Question

How many of you have unfriended(拉黑) someone on Facebook because they said something bad about politics, childcare or food? And how many of you ever hide from someone just because you don’t want to talk to them?

In order to have a polite conversation, we used to follow the advice — make our conversation go around the weather and your health. But these days, with climate change and vaccine (疫苗) problems, those subjects — are not safe, either. Every conversation may lead to a fight.

Pew Research did a study of 10,000 American adults, and they found at this moment, we are less likely(可能) to listen to each other. Depending on what we already believe, we make decisions about where to live, who to marry and even who our friends are going to be. A conversation needs a balance(平衡) between talking and listening, and somewhere along the way, we lost that balance.

Now, part of that is because of technology, such as the smartphones. They are either in your hands or close enough for you to get quickly. According to the Pew Research, about one third American teenagers send more than a hundred texts(信息) a day. And many of them, almost most of them, are more likely to text their friends than they are to talk to them face to face.

There’s a great piece in The Atlantic. It was written by a high school teacher named Paul Barnwell. He gave a communication project to teach students how to speak on a special topic. But he failed to make it and said: “I realize kids spend hours each day connecting with ideas and each other through screens, but they hardly discover their communication skills. It might sound like a funny question, but we have to ask ourselves. Are there any 21st-century skills more important than being able to make a real conversation?

1.It used to be safe to talk about________in a polite conversation.

A.health B.childcare C.food

2.What can we learn from the study of Pew Research?

A.People make their own decisions by listening to others.

B.We probably like talking with friends face to face better.

C.There isn’t a balance between talking and listening now.

3.About 30% American teenagers send ________ texts a day.

A.more than 1000 B.about 500 C.Over 100

4.The last paragraph mainly talks about ________.

A.some communication skills

B.a project by Paul Barnwell

C.a magazine called The Atlantic

5.What is the best title of the passage?

A.Why not have a conversation now?

B.How can we speak politely?

C.What can we do with smart phones?

Answer 1