Question

    Have you ever wondered what goes through your mind when you choose where to sit in a new classroom? Or in a waiting room full of strangers? Or on a bus? Researchers have found out some interesting facts.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, we prefer to sit closer to people like ourselves. Girls sit by girls and boys sit by boys. Adults sit together and young people choose another young person to sit near. But it goes further than this. We even choose to sit near someone who looks like us. People with glasses are more likely to sit near other people with glasses. People with long hair sit closer to other people with long hair.

We seem to believe that people with similar habits or hobbies will share similar attitude and we are more likely to be accepted by people like ourselves or even, we think we may be safer with people who look like us. Sometimes that’s true but it's a pity if we always stick to the same people, the same group. The danger in always staying in our comfort zone (舒适区)is that we just recycle the same opinions, the same tastes and the same ideas. We lose the chance to learn something new, find out about interesting things, hear funny stories and discover difference.


When we always stick to the same people, how can we ever break down the barriers which prevent us from getting to know people with different ideas? And how can we avoid the ignorance (无知),which too often leads to prejudice (偏见) and even fear? If instead you want to live in a society that opens to changes and new things and different opinions, be the cat among the pigeons.

Move out of your comfort zone. Go and sit next to someone different. And don't just sit there in silence. Say hello. Ask a question. Start a conversation. That’s how we make friends. That’s how we learn about people. That’s how we open our minds to new ideas. That's how we live an exciting life.

1.From the passage, we know that people prefer sitting by someone who________.

A.is like themselves

B.has a sense of humor

C.is open-minded

D.lives an exciting life

2.People like staying in their comfort zone because they may________.

A.remain comfortable and special

B.be accepted easily and feel safe

C.find out more interesting things

D.discover differences among themselves

3.What is the purpose of the passage?

A.To tell us just to be ourselves in social life.

B.To introduce ways to learn about the world.

C.To explain how people communicate with others.

D.To encourage us to meet people of different kinds.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.D

【解析】

本文叙述了我们经常和熟悉的人坐在一起，文章最后鼓励大家和不熟悉的人坐在一起。

1.

细节理解题。由文章第二段第一句Perhaps unsurprisingly, we prefer to sit closer to people like ourselves. 也许不出所料，我们更喜欢坐得离像我们自己的人近一些。故选A。

2.

细节理解题。由文章第三段第一句We seem to believe that people with similar habits or hobbies will share similar attitudes and we are more likely to be accepted by people like ourselves or even, we think we may be safer with people who look like us. 我们似乎相信有相似习惯或爱好的人会有相似的态度，我们更容易被和自己相似的人所接受，甚至，我们认为和和自己相似的人在一起会更安全。故选B。

3.

主旨大意题。由文章的最后一段总结话语：Move out of your comfort zone.及最后一段的内容可知，文章的目的是鼓励大家走出去接触更多不同于自己的人。故选D。