“There has been a trend among people to dislike gossip,” said David Sloan Wilson, Professor from the State University of New York in Binghamton, US, “but gossip appears to be a very important form of behavior in a group of friends, defining their group membership.”

　　For 18 months, Kevin Kniffin, from the University of Wisconsin, US, researched the behavior of 50 people. He found that gossip levels peaked when a sports team included a slacker, someone who regularly missed practices or showed up late. Other members of the team would soon start to joke about the slacker’s shortcomings behind his back, because they thought they were bad for the whole team.

　　Gossip about the mistakes of senior members helps newcomers rebuild their confidence after a failure.

　　It also helps relieve social and professional anxiety. Long-term studies show that people around the world devote from a fifth to two-thirds or more of their daily conversation to gossip, and men appear to be just as eager for gossip as women.

　　It is hard to judge gossip, but it is more powerful than you think.

　　68. The author would probably agree that______________.

　　A. gossip is bad manners

　　B. gossip has many good effects

　　C. gossip is somewhat like nonsense

　　D. gossip is more powerful than advice

　　69. What does the underlined word “slacker” mean according to the context?

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