bagel data also reflect how much personal mood seems to affect honesty. Weather, for instance, is a major factor. Unseasonably pleasant weather inspires people to pay at a higher rate. Unseasonably cold weather, meanwhile, makes people cheat prolifically; so do heavy rain and wind. Worst are the holidays. The week of Christmas produces a 2 percent drop in payment rates-again, a 15 percent increase in theft, an effect on the same magnitude, in reverse, as that of 9/11. Thanksgiving is nearly as bad; the week of Valentine's Day is also lousy, as is the week straddling April 15. There are, however, a few good holidays: the weeks that include the
Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Columbus Day. The difference in the two sets of holidays? The low-cheating holidays represent little more than an extra day off from work. The high-cheating holidays are fraught with miscellaneous anxieties and the high expectations of loved ones.

Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of this paragraph?

A- Different emotional states affect people's honesty.

B- Some holidays cause people to be less honest.

C- Cold weather causes an increase in dishonesty.

D- Holidays and cold weather may cause anxiety.

This answer best summarizes the main idea of the paragraph because it focuses on the specific impact of holidays on people's honesty. The paragraph discusses how different holidays, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, and tax day, lead to decreased payment rates and increased theft. It contrasts these "high-cheating" holidays with holidays like the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Columbus Day, which have lower rates of dishonesty. The paragraph also explains that the high-cheating holidays are associated with various anxieties and high expectations from loved ones. This information supports the idea that some holidays cause people to be less honest.