English is full of colourful phrases to describe shyness. Someone shy might be called shrinking violet or a wallflower, while for especially nervous types we have the curious expression: they wouldn’t say “boo” to a goose.

None of these are traditionally seen as positive descriptions, even if you like geese. In a culture of go-getting high achievers, shy people don’t come first. Or that’s what the self-help industry would have you believe. Bookshops are filled with vital tomes (大部头书籍) that promise to help beat social fears and find success in life, love and business. That is why one book, Shrinking Violets: A Field Guide to Shyness, bucks the trend. It became a sudden success across English-language media recently for its new take-on shyness.

Author Joe Moran says that despite struggling with shyness and longing for loneliness all his life, being shy can also be “a gift”. Freed from the constant urge to participate and compete in social situations, people are liberated to look at the world in new ways, and gain fresh insights.

Indeed, many of the world’s great thinkers and artists are introverts (内向的人). Scientists Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein preferred their own company; actress Keira Knightley often finds herself tongue-tied at parties; and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling claims she used to be too nervous to even borrow a pen.

Moran told BBC Future, “I think shyness probably does turn you into an amateur anthropologist (人类学家), really — you are more likely to be an observer.”

So, while extroverts make all the noise, they don’t necessarily have the best ideas.

If you’re shy, you’ve probably known this for a long time. You just don’t shout about it.

【小题1】Why did the author mention many famous shy people?

A．To point out the harm shyness brings.

B．To disconnect shyness and success.

C．To show the reasons for shyness.

D．To prove shyness contributes to science.

【小题2】What is the author’s attitude towards shyness?

A．Opposed.	B．Indifferent.
C．Supportive.	D．Critical.

【小题3】When someone is being called a wallflower, he is being 　　　.

A．praised for his grace

B．admired for his character

C．laughed at for his shyness

D．told off for his nervousness

【小题4】What does the underlined phrase “bucks the trend” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Goes against the trend and succeeds.

B．Changes the public idea completely.

C．Becomes unpopular and unaccepted.

D．Becomes the major concern of people.