Use of English (2015)

In our contemporary culture, the prospect of communicating with—or even looking at—a stranger is virtually unbearable. Everyone around us seems to agree by the way they cling to their phones, even without a [1] on a subway.

It’s a sad reality—our desire to avoid interacting with other human beings—because there’s [2] to be gained from talking to the stranger standing by you. But you wouldn’t know it, [3] into your phone. This universal protection sends the [4]: “Please don’t approach me.”

What is it that makes us feel we need to hide [5] our screens?

One answer is fear, according to Jon Wortmann, an executive mental coach. We fear rejection, or that our innocent social advances will be [6] as “weird.” We fear we’ll be [7]. We fear we’ll be disruptive.

Strangers are inherently [8] to us, so we are more likely to feel [9] when communicating with them compared with our friends and acquaintances. To avoid this uneasiness, we [10] to our phones. “Phones become our security blanket,” Wortmann says. “They are our happy glasses that protect us from what we perceive is going to be more [11].”

But once we rip off the band-aid, tuck our smartphones in our pockets and look up, it doesn’t [12] so bad. In one 2011 experiment, behavioral scientists Nicholas Epley and Juliana Schroeder asked commuters to do the unthinkable: Start a [13]. They had Chicago train commuters talk to their fellow [14]. “When Dr. Epley and Ms. Schroeder asked other people in the same train station to [15] how they would feel after talking to a stranger, the commuters thought their [16] would be more pleasant if they sat on their own,” The New York Times summarizes. Though the participants didn’t expect a positive experience, after they [17] with the experiment, “not a single person reported having been embarrassed.”

[18], these commutes were reportedly more enjoyable compared with those without communication, which makes absolute sense, [19] human beings thrive off of social connections. It’s that [20]: Talking to strangers can make you feel connected.

[A]signal

[B]permit

[C]ticket

[D]record

[A]nothing

[B]little

[C]another

[D]much

[A]beaten

[B]plugged

[C]guided

[D]brought

[A]message

[B]code

[C]notice

[D]sign

[A]under

[B]beyond

[C]behind

[D]from

[A]misapplied

[B]misinterpreted

[C]misadjusted

[D]mismatched

[A]judged

[B]fired

[C]replaced

[D]delayed

[A]unreasonable

[B]ungrateful

[C]unconventional

[D]unfamiliar

[A]comfortable

[B]confident

[C]anxious

[D]angry

10.

[A]attend

[B]turn

[C]take

[D]point

11.

[A]dangerous

[B]mysterious

[C]violent

[D]boring

12.

[A]bend

[B]resist

[C]hurt

[D]decay

13.

[A]lecture

[B]debate

[C]conversation

[D]negotiation

14.

[A]trainees

[B]employees

[C]researchers

[D]passengers

15.

[A]reveal

[B]choose

[C]predict

[D]design

16.

[A]voyage

[B]flight

[C]walk

[D]ride

17.

[A]went through

[B]did away

[C]caught up

[D]put up

18.

[A]In turn

[B]In fact

[C]In particular

[D]In consequence

19.

[A]unless

[B]whereas

[C]if

[D]since

20.

[A]funny

[B]simple

[C]logical

[D]rare

答案解析 (Answers & Explanations)

1. [A] signal. 考查名词语境。即使在地铁里没有手机“信号（signal）”，大家也紧紧抓着手机。
2. [D] much. 考查代词逻辑。前文说这是一种“可悲的现实（sad reality）”，正是因为和陌生人聊天其实能收获“很多（much）”东西，而人们却在逃避。
3. [B] plugged. 考查过去分词。plugged into 意为“插在……上/沉浸于”。当你沉浸于手机时，你自然体会不到聊天的乐趣。
4. [A] message. 考查固定搭配。send the message 意为“传递信息/传达信号”。玩手机向别人传达了“别靠近我”的信息。
5. [C] behind. 考查介词方位。我们为什么觉得需要躲在屏幕“后面（behind）”？
6. [B] misinterpreted. 考查动词语义。我们害怕自己无辜的社交示好会被“误解（misinterpreted）”为“怪异”。
7. [A] judged. 考查动词语义。我们害怕被别人“评判/审视（judged）”。fired（解雇），replaced（替换）不符合陌生人社交语境。
8. [D] unfamiliar. 考查形容词语义。陌生人对我们来说天生就是“不熟悉的（unfamiliar）”。
9. [C] anxious. 考查形容词语义。因为陌生人不熟悉，所以和他们交流时，比起朋友，我们更容易感到“焦虑/不安（anxious）”。
10. [B] turn. 考查动词短语。为了避免这种不安，我们“求助于/转向（turn to）”手机。
11. [A] dangerous. 考查形容词语境。前文说手机是“安全毯（security blanket）”，保护我们免受那些我们认为“危险（dangerous）”的事情的伤害（即社交恐惧）。
12. [C] hurt. 考查动词语义。当我们撕下创可贴，把手机放进口袋抬起头时，其实并没那么“疼/糟糕（hurt so bad）”。
13. [C] conversation. 考查名词。科学家让通勤者做一件不可思议的事：开始一段“对话/聊天（conversation）”。
14. [D] passengers. 考查名词。在芝加哥的火车上，他们让通勤者和同车的“乘客（passengers）”聊天。
15. [C] predict. 考查动词。科学家要求火车站的其他人“预测（predict）”他们在和陌生人聊天后的感觉。
16. [D] ride. 考查名词辨析。在火车上的行程叫“乘车（ride）”。voyage（航海），flight（飞行），walk（步行）均不符合火车语境。
17. [A] went through. 考查动词短语。在他们“经历/完成（went through）”了实验之后，没有人觉得尴尬。
18. [B] In fact. 考查逻辑副词。前文说人们预测会糟糕，但没觉得尴尬。“事实上（In fact）”，据报道，这些有交流的通勤比没有交流的更令人愉快，表事实转折与递进。
19. [D] since. 考查连词。这种现象是完全有道理的，“因为/既然（since）”人类本就是靠社会联系而繁荣的。
20. [B] simple. 考查形容词。道理就是这么“简单（simple）”：和陌生人说话能让你感到有联系/不孤单。

核心长难句精解 (High-Light)

1. 破折号插入语与不定式被动语态：
"It’s a sad reality—our desire to avoid interacting with other human beings—because there’s much to be gained from talking to the stranger standing by you."
 【解析】破折号中间的 `our desire... beings` 是对 `a sad reality` 的同位语解释。`much to be gained` 是不定式的被动形式作后置定语，修饰 `much`，意为“有很多（东西）可以被获得”。 
2. What 引导的表语从句与强调句型：
"What is it that makes us feel we need to hide behind our screens?"
 【解析】这是一个特殊疑问句形式的**强调句**。原本的强调句是 "It is X that makes us feel..."，对 X 提问就变成了 "What is it that..."。可以翻译为：到底是什么让我们觉得需要躲在屏幕后面？ 
3. 复杂的宾语从句嵌套：
"When Dr. Epley and Ms. Schroeder asked other people in the same train station to predict how they would feel after talking to a stranger, the commuters thought their ride would be more pleasant if they sat on their own."
 【解析】主句是 `the commuters thought...`，其后是省略了 `that` 的宾语从句。前面的 `When` 引导时间状语从句，在状语从句中，`predict` 后面跟了一个由 `how` 引导的宾语从句。整句话清晰对比了人们的“预测（糟糕）”与后文的“实际体验（不尴尬且愉快）”。 