池) as an example. There is absolutely nothing you can do while this is going on but keep both eyes fixed on the sink until it’s full. During these waits, the brain slips away from the body and wanders about until the water runs over the edge of the counter and onto your socks. This kind of wait makes the waiter helpless and mindless.
A cousin to the Watched-Pot Wait is the Forced Wait. This one requires a bit of discipline. Properly preparing packaged noodle soup required a Forced Wait. Directions are very specific. “Bring three cups of water to boil, add mix, simmer three minutes, remove from heat, let stand five minutes.”I have my doubts that anyone has actually followed the procedures strictly. After all, Forced Waiting requires patience.
Perhaps the most powerful type of waiting is the Lucky-Break Wait. This type of wait is unusual in that it is for the most part voluntary. Unlike the Forced Wait, which is also voluntary, waiting for your lucky break does not necessarily mean that it will happen.
Turning one’s life into a waiting game requires faith and hope, and is strictly for the optimists among us. On the surface it seems as ridiculous as following the directions on soup mixes, but the Lucky-Break Wait well serves those who are willing to do it. As long as one doesn’t come to rely on it, wishing for a few good things to happen never hurts anybody.
We certainly do spend a good deal of our time waiting. The next time you’re standing at the sink waiting for it to fill while cooking noodle soup that you’ll have to eat until a large bag of cash falls out of the sky, don’t be desperate. You’re probably just as busy as the next guy.
1. While doing a Watched-Pot Wait, we tend to ___________.| A．keep ourselves busy |
| B．get absent-minded |
| C．grow anxious |
| D．stay focused |
| A．The Forced Wait requires some self-control. |
| B．The Forced Wait makes people passive. |
| C．The Watched-Pot Wait needs directions. |
| D．The Watched-Pot Wait engages body and brain. |
| A．It is less voluntary than the Forced Wait. |
| B．It doesn’t always bring the desired result. |
| C．It is more fruitful than the Forced Wait. |
| D．It doesn’t give people faith and hope. |
| A．Take it seriously. |
| B．Don’t rely on others. |
| C．Do something else. |
| D．Don’t lose heart. |
| A．exploring various causes of “waits”. |
| B．describing detailed processes of “waits”. |
| C．analyzing different categories of “waits” |
| D．revealing frustrating consequences of “waits” |
【推荐2】Teachers say the digital age has had a good influence and a not-so-good influence on this generation of American teenagers. More than 2,000 middle and high school teachers took an online survey. Researchers also spoke with teachers in focus groups.
Three-quarters of the teachers said the Internet and digital search tools have had a "mostly positive" effect on their students research habits and skills. But 87 percent agreed that these technologies are creating an "easily distracted generation with short attention spans (持续时间) " .And 64 percent said the technologies "do more to distract students than to help them academically(学业上) " . Many students think "doing research" now means just doing a quick search on Google.
The Pew Internet Project did the survey with the College Board and the. National Writing Project. Most of the teachers came from Advanced Placement classes, which provide college-level work for high school students.
Judy Buchanan is director of the National Writing Project and a co-author of the report. Ms. Buchanan says digital research tools are helping students learn more, and learn faster. Teachers really welcome these tools because they are ways to make some of learning exciting and engaging.Young people welcome these tools. And the goal is to really help them become creators of content,and meaningful content, and not just sort of consumers.
But one problem the survey found is that many students are lacking in digital literacy. In other words, they trust too much of the information they find on the Internet. Another problem the survey found is blamed on something that might not seem like a problem at all: being able toquickly find information online.
Teachers say the result is a reduction in the desire and ability of their students to work hard to find answers. They say students are depending too much on search engines and do not makeenough use of printed books or libraries. Many teachers are also concerned that the Internet makes it easy for students to copy work done by others instead of using their own abilities.
1. The purpose of the online survey is to____| A．convince teachers of the Internet good influence |
| B．spread knowledge about the Internet search tools |
| C．influence teachers viewpoints towards the digital age |
| D．get teachers opinions about the digital age influence on youngsters |
| A．It results in students bad research habits and skills. |
| B．It brings too much negative information to the students. |
| C．It distracts students attention instead of helping them academically. |
| D．It develops their interest in doing research through the technologies. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Negative. | C．Critical. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．The Internet is changing everybody's life. |
| B．Teachers welcome the digital age in general. |
| C．The Internet has more disadvantages than advantages. |
| D．Solutions to the lack of digital literacy should be found. |
【推荐3】As a “major” at university, philosophy may not be so popular nowadays, for it seems to be too abstract, remote and impractical, unlike subjects such as computing, finance, accounting and so on.
Fundamentally speaking, the word “philosophy”，originated from the Greek Φιλοσοφία meaning “love of wisdom”, originally included all kinds of knowledge. In that world dominated by supernatural gods, philosophers and scientists were the same, and their wisdom was started by asking questions. They believed that everything in the world is composed of air and attempted to examine the air and the sun --- these quests developed their wisdom.
The relations between man and the world may be divided into three categories, namely the relationships between man and nature, man and society and within the human self, which are studied separately by the natural sciences, such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology; social sciences, such as sociology, economics, politics, law, ethics; and sciences of thinking, such as brain science, neuroscience(神经学), psychology, logic. Philosophy, however, is none of these branches of learning but their abstraction and generalization.
The benefits of studying philosophy may be realized as follows: First, it assists people to properly adjust the relations between nature, society and the self, becoming fully aware of where they stand macrocosmically(宏观地)and microcosmically. Second, it makes people think more systematically, combining various “separated materials”. Essentially, philosophy is the study of thinking, analyzing issues from different angles before anything can be taken in. Special attention is paid to strict reflection during every stage of thinking and this process itself is included as part of its study, so as to form a pattern of clear critical thinking. Third, philosophy can also shape one’s character. Difficult thinking, reasoning and summarizing result in people becoming firmer and more persistent in a deep sense. Since philosophy is finally about living, it leads to an appreciation of meaningful life through perfecting personality.
In a sense, philosophy is in fact widely applicable and has been studied and acquired by experts of natural and social sciences and many philosophers, both at home and abroad, who have become celebrities either in their specialist fields of study or in their switched professions as generalists.
Therefore, philosophy is not abstract, nor remote, but of profound use.
1. How is the second paragraph mainly developed?| A．By classification. |
| B．By time. |
| C．By definition. |
| D．By comparison. |
| A．to understand nature. | B．to understand humans. |
| C．to understand logic. | D．to understand society. |
| A．People can become fully aware of the standing place on the earth. |
| B．People can become firmer and seldom change their ideas. |
| C．People will have a simple understanding of the life through appreciation. |
| D．People will form an opinion after viewing a matter from different aspects. |
| A．It is remote from people’s life and has no profound use. |
| B．It is filled with wisdom and was established by supernatural gods. |
| C．It is widely obtained and used by many natural and social experts. |
| D．It is one of the branches of the natural sciences. |
