Question

People tend to become more personal and hide less of themselves when using email. Researchers from Open University in Britain have found in a recent study that there are good reasons for this.

The team of researchers asked 83 pairs of students, all strangers to each other, to solve a problem. They had to discuss this question: If only five people in the world could be saved from a world disaster, who should they be? The pairs of students had to talk over the problem either face to face or by computers. Dr. Johnson said, “They told their partners four times as much about themselves when they talked over the Internet as when they talked face to face. When the computers were fitted with cameras so that students could see each other, this limited the personal side of the conversation.”

Generally the information was not extremely personal. It was mainly about things such as where they went to school, or where they used to live. But some students discussed their love stories, and personal childhood experiences.

Dr Johnson believes that emailing encourages people to focus on themselves. And when they do this, they become more open, especially if there are no cameras. “If you cannot see the other person, it becomes easier to talk about yourself. This is because you are not thinking what the other person is thinking of you. So emailing has become the modern way of talking,” said Dr. Johnson. However, this style of talking is not entirely new. “In the 19th century people started to use the ‘telegraph’ to communicate. Now the same kind of thing has happened and people ended up speaking more freely.”

Dr. Johnson thinks that emailers need to know about these effects of emailing, especially when they start work in a company. “ If you don’t know about it, you could find yourself saying more about yourself than you wanted to.”

1.The subject discussed in this passage is _______.

A.how people open up when emailing B.how people do research studies

C.how to communicate at work D.how to discuss and solve a problem

2.The reason that some couples talked freely about themselves is that _______.

A.they didn’t talk about very personal things B.they couldn’t see each other

C.the cameras on the computers were turned on D.they had to discuss a question

3.What does the underlined sentence refer to?

A.The telegraph. B.The computer. C.Emailing. D.Face-to-face talk.

4.In the writer’s opinion, one should ______.

A.focus on oneself when emailing B.talk more freely in emails than usual

C.discuss any subject that one wants to D.consider how one uses email at work

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。人们在使用电子邮件时，更多表达自己想要表达的，很少隐藏自己的私人信息，对此短文分析了电子邮件使用者能这么做的理由。

1.主旨大意题。通读全文可知，人们在使用电子邮件时，更多表达自己想要表达的，很少隐藏自己的私人信息，对此短文分析了电子邮件使用者能这么做的理由。所以短文主要是人们在发邮件时如何敞开心扉。故选A项。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段They told their partners four times as much about themselves when they talked over the Internet as when they talked face to face. When the computers were fitted with cameras so that students could see each other, this limited the personal side of the conversation.可知，当他们在网上交谈时，他们告诉搭档关于自己的信息是面对面交谈时的四倍。当电脑上安装了摄像头，学生们可以看到彼此，这就限制了谈话的个人方面。所以一些搭档畅所欲言的原因是他们看不见对方。故选B项。

3.词句猜测题。根据倒数第二段So emailing has become the modern way of talking.和people ended up speaking more freely.”可知，所以电子邮件已经成为现代的谈话方式。人们说话也更自由了。所以通过上下文语境可以判断出，划线词指的是“电子邮件”。故选C项。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段Dr. Johnson thinks that emailers need to know about these effects of emailing, especially when they start work in a company. “ If you don’t know about it, you could find yourself saying more about yourself than you wanted to.”可知，约翰逊博士认为，发电子邮件的人需要了解电子邮件的这些影响，尤其是当他们开始在一家公司工作的时候。“如果你不知道，你可能会发现自己说了更多关于自己的话，比你想说的还要多。由此判断出，在作者看来，一个人应该考虑一下如何在工作中使用电子邮件。故选D项。