Question 20 is based on the recording you have just heard.

听力原文

    Now, believe it or not, people sometimes lie in order to maintain a good, honest reputation—even if it hurts them to do so. At least, this is what a team of scientists is suggesting, with evidence to prove it.

    Picture this scenario: You often drive for work and can be compensated for up to 400 miles per month. Most people at your company drive about 300 miles each month. But this month, you drove 400 miles. How many miles do you think you’d claim in your expense report?

    The scientists asked this exact question as part of the study we’re discussing today. With surprising results, (19) [they found that 12% of respondents reported the distance they drove as less than the actual figure, giving an average answer of 384 miles. In other words, they lied about the number of miles,] even though they would forfeit money they were owed. The researchers believe this was to seem honest, with the assumption being that others would be suspicious of a high expense claim.

    But why would people fabricate numbers to their own detriment? (20) [The researchers explained that many people care a great deal about their reputation and how they’ll be judged by others.] If they care enough, they’re concerned about appearing honest and not losing their respect of others, maybe greater than their desire to actually be honest. The researchers assert that the findings suggest that when people obtain very favorable outcomes, they anticipate other people’s suspicious reactions and prefer lying and appearing honest to telling the truth and appearing as selfish liars.

    So why is this research important? Well, experts generally agree there are two main types of lie—selfish lies and lies that are meant to benefit others. The first, as you may predict, is for selfish gain, such as submitting a fraudulent claim to an insurance company; while the second involves lying to help others or not offend others, for example, telling a friend whose outfit you don’t like that they look great.

    But the researchers are suggesting a third type of lying: lying to maintain a good reputation. Now this hypothesis is new, and some skeptics argue that this isn’t a whole new category of lie. (21) [But the findings seem intuitive to me.] After all, one of the main motivations for lying is to increase our worth in the eyes of others. So it seems highly likely that people will lie to seem honest.

20. Why would people fabricate numbers to their own detriment according to the researchers?（根据研究人员的说法，人们为什么要捏造数字而去损害自己的利益？）

解析：B。在录音中间部分，讲话者对人们为什么要捏造数字而损害自身利益这一问题作出了回答：研究人员解释说，这是因为许多人非常在意自己的名声以及别人对他们的评价。B项与此内容相符，其中的wanted to protect their reputation对应录音中的care a great deal about their reputation，故正确答案为B。

错项排除：录音中指出，受访者谎报数字的做法，只是为了表现得诚实（appearing honest），其程度可能超过了他们想真正做到诚实的愿望（maybe greater than their desire to actually be honest），并不是说他们想努力做到真正诚实，故A项错误。录音中虽然出现了care about（关心）和claim（报销申请），但人们关心的对象是自己的名声和别人的评价，而不是报销申请，C项属于细节拼凑，故排除。录音中出现了respondents（受访者）和suspicious（怀疑的）这两个词，D项利用与之发音相似的responded（作出回应）和suspicion（怀疑）设置干扰，但根据录音中所说，人们谎报数字是为了避免被人怀疑，而不是对同事们的怀疑作出回应，故D项错误。