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Finding New Ways to Catch Liars 拆穿说谎者的西洋镜

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

We tell lies for many reasons. We lie for personal gain, to get out of trouble, or to avoid embarrassment. As children, we learn to lie from example. When our mothers told us, “Tell Grandma how nice her new dress looks,” it was meant to make Grandma feel better. When children see that deceptions like this bring about the desired results, they begin to learn to lie. Children’s lies are one thing, but for employers or criminal investigators, spotting liars is a much more serious matter.

我们说谎的理由有很多种，为了个人利益、为了摆脱麻烦或是为了避免尴尬的情况。从小我们就从一些事例中学会说谎。当母亲告诉我们「跟奶奶说她的新衣服看起来很漂亮」时，那是为了要让奶奶开心点。当孩子们发现这些谎话可以带来他们想要的结果时，他们便开始学着说谎。小孩子说谎是一回事，但对雇主或刑事调查人员而言，揪出说谎者可是件严肃的事了。

Research has shown that there are some common, clearly identifiable signs of lying. For one thing, when people are lying they tend to use fewer contractions than they do normally. That is, they might say “I did not” instead of “I didn’t.” They also may pause and stutter when they speak, inserting numerous “um”s or “uh”s between words and sentences while they make up their lie. Because liars are usually nervous about being caught, they also avoid eye contact, and they blink and swallow often. Furthermore, research has shown that tissues in the nose swell up when a person is lying, causing liars to touch or scratch their noses more often. This phenomenon has been dubbed the “Pinocchio” Effect. One has to wonder if Carlo Collodi, the author of Pinocchio, knew something about how lying affects the body when he wrote the story in the late 1800’s.  

研究指出说谎时有一些常见且明显的征兆。首先，当人们说谎时，会比平常少用缩语，也就是说，他们可能会说「我没有做」。而不是说「我没有」。当捏造谎言时，他们说话也可能会停顿及结巴，并在字句间插入许多的「嗯」或「呃」。因为说谎的人通常会怕被抓到，所以他们也会避免与他人眼神交会，而且常眨眼及吞口水。此外，研究也指出，人在说谎时鼻内的细胞组织会肿胀，使说谎者较常摸鼻子或抓鼻子，这种现象被称为「皮诺丘效应」。让人不禁好奇，《木偶奇遇记》的作者卡罗科罗迪当初在十九世纪末写这个故事时，是不是已知道说谎会对身体造成影响的事。

Vocabulary

deception [dɪˋsɛpʃən] n. 欺骗

investigator [ɪnˋvɛstə͵getɚ] n.〔尤指针对犯罪的〕调查员

spot [spɑt] v.【口】认出，发现

identifiable [aɪˋdɛntə͵faɪəb!] adj. 可识别的

stutter [ˋstʌtɚ] v. 结巴，口吃

insert [ɪnˋsɝt] v. 插入

scratch [skrætʃ] v. 抓；搔

phenomenon [fəˋnɑmə͵nɑn] n. 现象

More Information

gain [gen] n. 收益，利润

be meant to 有意要....

bring about: 引起, 造成 to make something happen

contraction [kənˋtrækʃən] n.【语】缩短，缩约；缩短形

that is 即,也就是说

make up: 编造 create

swell up 肿胀

Reading Questions

1. What does the author say about children and lying?

A. Children shouldn’t be taught to lie when they are young.

B. When children lie, they often don’t consider the results of their lies.

C. Children learn to lie at an early age when they see lying can get a desired result.

D. Children believe that white lies are useful and sometimes necessary.

2. According to the article, what are some signs of lying?

A. Liars use more contractions when they speak.

B. Liars keep eye contact with the person they are speaking to.

C. Liars tend to stare without blinking their eyes much.

D. Liars make frequent pauses when they are lying.

3. Why do people often touch or scratch their noses when they lie?

A. Because they are pretending to be honest.

B. Because they are trying to make their behavior look more natural.

C. Because they can feel the tissues in their noses growing bigger.

D. Because they are reminded of the story Pinocchio.

white lie: 无恶意的谎言 an often trivial, diplomatic or well-intentioned untruth

課文中英文講解

When criminal activity involves lying, technology is sometimes used to uncover the truth. The well-known polygraph test measures changes in the body that can indicate lying, such as blood pressure and heart rate. However, ___1___ savvy criminals can beat this test, many people consider it unreliable. But criminals nowadays may have a harder time ___2___ “brain fingerprinting.” Crime investigators can now monitor a suspect’s brain activity with scalp electrodes during questioning. Even if a suspect is only shown a photograph of a crime scene, investigators can detect whether the suspect has knowledge of the crime, even if he or she stays ___3___ !

当犯罪行为牵涉到说谎时，有时会利用科技来找出真相。著名的测谎器测试可以测出一些显示说谎的生理变化，像是血压或心跳率等。然而，因为有些狡猾的罪犯还是能通过这种测试，所以很多人都觉得不可信。但是罪犯若想骗过「脑指纹技术」的话，就没那么容易了。犯罪调查人员在审问过程中，可以用头皮电极来监测嫌犯的脑部活动。即使嫌犯只看到一张犯罪现场的相片，就算他保持缄默，调查人员还是可以察觉其是否知情。

While technology is useful in catching liars, some humans ___4___ it much more effectively. At the University of California in San Francisco, deception expert Maureen O’Sullivan tested over 13,000 people to see if they could identify liars simply by observing them. She found that some police investigators could ___5___ liars in criminal cases up to 80 percent of the time. Fourteen others in the study were able to detect lies an amazing 90 percent of the time! O’Sullivan calls these people “wizards” because they seem to have a special ability to know ___6___ someone is lying.

虽然科技在测谎时很有用，但有些人却能做得更有效率。旧金山加州大学的测谎专家毛琳欧苏利文测试过一万三千多人，看他们是否可以只藉由观察来辨识对方是否在说谎。她发现某些警务调查人员有高达80%的机率能侦察出罪犯说谎。研究中另外有十四位竟有高达90%的机率可以侦察出罪犯说谎!欧苏利文称这些人是高手，因为他们似乎有特殊的能力可以知道他人有没有说谎。

With all these ways ___7___ liars, it’s a good idea to remember that honesty is the best policy. Nowadays, it’s getting easier for a liar to get caught in his or her own web of lies.

虽然有这些识破说谎的方法，最好还是要记住诚实为上策。现在，要让说谎者栽在自己编织的谎言中已经是越来越容易了。

－By Laara Hinnegan

Vocabulary

uncover [ʌnˋkʌvɚ] v. 揭露；发现

unreliable [͵ʌnrɪˋlaɪəb!] adj. 不可信任的；靠不住的

monitor [ˋmɑnətɚ] v. 监测；监视

suspect [səˋspɛkt] n. 嫌疑犯

detect [dɪˋtɛkt] v. 发现，察觉

wizard [ˋwɪzɚd] n. 奇才；高手

More Information

polygraph [ˋpɑlɪ͵græf] n. 测谎器

savvy [ˋsævɪ] adj. 聪慧的

have a harder time 困苦不堪; 做....有困难 to have difficulty doing something

brain fingerprinting 脑指纹

scalp [skælp] n. 头皮

electrode [ɪˋlɛktrod] n. 电极

even if: 即使 even though

have knowledge of 知道，了解

up to 多达

honesty is the best policy 诚实为上策

outsmart [ˋaʊtˋsmɑrt] v. 比……更聪明

Answer