Read the following text。Choose the best word(s)for each numbered blank and markA，B，C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1(10 points)

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 fiddle with their phones，even without a  1   underground

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 strange r standing by you. But you wouldn’t know it，  3  into your phone. This universal armor 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, executive mental coach We fear rejection，or that our innocent social advances will be  6  as“creep,”We fear we’II be  7  We fear we’II 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 anxiety, 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 bandaid，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 snubbed.”

  18  , these commutes were reportedly more enjoyable compared with those sans 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.

 

1. [A] ticket                  [B] permit                    [C]signall                     [D] record

2. [A] nothing               [B] link                [C]another           [D] much

3. [A] beaten                [B] guided              [C]plugged            [D] brought

4. [A] message              [B] cede               [C]notice                      [D] sign