Directions: You are expected to study this section in class. Don’t preview.

Word Pretest

For each italicized word or expression, choose the best meaning below.

1. Don’t make any snap decision until you’ve calmed down.
A. hasty
B. thoughtful
C. sound
D. crack
2. I try to be broadminded but do feel antipathy toward people who are dirty and untidy.
A. sympathy
B. dislike
C. antiquity
D. regard
3. Scientists assume that there is life on Mars.
A. know
B. agree
C. suppose
D. insist
4. Simon Bolivar’s aspiration was to establish democracy in South America.
A. job
B. perspiration
C. ambition
D. career
5. It was his firm conviction that every effort should be made to preserve would peace.
A. doubt
B. belief
C. persuasion
D. enthusiasm
6. The employees gave the retiring man a watch as a token of their esteem.
A. value
B. present
C. coin
D. symbol
7. Her generosity is one of her most pleasing traits.
A. merits
B. shortcomings
C. characteristics
D. measure
8. Only an artist can perceive the fine shades of color in the painting.
A. Ignore
B. understand
C. feel
D. notice
9. A person’s stance sometimes can tell a lot about him.
A. way of speaking
B. way of dressing
C. way of standing
D. way of sitting

Key: 1. A 2. B 3. C 4. C 5. B 6. D 7. C 8. B 9. C

Text A

1. Background Information
2. Text: Signals Without Words

　　“I liked him the minute I saw him!” you sometimes hear. You’ve probably heard something like this a few times too: “ Before she even said a word, I knew there was something funny about her.” Such statements are examples of what are sometimes called “snap judgments”, opinions which are formed suddenly, seemingly on no sound basis at all. Most people would say that snap judgments are unsound or even dangerous. They would also admit, however, that they themselves often make snap judgments and may find them to be fairly reliable.
　　Snap judgments, “love at first sight”, “instant antipathy” and other sudden emotional responses, if taken seriously, have usually been considered signs of immaturity or lack of sense. When someone “has a feeling” about someone else, people more often laugh than pay attention. Most people assume that you find out about a person by listening to what he says over a period of time. Someone may occasionally remind you that “actions speak louder than words”, but this is usually a reference to such things as keeping promises or paying bills or sending money home to Mother.
　　Because people assume that “you are what you say you are”, they do a lot of talking in order to become acquainted with each other. There are predictable topics which businessmen, housewives, singles and others will touch upon when they first meet. Later, once two people have gotten acquainted, they more or less assume that it was all that conversation that give them their information about each other.
　　As behavioral sciences develop, however, researchers find that the importance of speech has been overestimated. Though speech is the most obvious form of communication, we do use other means of which we may be only partially aware or, in some cases, completely unaware. It is possible that we are unconsciously sending out messages with our every action, messages which are also unconsciously picked up by observers and used in forming opinions. These unconscious actions and reactions to them on the part of others may in part account for the “feelings’ and “snap judgments” mentioned above.
　　We communicate a great deal, the researchers have found, with our bodies ─ the way we move, sit, stand and what we do with our hands and heads, for example. Imagine a few people sitting in a waiting room: one is drumming his fingers on his briefcase, another keeps rubbing his hands together, another is biting his fingernails, still another grasps the arms of his chair tightly and a final one keeps running his fingers over his hair. These people aren’t talking, but they’re “saying” a lot if you happen to know the “language” they’re using.
Two of the most “telling” forms of behavior are driving a car and playing games. It is interesting to note a person’s reaction to stress in these situations and to aggressive behavior in others. If he easily becomes angry, excited, passive or resentful when driving or playing, you may have a clue to his personality.
　　Like many other forms of behavior, how you dress tells a lot about you. While clothing serves a purely practical function, it also communicates many things about your social status, personality, state of mind and even your aspirations and dreams. The eleven-year-old girl who dresses like a college student and the forty-year-old woman who dresses like a teenager are saying something by means of what they wear. According to studies, what you communicate through your mode of dress definitely influences others to accept the image of you that you are projecting: in the business worlds, the person who dresses like a successful manager is most likely to be promoted into a managerial position sooner or later.
　　Also significant are the ornaments a person wear: buttons, medals, jewelry, etc. such ornaments are often the means by which a person advertises a variety of things about himself: his convictions (campaign buttons), his beliefs (religious tokens), his membership in certain groups (club pins or badges), his past achievements (college ring or Phi Beta Kappa key) and his economic status (diamond jewelry).
　　Some studies have shown that there is a correlation between a person’s color preferences and his personality. Yellow, for example, is favored by intellectuals, while purple is especially preferred by romantics. What colors do you like to wear and decorate your home with? You’re probably communicating a lot about that other person. Colors that attract or annoy you may represent personality traits that have the same effect on you. A color which reminds you of someone may represent certain of his personality traits, as perceived by you.
　　Another indicator of a person’s character is said to be found in his preferences in architecture and furniture. A person who really would like to live in a castle would probably be more at home in the Middle Ages. Lovers of Victorian family houses and furniture might secretly welcome a return to more rigid social norms. People who are content with contemporary design are probably well-adapted to modern life-styles.
You see a persons for the first time. Even though he doesn’t speak to you, you begin observing him: his actions, his stance, his clothing and many other things. There’s a wealth of information there if you know how to “read” it. Perhaps snap judgments aren’t so unsound after all.

Total Words:930 words
Total Reading Time ______
_______
The text is based on “Signals Without Words”, Advanced Readings and Conversations by Sandra Constinett, The Institute of Modern Languages, 1973.

Detailed Study of Text A

◆ Reading Skill ─ Skimming
Skim the text and then answer the following questions.

1. What is the title of this article?
2. The first paragraph tells us that _______.
A. because snap judgments are never accurate, everybody is careful not to make them.
B. Although snap judgments are not always accurate, most people make them
C. Snap judgments are always accurate, although most people think they are not
3. Many people assume that a person is _______.
A. what he says he is
B. what other people say he is
C. what others feel about he is
4. Which of the following is true of communication?
A. If you aren’t talking, you aren’t communicating.
B. You can communicate even when you aren’t talking.
C. You can tell exactly what a person is thinking by watching his hands.
5. The way a person drives a car is significant because _______.
A. the way a person acts when driving a car is the way he acts all the time
B. people act differently when driving a car from the way they usually behave
C. watching a person drive may give you a clue to his personality
6. The clothes you wear _______.
A. communicate an image of you
B. can make people think you’re younger than you really are
C. can hide your true personalities
7. The kinds of ornaments a person wears _______.
A. act as an advertisement for the person
B. communicates his likes and dislikes
C. cannot help us judge a person’s economic status
8. Paragraph 9 tells us that _______.
A. people wear the colors in which they look good
B. people tend to surround themselves with colors they like
C. the colors people prefer indicate something about their personalities
9. If you understand behavioral signal you can tell _______ about a person by observing him closely.
A. everything
B. a lot
C. almost nothing
10. This article is mainly connected with _______.
A. human communication
B. communication in words
C. communication with the body

Key: 1.Signals Without Words
2. B 3. A 4. B 5.C 6. A 7. A 8. C 9. B 10. C

Vocabulary Building
ⅠGive the other parts of speech of each given word.

Key:

II. Fill in the blanks with words which are often confused.
1.aspire, inspire
a. His noble example _______ the rest of us to greater efforts.
b. The hard-working student _______ to become an author.
c. The Lake District scenery _______ Wordsworth to write his greatest poetry.
2.badge, token
a. A white flag is used as a _______ of surrender.
b. They were wearing _______ that said “nuclear Power ─ No Thanks!”
c. Our troops encountered only _______ resistance.
3. contemporary, temporary
a. Beethoven and Napoleon were _______.
b. Students often find _______ jobs during their summer holidays.
c. _______ reports of past events are often more interesting than modern historians’ view of them.

Key:1. a. inspires/inspired b. aspires c.inspired
2. a. token b. badges c. token
3. a.contemporary b. temporary c. Contemporary

Ⅲ. Glossary
sign-language； 　　　　look in one’s eye；　 　　tone of one’s voice;
wag of the head； 　　　flicker of the eyelash；　　 clap on the shoulders
squeeze of the hand；　 wave of the hand；　　　 wringing one’s hand
stamp of the foot ；　　　clenched fist；　　　　　 drumming one’s fingers
gritting one’s teeth；　　 gnashing one’s teeth；　 grimace
frown；　　　　　　　　　 scowl；　　　　　　　 pout
lee；　　　　　　　　　　 hug；　　　　　　　　 nudge
glance；　　　　　　　　 wink；　　　　　　　　 nod

4. Cloze
Fill in each blank with one suitable word.

Human beings learn to _______ with each other with nonlinguistic means as well as linguistic _______. All of us are familiar with the saying It wasn’t what he said; it was the way that he said it when, by _______ the word way, we mean something about the particular voice quality that was _______ evidence, or the set of a shoulder, or the obvious tension _______ certain muscles. A _______ may even be sent by the accompanying tone and gestures, so that each of I’m ready. You’re beautiful, and I don’t know where he is can mean the opposite of any such interpretation. Often we _______ difficulty in finding exactly what in the communication _______ the change of meaning, and any statement we make leads to the source of the gap between the literal _______ of the words and the total message that is likely to be expressed in impressionistic terms. It is likely to refer _______ something like a “glint” in a person’s _______, or a “threatening” gesture, or a “provocative” manner.

Key: 1.communicate 2. ones 3. interpreting 4. in 5. of
6. message 7. have 8. causes 9. meaning 10. to 11.eyes