8.Pacing and Pausing
Sara tried to befriend her old friend Steve's new wife,but Betty never seemed to have anything to say.While Sara felt Betty didn't hold up her end of the conversation,Betty complained to Steve that Sara never gave her a chance to talk.The problem had to do with expectations about pacing and pausing.
Conversation is a turn-taking game.When our habits are similar,there's no problem.But if our habits are different,you may start to talk before I'm finished or fail to take your turn when I'm finished.That's what was happening with Betty and Sara.
It may not be coincidental that Betty,who expected relatively longer pauses between turns,is British,and Sara,who expected relatively shorter pauses,is American.Betty often felt interrupted by Sara.But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland.And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speaker s from Latin America or Israel.
The general phenomenon,then,is that the small conversation techniques,like pacing and pausing,lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities.These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping (思维定式).And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences.For example,a woman from the southwestern part of the US went to live in an eastern city to take up a job in personnel.When the Personnel Department got together for meetings,she kept searching for the right time to break in--and never found it.Although back home she was considered outgoing and confident,in Washington she was viewed as shy and retiring.When she was evaluated at the end of the year,she was told to take a training course because of her inability to speak up.
That's why slight differences in conversational style--tiny little things like microseconds of pause-can have a great effect on one's life.The result in this case was a judgment of psychological problems---even in the mind of the woman herself,who really wondered what was wrong with her and registered for assertiveness training.
64.What did Sara think of Betty when talking with her?C
A.Betty was talkative.
B.Betty was an interrupter.
C.Betty did not take her turn.
D.Betty paid no attention to Sara.
65.According to the passage,who are likely to expect the shortest pauses between turns?B
A.Americans.
B.Israelis.
C.The British.
D.The Finns.
66.We ca n learn from the passage thatC
A.communication breakdown results from short pauses and fast pacing
B.women are unfavorably stereotyped in eastern cities of the US
C.one's inability to speak up is culturally determined sometimes
D.one should receive training to build up one's confidence
67.The underlined word"assertiveness"in the last paragraph probably meansD
A.being willing to speak one's mind
B.being able to increase one's power
C.being ready to make one's own judgment
D.being quick to express one's ideas confidently.
分析 本文是一篇说明文,主要阐述是有关语速和停顿的相关信息.交谈是一种轮回转换的游戏,不同文化的人说话的节奏和方式都是不一样的.说话语速和停顿是一个谈话的技巧,是人们谈话的个性和能力.习惯上的不同常常建立在危险的思维定式上,一些社会现象可能导致严重的个人后果.
解答 64.C 推理判断题.根据文章第3段2,3行"Betty often felt interrupted by Sara.But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland.And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel."可知,Sara发现自己很难插话,是因为Betty没有按照说话的轮次来.导致两个人说话总是被打断.故C正确.
65.B 推理判断题.根据文章第三段最后一句"Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel."可知,美国人或者以色列人说话的停顿很短,Sara很难插话.以色列人说话的节奏和美国人说话的节奏是类似的,所以把这两者放在一起进行比较.故B正确.
66.C 推理判断题.根据文章第4段前3行"The general phenomenon,then,is that the small conversation techniques,like pacing and pausing,lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities.These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping (思维定式).And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences."可知一个人讲话的能力是受到他所在的文化和思维方式影响的.故C正确.
67.D 细节理解题.根据文章第五段"When she was evaluated at the end of the year,she was told to take a training course because of her inability to speak up"可知,她会在那个自信养成培训课程上被登记成什么样.故选D.
点评 解答细节理解题时,一个常用的方法就是运用定位法,即根据题干和选项中的关键词从原文中找到相关的句子,与选项进行比较从而确定答案;推理判断题既要求学生透过文章表面文字信息推测文章隐含意思,又要求学生对作者的态度、意图及文章细节的发展作正确的推理判断,力求从作者的角度去考虑,不要固守自己的看法或观点.