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At your next meeting, wait for a pause in conversation and try to measure how long it lasts.
Among English speakers, chances are that it will be a second or two at most. But while this pattern may be universal, our awareness of silence differs dramatically across cultures.
What one culture considers a confusing or awkward pause may be seen by others as a valuable moment of reflection and a sign of respect for what the last speaker has said. Research in Dutch (荷兰语) and also in English found that when a silence in conversation stretches to four seconds, people start to feel uneasy. In contrast, a separate study of business meetings found that Japanese people are happy with silences of 8.2 seconds — nearly twice as long as in Americans' meetings.
In Japan, it is recognised that the best communication is when you don't speak at all. It's already a failure to understand each other by speaking because you're repairing that failure by using words.
In the US, it may originate from the history of colonial (殖民地的) America as a crossroads of many different races. When you have a complex of difference, it's hard to establish common understanding unless you talk and there's understandably a kind of anxiety unless people are verbally engaged to establish a common life. This applies also to some extent to London.
In contrast, when there's more homogeneity,_perhaps it's easier for some kinds of silence to appear. For example, among your closest friends and family it's easier to sit in silence than with people you're less well acquainted with.
语篇解读：本文主要讲述了谈话中的沉默文化。尽管交谈中出现停顿是普遍存在的，但我们对沉默的认识在不同的文化中有着巨大的差异。不同的文化中沉默时间不同，对于沉默的看法也不同。
1．Which of the following people might have the longest silence in conversation?
A．The Dutch. B．Americans.
C．The English. D．The Japanese.
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据第二、三段内容可知，日本人在谈话中沉默时间最长。故选D。
2．What might the Japanese agree with in conversation?
A．Speaking more gives the upper hand.
B．Speak out what you have in your mind.
C．Great minds think alike without words.
D．The shorter talking silence, the better.
解析：选C 推理判断题。根据第四段首句可知，在日本，一般认为最好的交流是一句话不说的时候。因此推断日本人认为“伟大的心灵，无言而喻”。故选C。
3．What can we learn from the text?
A．A foursecond silence in conversation is universal.
B．It's hard for Americans to reach a common agreement.
C．English speakers are more talkative than Japanese speakers.
D．The closer we and our family are, the easier the silence appears.
解析：选D 推理判断题。根据文章最后一句可知，亲密的人之间更容易出现沉默，因此我们和家人越亲密，沉默越容易出现。故选D。
4．What does the underlined word “homogeneity” in the last paragraph mean?
A．Similarity. B．Contradiction.
C．Diversity. D．Misunderstanding.
解析：选A 词义猜测题。根据下文的举例可知，越亲密的人，越容易出现沉默，因此推断画线句表示相比而言，当有更多相似时，也许沉默更容易出现。故画线词意思与similarity意义相近。故选A。
