1 . 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. |
| A．very valuable | B．changing |
| C．extremely important | D．accessible |
| 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. |
| 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 |
2 . If you wear glasses, chances are you are smarter. Research published in the famous British journal Nature Communications has found that people who displayed higher levels of intelligence were almost 30 percent more likely to wear glasses.
The scientists studied the genes of thousands of people between the ages of 16 and 102.The study showed intelligence can be connected to physical characteristics. One characteristic was eyesight. In out of 10 people who were more intelligent, there was a higher chance they needed glasses. Scientists also said being smarter has other benefits. It is connected to better health.
It is important to remember these are connections which are not proven causes. Scientists call this correlation. Just because something is connected to something else does not mean one of those things caused the other. And it’s worth noting that what constitutes intelligence is subjective and can be difficult, if not impossible, to measure.
Forget genes though. Plenty of proof shows wearing glasses makes people think you are more intelligent, even if you do not need glasses. A number of studies have found people who wear glasses are seen as smarter, hard-working and honest. Many lawyers use this idea to help win their cases. Lawyer Harvey Solves explained this. Glasses soften their appearance. He said Sometimes there has been a huge amount of proof showing that people he was defending broke the law. He had them wear glasses and they weren’t found guilty.
Glasses are also used to show someone is intelligent in movies and on TV. Ideas about people who wear glasses have begun to shift. People who do not need glasses sometimes wear them for fashion only. They want to look worldly or cool. But not everyone is impressed by this idea, though. GQ magazine said people who wear glasses for fashion are trying too hard to look smart and hip (时髦的). However, that hasn’t stopped many celebrities from happily wearing glasses even if they do not need them. Justin Bieber is just one high-profile fan of fashion glasses.
1. What does the new study show?| A．People wearing glasses are smarter. |
| B．People wearing glasses are healthier. |
| C．Wearing glasses can make people cleverer. |
| D．Wearing glasses is associated with higher IQ. |
| A．Shift. | B．Link. | C．Proof. | D．Consequence. |
| A．Because it can create a moral image. |
| B．Because it can mislead the witnesses. |
| C．Because it can highlight clients’ qualities. |
| D．Because it can prove the clients’ innocence. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Mixed | D．Indifferent. |
