Question

    People size you up in seconds, but what exactly are they evaluating(评价)？ Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy has been studying first impressions alongside fellow psychologists Susan Fiske and Peter Glick for more than 15 years, and has discovered patterns in these interactions(互动). In her new book, “Presence”, Cuddy says people quickly answer two questions when they first meet you: Can I trust this person? Can I respect this person?

Psychologists refer to these factors as warmth and competence(胜任) respectively, and ideally you want to be considered as having both. Interestingly, Cuddy says that most people, especially in a professional environment, believe that competence is the foremost factor. After all, they want to prove that they are smart and talented enough to qualify your business.

But in fact warmth, or trustworthiness, is the most important factor in how people evaluate you. “From an evolutionary view,” Cuddy says, “it is more important to our survival to know whether a person deserves our trust.” It makes sense when you consider that in cavemen days it was more important to figure out if your fellow man was going to kill you and steal all your possessions than if he was competent enough to build a good fire.

Cuddy’s new book explores how to feel more confident. While competence is highly valued, Cuddy says it is evaluated only after trust is established. And focusing too much on displaying your strength can backfire(产生事与愿违的不良后 果). Cuddy says MBA interns(实习生) are often so concerned about coming across as smart and competent that it can lead them to skip social events, not ask for help, and generally come off as unapproachable.

These overachievers are in for a rude awakening when they don’t get the job offer because nobody got to know and trust them as people. “If someone you’re trying to influence doesn’t trust you, you’re not going to get very far; in fact, you might even cause doubt because you come across as manipulative(会 摆布人的),” Cuddy says. “A warm, trustworthy person who is also competent gains admiration, but only after you’ve established trust does your strength become a gift rather than a threat.”

1.What does the passage mainly tell about?

A.People judge you on your look and mind at first sight.

B.People judge you on your presence at first sight.

C.People judge you on your interaction at first sight.

D.People judge you on your warmth and competence initially.

2.The underlined word “foremost” can be replaced by     .

A.very valuable B.changing

C.extremely important D.accessible

3.Why does Cuddy refer to cavemen days?

A.To stress the importance of survival.

B.To show the hardship of ancient times.

C.To stress the importance of trust.

D.To tell us the importance of ability.

4.According to the passage, Amy Cuddy     .

A.thinks highly of confidence

B.lays trust on the basic position

C.has a negative attitude to overachievers

D.says people who want to influence others are approachable

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.C

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲了人们最初会根据你的热情和能力来评价你。但是只有建立信任，你的能力才能得到认可。

1.主旨大意题。第二段Psychologists refer to these factors as warmth and competence(胜任) respectively, and ideally you want to be considered as having both.（心理学家将这些因素分别称为热情和能力，理想情况下，你希望被认为两者兼备）是全文的主题句，结合全文内容，可知这篇文章主要讲了人们最初会根据你的热情和能力来评价你。故选D。

2.词义猜测题。下文After all, they want to prove that they are smart and talented enough to qualify your business.说毕竟，他们想要证明他们有足够的聪明才智来胜任你的工作。由此可知Interestingly, Cuddy says that most people, especially in a professional environment, believe that competence is the foremost factor.意思是有趣的是，Cuddy说，大多数人，尤其是在专业环境中，认为能力是最重要的因素。“foremost”意思是极其重要的，故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段It makes sense when you consider that in cavemen days it was more important to figure out if your fellow man was going to kill you and steal all your possessions than if he was competent enough to build a good fire.（当你考虑到在穴居时代，弄清楚你的同伴是否会杀了你并偷走你所有的财产比弄清楚他是否有足够的能力生火更重要，这是有道理的）由此推断出，Cuddy提到穴居时代是为了强调信任的重要性。故选C。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段Cuddy says. “A warm, trustworthy person who is also competent gains admiration, but only after you’ve established trust does your strength become a gift rather than a threat.”（ Cuddy说：“一个热情、值得信赖、有能力的人会得到别人的赞赏，但只有在你建立了信任之后，你的力量才会成为一种礼物，而不是威胁。”）由此推断出，Amy Cuddy认为信任是基础。故选B。