Matches made over the Internet often do not last long because people end up choosing unsuitable
partners and forming emotional bonds before meeting face-to-face, an Australian university researcher
has found.
Women may especially find Mr. Wrong, as they tend to be attracted by fine comments or clever
emails, said psychologist Matthew Bambling from the Queensland University of Technology.
“You can never assume things are the way they seem online,” Bambling said. “The fact that they
can write a clever comment or a witty email doesn’t mean they will be Mr. Right, that’s for sure,” he
said, adding some men use the concept of “netting”, sending emails to dozens of women and hoping
one might respond. Bambling said you can find a partner online, but warned those using the Web to
find love to be aware of the traps. “There’s definitely an uncontrolled effect online,” he said, with
people more likely to exaggerate their good points while hiding anything negative. “Few guys for
example would say ‘look, I’m a middle aged alcoholic who’s been married five times, pick me’.
They’re going to present themselves as a good catch.” He said it was easy for people to quickly invest
too much emotionally in an online relationship because they don’t see the full picture of the person
they are emailing.
Bambling said people can avoid many of the problems by meeting early in the actual relationship,
rather than by getting to know each other only by email. He suggests couples arrange to meet over
coffee after a few emails, which will help people from building up a fantasy image of their match.
“The main thing to remember is to make real life contact as soon as possible if you are interested in
someone, because then you will know contact as soon as possible if you are interested in someone,
because then you will know if a relationship is a possibility.” He said.
1. Why were women quite likely to find Mr. Wrong over the Internet?
A. Because they often judge a person by his appearance.
B. Because single women usually felt more lonely.
C. Because the emotional bonds were hard to break.
D. Because they were easily attracted by fine comments.
2. About the online relationship Bambling suggests we should be ______.
A. rejective    B. favorable      C. cautious      D. hopeful
3. The underlined word “exaggerate” in Paragraph 3 probably means “______”.
A. enlarge     B. invent         C. remove       D. cover
4. What is suggested by Bambling for a better online relationship?
A. Writing clever comments or emails to girls frequently.
B. Finding a partner online through one night respond.
C. Making real life contact before further development.
D. Investing much emotion in your partner.