I once met a well-known botanist at a dinner party. I had never talked with a botanist before, and I found him very interesting. I sat there absorbed and listened while he spoke of unusual plants and his experiments (he even told me astonishing facts about the simple potato). I had a small indoor garden of my own—and he was good enough to tell me how to solve some of my problems.

As I said, we were at a dinner party. There must have been a dozen other guests, but I broke an important rule of politeness. I ignored everyone else and talked for hours to the botanist.

Midnight came. I said good night to everyone and departed. The botanist then turned to our host and said many nice things about me, including that I was a “most interesting conversationalist”.

An interesting conversationalist? I had said hardly anything at all. I couldn’t have said anything if I had wanted to without changing the subject, for I didn’t know any more about plants than I knew about sharks.

But I had done this one thing; I had listened carefully. I listened because I was really interested. And he felt it. Naturally that pleased him. That kind of listening is one of the best ways to show respect to others, and it makes them feel great too. “Few human beings,” wrote Jack Woodford in Strangers in Love, “can resist the sweet effect of rapt attention.” I went even further than that. I was “sincere in my admiration and generous in my praise”. I told him that I had been hugely entertained and instructed. I told him I wished I had his knowledge. I told him that I should love to wander the fields with him. What’s more, it was all true.

And so I had him thinking of me as a good conversationalist when, in reality, I had only been a good listener and had encouraged him to talk.

【小题1】From Paragraph 1, we can learn that the writer__________.

A．was deeply moved by the botanist’s talk

B．was amazed by what he was hearing

C．was not in a comfortable situation

D．behaved politely and properly

【小题2】Which of the following does the writer describe as a rule of politeness at dinner parties?

A．Avoiding discussions about politics and religion.

B．Listening carefully to what another guest says.

C．Arriving and leaving at the appropriate time.

D．Giving attention to all those in attendance.

【小题3】The underlined expression “rapt attention” in Paragraph 4 is closest in the meaning to__________.

A．full understanding	B．strong interest
C．great uncertainty	D．little curiosity

【小题4】According to the writer, which of the following is an important characteristic of a good conversationalist?

A．Listening attentively and encouraging the other side to continue.

B．Encouraging the other side by sharing his/her own opinions.

C．Promising a future meeting for more communication.

D．Expressing respect by nodding his/her head.