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As little children, most of us were taught the virtue (美德) of honesty from fairy tales and other stories. The story of Pinocchio, who begins life as a puppet (木偶), teaches us the importance of telling the truth. In the story of young George Washington, who lies about cutting down the cherry tree, we learn that he earns his father’s praise only when he admits what he has done. Even though we know that “honesty is the best policy,” why do we often lie in our everyday life? The fact is that we lie for many reasons. We sometimes lie to minimize (将……最小化) our errors and mistakes. For example, some students might lie to their teachers about unfinished homework. They might say that they left the work at home when, in fact, they didn’t even do the work. These students don’t want to be irresponsible (无责任感的), so they make up a lie to save face. Another reason we lie is to get out of situations we don’t want to be in. If we just don’t want to attend the dorm meeting early on Saturday morning, we might give the excuse: “I’ve been fighting off a cold all week, and I need to sleep on Saturday morning.” We lie because we believe that telling the truth will cause problems. When we don’t know how to say no, we often use lies to avoid difficulties. However, lies are not always negative (消极的); in fact two kinds of lies can yield positive (积极的) results. The first is commonly referred to as a “white lie.” We tell white lies when we don’t want to hurt other people’s feelings. For example, if a good friend shows up with an unflattering (难看的) haircut, we could be truthful and say, “That haircut is awful. It doesn’t suit you at all!” Instead, we are more likely to lie and say, “I like your haircut. It looks good on you,” and spare our friend’s feelings. The second kind of positive lie is the “protective lie.” This one can help us get out of or avoid dangerous situations. Parents often teach their children to use this kind of lie. For example, parents tell their children not to say that they are home alone if they receive phone calls from strangers. In this situation, lying can prevent harm or disaster. People lie for many reasons, both good and bad. However, before we resort to (采用) lying to cover up mistakes or to avoid unpleasant situations, perhaps we should rethink our motives (动机) for lying.
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