1 . “Tie an Italian’s hands behind his back,” runs an old joke, “and he’ll be speechless.” This rests on a national stereotype: Italians are talkative and emotional, and all that arm-waggling supposedly goes to prove it.
Susan Goldin-Meadow of the University of Chicago has a rather different view. Emotions come out in lots of ways: facial expressions, posture, tone of voice and so on. But people are doing something different when they use gestures with speech, which she sums up in the title of her new book, “Thinking with Your Hands”. It is a masterly tour through a lifetime’s research.
Virtually everyone gestures, not just Italians. Experimental subjects, told after a research session that they were being watched for gestures, apologize for not having made any — but were doing so the entire time. People born blind gesture when they speak, including to each other. A woman born without arms but with “phantom limb syndrome (幻肢综合征)” describes how she uses her phantom arms when she talks — but not when she walks. All this suggests that cognition is, to some extent, “embodied”; thinking is not all done in your head.
In fact, gestures that accompany speech are a second channel of information. Subjects watch a film in which a cat runs but are told to lie and say it jumped. They do so in words — while their hands make a running motion. People who say they believe in sexual equality but gesture with their hands lower when talking about women are not indicating women’s height; they can be shown to have biases of which they may be unaware.
In “The Crown”, a historical drama series, Lady Diana is warned that her hands may betray her real emotions, which could be dangerous; they are tied together so she can learn to speak without gesticulating. No one who reads Susan’s book could ever again think that gesturing shows only a lack of control. It is about thinking and communication, and is a sophisticated aid to both.
1. Why does the author mention the old joke in Paragraph 1?A.To present an argument. | B.To describe a scene. |
C.To lead in the topic. | D.To clarify a doubt. |
A.The disabled seldom use gestures. | B.Gestures literally embody cognition. |
C.Thinking only occurs inside the brain. | D.Gestures are improper in communication. |
A.Gestures may express what the speaker really thinks. |
B.People are unaware of the meanings of their gestures. |
C.Gesturing during speech shows only a lack of control. |
D.Speakers can lie more easily with the help of gestures. |
A.Speech: A Direct Channel of Information | B.Gestures: A Vital Form of Communication |
C.Italian’s Body Language: A National Stereotype | D.Thinking with Your Hands: A Lifetime’s Research |
I know my students by looking at their body language. I know when students are really interested, because they lean forward and look at me. Most tend
3 . “When studying foreign speech, don’t forget about body language. ” Anne Merritt said.
Something as simple as a smile can show: friendliness in one culture, embarrassment in another, impatience in a third. Even silence means different things in different places. If you want to avoid making some mistakes when traveling abroad, you should pay attention to the following.
Touch
Britain, along with much of Northern Europe and the Far East, has a “noncontact” culture. In those countries, there is very little physical contact (接触) in people’s daily talks. Even brushing someone’s arm by accident is the reason for an apology. However, in the high-contact cultures of the Middle East, Latin America, and Southern Europe, physical touch is a big part of daily life.
What’s more, there are different standards, for who touches whom and where. In much of the Arab world, men hold hands and kiss each other in greeting, but would never do the same with a woman. In Thailand and Laos, it is taboo (禁忌的) to touch anyone’s head, even children’s. In South Korea, elders can touch younger people with force when trying to get through a crowd, but younger people can’t do the same.
Eye contact
In most Western countries, frequent eye contact: is a sign of confidence and attentiveness (注意). We may think that a conversation partner who looks away is either not listening to us or lying. Of course, this is not the standard around the world.
In many Asian, African, and Latin American countries, the unbroken (未间断的) eye contact would be considered impolite and rude. These cultures consider avoiding eye contact a sign of respect for bosses and elders. In these parts of the-world, children won’t look at an adult who is speaking to them, nor will employees look at their bosses.
1. In Britain, when people are talking, they usually_________.A.avoid eye contact | B.brush the others’ arms |
C.avoid physical contact | D.apologize for their mistakes |
A.unnecessary | B.impolite | C.dangerous | D.common |
A.How to have a good time abroad. | B.The importance of body language. |
C.How to communicate with foreigners. | D.An introduction to some body language. |
A.Their work. | B.A travel experience. | C.Body language. |
5 . For all the importance we place on words, whether spoken or written, much of the communicating we do on a regular basis comes through body language. According to pioneering research by Dr. Albert Mehrabian, only 7 percent of the meaning from human communication comes from the actual spoken words used. An additional 38 percent comes from people’s tone of voice, while a large 55 percent comes from body language.
Researchers have long identified that certain kinds of body movements and facial expressions can communicate information about the emotions we happen to be experiencing at the time. But are these emotional signals shaped by different cultures or are they universal to all humans?
A new research article published in the journal Emotion attempts to answer this question through a cross-cultural study. The researchers traveled to Ratanakiri, Cambodia to study members of a distant Kreung hill tribe (部落). Living in Cambodia’s highlands, the Kreung are still largely separated from the outside world except for occasional visitors. They have yet to be assimilated (同化) as many other societies have been.
In the study, a set of videos were prepared featuring an American woman, displaying three positive emotions(happiness, love and pride) and three negative emotions (anger, fear and sadness) using body language alone. The effectiveness of these videos was tested using thirty-four American participants. The videos were then presented to twenty-six Kreung individuals (eleven of whom were female). They were asked to describe the emotions being displayed in their own words.
Results showed that the Kreung participants tended to be quite accurate in guessing which emotions were being presented. The overall accuracy rate was sixty-two percent though their accuracy in detecting specific emotions such as anger and happiness was far higher. Overall, there was no significant discrepancy between Kreung and American raters in detecting emotions, though American participants did much better in detecting pride and love.
Still, the study does suggest that body movements can express emotions such as anger, fear, sadness and love even to individuals belonging to different cultures. Emotional signals reflect basic human needs and desires that all humans share. Learning more about how basic biology and social factors shape the way we communicate may well be essential in helping to understand ourselves better.
1. Why were the Kreung chosen in the study?A.They live a hard and poor life. | B.They make a living by developing tourism. |
C.They enjoy a relatively unaffected culture. | D.They use body language alone to communicate. |
A.By using pictures. | B.By telling stories. | C.By analyzing causes. | D.By making comparisons. |
A.Difference. | B.Communication. | C.Relation. | D.Balance. |
A.Emotional signals are essentially languages. |
B.Emotional body language may go beyond culture. |
C.Humans share all the emotional body movements. |
D.Biology and social factors affect basic human needs and desires. |
6 . Reading a pup’s body language requires experience and expert guidance. Zazie Todd, a dog trainer and founder of the blog Companion Animal Psychology, weighs in on how to decode dogs’ behaviour.
1. If your dog looks remorseful (羞愧的) when you walk in the door and see a mess…
They’re expecting punishment but don’t necessarily know that what they’ve done is wrong. Alexandra Horowitz, a professor at Barnard College in New York City whose research focuses on canine (犬科) cognition, put that ”guilty” look to the test in 2009.
2. If your dog licks their mouth…
They’re stressed Recently, two European studies have highlighted the meaning of this licking.
3. If you’re at the vet and your dog’s tail is down…
They’re anxious. Obvious signs of an unhappy dog include hiding or trying to leave the exam room, but commonly missed triggers range from a tucked tail and lowered ears to trembling.
4. If your dog leans into you during a petting session…
They like it! If you’re unsure that a dog is enjoying being petted, stop, then gauge their reaction. This is called a consent test. If they choose to wander off, the session is over.
A.You could also discuss medication with your vet. |
B.It could be as simple as giving them more physical space. |
C.However, if they lean on you or paw at you to get more cuddles, continue! |
D.If your dog gets stressed at appointments, ask what can be done. |
E.Other signs of discomfort include sniffing the floor, looking away and panting. |
F.One found that it was a canine response to seeing an angry or aggressive human face on a computer screen |
G.In the end, it wasn’t linked to whether the dog had transgressed but rather to being scolded by the owner. |
7 . Body language, important language
Have you ever noticed the big difference between someone’s behavior and his words? Or have you ever failed to control your body on certain occasions as a result of nervousness? Today let’s discuss how essential body language can be in our daily communication.
Studies have revealed that in the process of communication, non-verbal expression has 65% to 93% more influence than actual text.
Emilie Suter, a senior student of EHL, believes that the significance of body language is reflected in the ability to help people in the process of communication.
Fidgeting (坐立不安) may mean that there is a lack of interaction between the two sides of the conversation.
How to establish a good personal impression is a topic that people have repeatedly discussed.
A.Body language varies from culture to culture. |
B.Of course, some body language is shared universally. |
C.In real situations, body language matters a lot more than you think! |
D.This means that “how to say” is more significant than “what to say”. |
E.Turning to other directions can mean he or she does not share your opinion. |
F.It helps people better understand the overall situation and thus make adjustments. |
G.Interestingly, what we see is actually the most important standard for us to judge others. |
8 . Make sure to avoid the following common body-language errors, if you want to make a good impression on your conversational partner.
Continuous nodding
Nodding at all the right times and places during a conversation can show that you’re fully engaged.
Crossing your arms
There’s a reason why people don’t like it when their conversational partners cross their arms: It makes them appear unwilling to talk. In the animal kingdom, we keep our arms in front of us to protect ourselves from threats.
Unsmiling
We’re not saying you should smile as if the person you’re speaking with keeps making jokes. However, you should try and keep a smile loaded up whenever needed. Smiles are also infectious.
Keeping your eyes on your feet or the ground in front of you when speaking with another person can make you look a bit ashamed of yourself. This is definitely the impression you don’t want to make on your listeners, especially in formal settings where you’re being judged by everything you say and do, such as at a job interview. So try to keep your eyes focused on the person in front of you.
Being too close
A.Looking downward |
B.But if you nod too much |
C.Irregular movement of the eyes |
D.Keep smiling when the other people are talking |
E.But in social life, try to keep our body as open as possible |
F.So if you start smiling |
G.All cultures are different in terms of proper social conduct |
While Arabic may be the official language of many Middle Eastern
Placing your right hand on your heart is a warm greeting that can
Once you fall into conversation, there are several
In addition
10 . The next time you attend a social function or go to a place where people meet and interact, take note of the number of people who have adopted the same gestures and posture-the way you sit or stand-of the person with whom they are talking.
This copying also occurs among good friends or people of the same social position and it is common to see married couples walk, stand, sit and move in very similar ways.
If an employer wishes to develop immediate friendliness and create d relaxing atmosphere with an employee, he needs to copy the employee’s posture to achieve the end.
A.Observing people talk is a good way to understand this idea. |
B.This “carbon copying” is a means by which one person tells the other that he is in agreement with his ideas and attitudes. |
C.Similarly, an up-and-coming employee may be seen copying his boss’ gestures in an attempt to show agreement. |
D.This unconscious mimicry (无意识模仿) is quite interesting to observe. |
E.This has the effect of putting the other person in a receptive and relaxed frame of mind and he can “see” that you understand his point of view. |
F.Such a way of copying expresses the idea of following one’s example. |
G.People who are strangers, however, try hard to avoid holding mutual (相互的) positions. |