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The city can seem a cold, mean place. In the middle of so many people hurrying about their own
business, a person can feel alone among the millions of others.
There is a popular view that in cities, strangers are less likely to help an elderly person cross a street or call the police when they see a bike being stolen. Recently, a New Yorker named Casey Neistat did an
experiment. He chained up his bike in several public places, then "stole" it in a number of obvious ways,
such as using a hacksaw (钢锯). He filmed everything to see whether other New Yorkers would try to
stop a shameless bike theft. The result? People just walked on by.
Is this evidence of an immoral, selfish urban society? Not necessarily. According to another recent
study, the way city people mind their own business is about other factors besides morality (道德).
This is called the Bystander Effect, the theory that city people do not react because of the urban
enviromnent they live in.
Psychologist Dr. Harold explained why people did not involve themselves in Neistat's bike theft
experiment with the Bystander Effect.
First, people who live in cities are surrounded by so much activity that they stop noticing what is going
on around them. Second, they are less easy to surprise and assume every activity has a logical explanation.
"The third is that people notice it, but they don't know what to do," he continued. "And the fourth is fear they know they should do something, but they're afraid to challenge someone with a hacksaw." A lack of
concern is only a small reason why people don't take action, concludes Dr. Harold.
Despite the results of Neistat's experiment, there is also evidence of a sense of team spirit that connects people in cities. All it takes is a funny joke or a shared interest to start a conversation with someone at a
bus stop. When city folk are in trouble, they come together for support - famously in New York on
September 11, 2001.
City society is different, but that doesn't mean it's cold or mean - it just means it's busy!
1. Casey Neistat fihned everything in the experiment with the purpose of  _____.
A. proving that he was not the thief
B. telling people that bike theft was immoral
C. finding out who had a sense of right and wrong
D. making his experiment well-known to the public
2. We can infer from the third paragraph that morality _____.
A. can partly explain a selfish urban society
B. is what our society should pay special attention to
C. is the only factor that leads to a selfish urban society
D. is the root of the Bystander Effect mentioned in the passage
3. The underlined part September 11, 2001 in Paragraph 9 serves as_____.
A. a reminder of the sad memories
B. a way to prove Dr Harold's Bystander effect
C. evidence that city life can be really dangerous
D. an example to show team spirit connecting city people
4. As can be inferred from the passage, the writer probably_____.
A. criticizes the loss of morality in urban society
B. feels sad about the result of Neistat's experiment
C. thinks city people are too busy to care about others
D. disagrees that city life sometimes can be cold and mean

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