The doors open wide, you enter, and they close behind you. As the elevator goes up, you realize it’s just you and one other person taking this ride. The silence soon grows uncomfortable. What’s your go-to move? A)Stare at your shoes. B)Pull out your cellphone. C)Make brief eye contact. D)Start a conversation.

If your answer is B, you’re like far too many of us, who tend to do just about anything to avoid conversation or even eye contact with strangers. And smartphones make it easier than ever to do that. But a body of research has shown that we might just be short-changing (亏待) our own happiness by ignoring opportunities to connect with the people around us.

Several years ago, psychologist Elizabeth Dunn and her colleague Gillian M. Sandstrom tested whether short conversations with strangers could lift moods. They asked participants to enter a busy coffee shop and grab a drink-half would just get in and get out, and half would strike up a conversation with the waiter. “We found that people who were randomly assigned to turn this economic behavior into a quick social interaction, left the coffee shop in a better mood,” Dunn says. Why, if connecting with others makes us happy, do we so often avoid it? Social anxiety could be preventing these types of interactions, says behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley. His experiments revealed that train and bus commuters (通勤者) who interacted with other passengers experienced a more pleasant ride-even when they believed they would prefer reading a book. It is fear that the person sitting next to us won’t enjoy talking to us that makes us keep to ourselves, Epley found.

So, how can we avoid the risks of loneliness and stop short-changing our own happiness? It might be easier than you think. Start with folks like the cashier in a grocery store or the waiter at your local coffee shop, Dunn says. You’ve got to interact with them anyway, so you might as well make an effort to turn it into a friendly exchange.

【小题1】What can be learned about those who choose B as an answer?

A．They are addicted to the digital world.

B．They feel uncomfortable being stared at.

C．They enjoy connecting with familiar people much.

D．They hate making small talks with people unknown to them.

【小题2】What were the happier participants in Dunn’s study asked to do?

A．Speak to the waiter.	B．Avoid asking for change.
C．Choose a drink randomly	D．Get out of the coffee shop quickly.

【小题3】Why did commuters avoid interacting with other passengers according to Epley?

A．To protect their privacy.	B．Due to fear of rejection.
C．Due to busy schedules.	D．To enjoy views outside.

【小题4】What is the text mainly about?

A．The benefits of avoiding loneliness.	B．The benefits of pleasant commutes.
C．The benefits of talking with strangers.	D．The benefits of interacting with local people.