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. |
| A．Speak to the waiter. | B．Avoid asking for change. |
| C．Choose a drink randomly | D．Get out of the coffee shop quickly. |
| A．To protect their privacy. | B．Due to fear of rejection. |
| C．Due to busy schedules. | D．To enjoy views outside. |
| 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. |
When there are some strangers in front of us, which of them will we trust?
According to a new study in the online PLOS One, people make their decisions to trust others largely based on their faces. Your appearance can do a lot for you, especially if you are in the financial（金融） industry. The more trustworthy you look, the more likely people will buy what you’re selling.
Researchers from Britain’s University of Warwick Business School, University College London, and Dartmouth College, US, did a number of experiments.
The research team used computer software to make 40 faces, from the least to the most trustworthy-looking.
The study said that the difference between a trustworthy face and one that isn’t as trustworthy comes from features that look slightly angry or slightly happy, even when the face is at rest. However, a slightly happy face is more likely to be trusted.
Researchers gave participants some money and asked them which face they trusted to invest the money. Then researchers gave some good and bad information about the people with these faces, and asked the participants again whom they trusted.
The results showed that even if they got different information, the participants didn’t change their choices. They were still more likely to invest their money with the more trustworthy-looking faces.
Chris Olivola, one of the study’s authors, said in the University of Warwick’s press release: “It seems that we are still willing to go with our own instincts (本能) about whether we think someone looks like we can trust them. The temptation (诱惑) to judge strangers by their faces is hard to resist.”
【小题1】According to the study, which of the following faces is most likely to be trusted?| A．A sad face. | B．An angry face. |
| C．A crying face. | D．A smiling face. |
| A．The trustworthy faces were given good information. |
| B．Researchers took photos of the 40 people’s faces in college. |
| C．Participants liked to choose the faces with good information. |
| D．Most participants gave their money to the trustworthy-looking faces. |
| A．People can’t refuse temptations. |
| B．People often judge strangers by their faces. |
| C．People do things with their instincts all the time. |
| D．People don’t trust strangers with sad faces. |
Many of us use longer words in place of shorter ones. People think, if I can show that I have a good vocabulary, I’ll sound smarter.
Make eye contact. If someone looks at you while you’re talking, you’re more likely to think he or she is smart. Good eye contact means the other person is responsive to what you are doing or saying.
Strike a power pose. How open or closed your posture is conveys how open or closed you are to others. Openness can convey confidence.
Avoid pauses. Confidence is as noticeable in your voice as it is in your body language. As you have probably noticed from watching any public event or business meeting, the “winner” of the talk is usually the person who speaks most energetically and fluently.
| A．Plan ahead. |
| B．Feel prepared. |
| C．Frequently stopping for a while make you sound unsure of yourself. |
| D．The problem with this plan is that it can easily go wrong. |
| E．The confidence displayed on a person is the key to his success. |
| F．If he doesn`t respond, maybe it means what you`re saying is dull. |
| G．Sit up straight and leave your arms widely spread on the table or at your sides. |
You’ve heard it many times: first impressions are lasting. When an important first impression ends up with failure, this warning can feel like a death sentence.
Firstly, there is no need to blame yourself. Actually, everyone makes mistakes, and, at some point in their life, everyone says or does something they wish they hadn’t.
Honestly admitting the mistake and apologizing for it are the best choice. You can apologize in a formal language like, “I am sorry, but I didn’t mean to do that.”
What’s the most important is that you learn from your mistakes and avoid making them again. And make sure you won’t behave in a similar manner again.
| A．Don’t pretend you’re good friends. |
| B．The good news is that you can recover from a first impression failure. |
| C．Sometimes, it is difficult to apologize face to face. |
| D．Avoid trying to change what has been said. |
| E．Your action is the best evidence that you’re not the person you used to be. |
| F．If you focus too much on your mistakes, you may make the situation worse. |
| G．Besides, if you’re trying to recover from a bad first impression, then humor will be an important tool. |
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