Nonverbal Communications

　　Although most of us believe that we communicate almost exclusively with words, research has shown that nonverbal communication is at least as important. Gestures and tone of voice are important cues in determining others’ responses to us. Individuals who are not aware of information conveyed nonverbally are at a social disadvantage. In fact, children who fail to “read” such messages tend to be unpopular and underachievers. Children who are overeager or speak loudly, for example, may offend other children, or adults. When they fail to adjust their behavior on the basis of others’ responses, they aggravate the situation.

　　Adults may offend their peers also by their inattention to nonverbal responses. The sense of personal space varies among individuals and cultures. The salesman who puts his arm around the shoulder of a prospective buyer should realize the possible consequences of his gesture. physical contact conveys sense of intimacy that the relationship may or may not warrant. Standing very close to someone during a face-to-face conversation may produce a negative reaction. In fact, you may observe the person back away. practice and traditions are more permissive in some cultures than in ours. In Latin American countries between conversationalists is smaller than it is in the United States. In most situations, however, regardless of power often take or receive more space. picture a chairperson at a board or committee meeting sitting at the head or commanding center of the table. Think of the teacher whose large desk is surrounded by more space than the students’ smaller desks.

　　Tone of voice also conveys messages and emotions. “Beautiful” may be used to describe bouquet of roses or a black eye, but the tone of voice will not be the same. “Thanks a lot” can be said with genuine gratitude or with sarcasm.

　　Dog trainers report that dogs respond to tone of voice than to the particular words that are said. Dogs are often praised in a consistent tone of voice that may be slightly high-pitched and somewhat singsong. They will respond to this tone of voice with wagging tails even if the words don’t match.

　　6. The main point of the article is that____.

　　A. dogs and humans communicate the same way.

　　B. gestures and tone of voice convey a great deal of information.

　　C. our system of communication is changing rapidly.

　　D. only human beings are capable of verbal communication.

　　7. Nonverbal communication is important for____.

　　A. interpersonal relationships

　　B. dog trainings

　　C. foreign travel

　　D. communication between humans and other animals

　　8. According to the article, communication problems arise when____.

　　A. people send the wrong signals

　　B. individual miss nonverbal cues

　　C. culture clash

　　D. people use the same signal to mean differently

　　9. The issue of personal space is related to____.

　　A. religious values

　　B. shyness

　　C. power

　　D. privacy

　　10. The author includes the example about dogs to show that_____.

　　A. dogs are important too

　　B. nonverbal communication occurs in varied situations

　　C. tone of voice affects different ranges of hearing

　　D. dogs are more capable of nonverbal communication than other animals

　　參考答案：

　　6.B

　　道題考察我們對全文中心思想的把握。這篇文章的篇幅較短，所以判斷文章的中心思想是比較容易。在文章第一段中，作者提到了手勢和語調(diào)，它們在判斷別人對我們的回應(yīng)時(shí)起著重要的暗示作用。既然可以起到重要的暗示作用，也就說明手勢和語調(diào)可以傳達(dá)大量的信息。

　　7.A

　　在文章的第段和第二段中都提到了非口頭交流的重要性。不論大人還是小孩，如果忽略了非口語交流方式傳達(dá)的信息，就會處于不利，甚至還會冒犯他人。所以說，非口頭交流對人際關(guān)系很重要。

　　8.B

　　第一段中有這樣一句話：Individuals who are not aware of information conveyed nonverbally are at a social disadvantage. 結(jié)合這句話以及后面段落中舉出的例子，可以很容易判斷出這一結(jié)論：如果人們忽略了非口頭交流的暗示作用，就會引發(fā)交流上的問題和障礙。

　　9.C

　　文章的第三段告訴我們：在許多情況下，掌握著權(quán)力的人總是擁有更大的空間。這也從一個(gè)側(cè)面反映出個(gè)人空間與權(quán)力是有聯(lián)系的。

　　10.B

　　本文是圍繞著非口頭交流這一方式展開的，文章主要介紹了這種交流方式的重要作用以及它的一些特點(diǎn)。在文章末尾，作者給出了一個(gè)小狗的例子，以此來說明非口頭交流(語調(diào))甚至出現(xiàn)在與動物的交流中�？梢�，作者其實(shí)是要以此來說明非口頭交流方式出現(xiàn)在不同的情況下。