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 speakers 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 . 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 cause was a judgment of psychological problems -- even in the mind of... We can learn from the passage that _ . 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
C
(Question)
The day was like any other day in his life. Tom walked past the shop on the street corner. He stopped to look at the front row of shoes, and he felt happy to see that the pair of shoes he wanted very much was still there. Looking down at his old shoes, he felt sorry for himself. He really wanted to have them for his birthday. He sadly walked away and thought how to tell his mother about it. He knew very well she had little money. He decided not to go home at once, as he looked sad and his mother would notice it. So he went to the park and sat on the grass. There he saw a boy moving a wheelchair with his hands. Tom looked at him and was surprised to see that the boy had no feet. He looked at his own feet. "It's much better to be without shoes than without feet. "he thought. There was no reason for him to feel so sorry and sad. He went away and smiled, thinking he was happier. Tom passed the shop _ . A) on foot B) by bike C) in a wheelchair D) by bus
(Answer)
A
Ques: When I was growing up, I was ashamed to be seen with my father. He was severely disabled and very short, and when we would walk together, his hand on my arm for balance, people would stare. If he ever noticed or was bothered, he never let on. It was difficult to coordinate our steps--his slow, mine impatient--and because of that, we didn't say much as we went along. But as we started out, he always said, "You set the pace. I will try to adjust to you." He never talked about himself as an object of sympathy, nor did he show any envy of the more fortunate or able. What he looked for in others was a "good heart", and if he found one, the owner was good enough for him. I believe that is a proper standard by which to judge people, even though I still don't know accurately what a "good heart" is. Unable to join in many activities, my father still tried to participate in some way. I now know he participated in some things indirectly through me, his only son. When I played ball (poorly), he "played" too. When I joined the Navy, he "joined" too. And when I came home on leave, he saw to it that I visited his office. Introducing me, he was really saying, "This is my son, but it is also me, and I could have done this, too, if things had been different." Those words were never said aloud. He has been gone many years now, but I think of him often. I wonder if he sensed my unwillingness to be seen with him during our walks. If he did, I am sorry I never told him how sorry I was, how unworthy I was, how I regretted it. I think of him when I complain about small affairs, when I am envious of another's good fortune, when I don't have a "good heart". At such times I put my hand on his arm to regain my balance, and say, "You set the pace. I will try to adjust to you." It can be inferred from the text that _ . A) the father was proud of his only son B) the father took part in all his son's activities C) the author was upset when asked to his father's office D) the author was an outstanding player
Ans: A
Ship tourism to Antarctica is on the rise: More than 35,000 tourists are expected to visit Antarctic this summer. In 1992-1993, 6,750 visited Antarctica, according to the Antarctica Treaty. All of this tourism, however, is putting both tourists and the environment in great danger. Among the tourist ships that visit the continent, the Explorer, a Canadian ship, was one of the first. Put to use in 1969, it was built to carry tourists to Antarctica. Last week, however, it became the first commercial passenger ship to sink beneath the waters. Fortunately, all of the passengers and crew members were rescued from the ship. However, the sunken ship endangered the Antarctic's fragile environment. The ship was estimated to be holding 48,000 gallons of fuel. The accident was not unexpected. Both the US and UK had warned a conference of the Antarctic Treaty member countries in May that the tourism situation in this area was a potential disaster. The US said in a paper, people "should take a hard look at tourism issues now, especially those related to ship safety." Although the Antarctic seas are relatively calm, floating ice causes a potential threat to ships. The owner of the Explorer blamed the sinking on a fist-like hole in the ship created by ice. Many of the other large ships now visiting Antarctica are not designed especially against thick ice. Such ships generally can only come to the continent in summer. But the tourist rush is pushing ships into dangerous situations. "The increasing number of ships operating in Antarctic means that the ship are under great pressure to get there in time for the key visiting sites," the British government wrote in a paper at the meeting of member countries. As a natural frontier, Antarctica is in a messy legal situation. There are no obvious answers as to who is responsible for dealing with the threat that tourist may cause to human life and the environment. There is no coast guard for Antarctica. Do we want it to become Disneyland, or do we need some controls? In this passage, the writer suggests that _ . A) people had better not make a tour of the Antarctic B) ships to the Antarctic should be built strong enough C) there should be legal controls over tourism in the Antarctic D) the Antarctic's environment is fragile
C