Unlike so-called basic emotions such as sadness, fear, and anger, guilt emerges a little later, in conjunction with a child’s growing grasp of social and moral norms. Children aren’t born knowing how to say “I’m sorry”; rather, they learn over time that such statements appease parents and friends—and their own consciences. This is why researchers generally regard so-called moral guilt, in the right amount, to be a good thing.

In the popular imagination, of course, guilt still gets a bad rap. It is deeply uncomfortable—it’s the emotional equivalent of wearing a jacket weighted with stones. Yet this understanding is outdated. “There has been a kind of revival or a rethinking about what guilt is and what role guilt can serve,” says Amrisha Vaish, a psychology researcher at the University of Virginia, adding that this revival is part of a larger recognition that emotions aren’t binary—feelings that may be advantageous in one context may be harmful in another. Jealousy and anger, for example, may have evolved to alert us to important inequalities. Too much happiness can be destructive.

And guilt, by prompting us to think more deeply about our goodness, can encourage humans to make up for errors and fix relationships. Guilt, in other words, can help hold a cooperative species together. It is a kind of social glue.

Viewed in this light, guilt is an opportunity. Work by Tina Malti, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, suggests that guilt may compensate for an emotional deficiency. In a number of studies, Malti and others have shown that guilt and sympathy may represent different pathways to cooperation and sharing. Some kids who are low in sympathy may make up for that shortfall by experiencing more guilt, which can rein in their nastier impulses. And vice versa: High sympathy can substitute for low guilt.

In a 2014 study, for example, Malti looked at 244 children. Using caregiver assessments and the children’s self-observations, she rated each child’s overall sympathy level and his or her tendency to feel negative emotions after moral transgressions. Then the kids were handed chocolate coins, and given a chance to share them with an anonymous child. For the low-sympathy kids, how much they shared appeared to turn on how inclined they were to feel guilty. The guilt-prone ones shared more, even though they hadn’t magically become more sympathetic to the other child’s deprivation.

“That’s good news,” Malti says. “We can be prosocial because we caused harm and we feel regret.”

1.Researchers think that guilt can be a good thing because it may help _________.

A regulate a child’s basic emotions

B improve a child’s intellectual ability

C foster a child’s moral development

D intensify a child’s positive feelings

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据guilt和a good thing定位到首段，可知孩子并不是生来就知道如何说“对不起”，而是随着时间的推移，他们了解到这样做会安抚父母、朋友及自己的良心。C“培养孩子的道德发展”更符合原文，故选C。

2.According to Paragraph 2, many people still consider guilt to be _________.

A deceptive

B burdensome

C addictive

D inexcusable

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据题目定位到第二段，可知在许多人眼中，内疚都背负了一个坏名声，它让人感觉很不舒服，就像穿了一件装了石头的夹克（让人感觉沉重），故选B。

3.Vaish holds that the rethinking about guilt comes from an awareness that _________.

A emotions are context-independent

B emotions are socially constructive

C emotional stability can benefit health

D an emotion can play opposing roles

解析：选D。A 细节理解题。根据Vaish定位到第二段第四句，可知他认为情绪并非是二元的，在某种环境下是有利的情绪，可能在另一种环境下是有害的，故选A。

4.Malti and others have shown that cooperation and sharing _________.

A may help correct emotional deficiencies

B can result from either sympathy or guilt

C can bring about emotional satisfaction

D may be the outcome of impulsive acts

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据Malti定位到第四段，根据第三句可知内疚和同情可能代表着通往合作和分享的不同途径，B合作和分享“可能是由内疚和同情造成的”符合原文，故选B。

5.The word “transgressions” (Para.5) is closest in meaning to _________.

A teachings

B discussions

C restrictions

D wrongdoings

解析：选D。D 词义猜测题。根据transgressions定位到第五段第二句“Malti对每个孩子总体的同情水平和他们在道德transgressions之后感受到负面情绪的倾向进行评级”可推知，transgressions应该是表示负面的词，D“坏事；不道德的行为”更符合原文，故选D。