单选题
In an age of perpetual digital connectedness, why do people seem so disconnected? In a Duke University study, researchers found that from 1985 to 2004, the percentage of people who said there was no one with whom they discussed important matters tripled, to 25%; the same study found that overall, Americans had one-third fewer friends and confidants than they did two decades ago. Another recent study, by researchers at the University of Michigan, found that college students today have significantly less empathy than students of generations past did. The reason, psychologists speculate, may have something to do with our increasing reliance on digital communication and other forms of new media. It's possible that instead of fostering real friendships off-line, e-mail and social networking may take the place of them—and the distance inherent in screen-only interactions may breed feelings of isolation or a tendency to care less about other people. After all, if you don't feel like dealing with a friend's problem online, all you have to do is log off. The problem is, as empathy wanes, so does trust. And without trust, you can't have a cohesive society. Consider the findings of a new study co-authored by Kevin Rockmann of George Mason University and Gregory Northcraft at the University of Illinois who specializes in workplace collaboration. Northcraft says high-tech communications like e-mail and (to a lesser extent) videoconferencing—which are sometimes known as "lean communication" because they have fewer cues like eye contact and posture for people to rely on—strip away the personal interaction needed to breed trust. In a business setting—as in all other social relationships outside the workplace—trust is a necessary condition for effective cooperation within a group. "Technology has made us much more efficient but much less effective," said Northcraft in a statement. "Something is being gained, but something is being lost. The something gained is time, and the something lost is the quality of relationships. And quality of relationships matters." In Rockmann and Northcraft's study, 200 students were divided into teams and asked to manage two complicated projects: one having to do with nuclear disarmament; the other, price fixing. Some groups communicated via e-mail, some via videoconference and others face to face. In the end, those who met in person showed the most trust and most effective cooperation; those using e-mail were the least able to work together and get the job done. Northcraft thinks this is because real-life meetings, during which participants can see how engaged their colleagues are, breed more trust. Over e-mail, meanwhile, confirmation of hard work gets lost, which tends to encourage mutual slacking off.
单选题
The study of interpersonal relations by Duke University reveals that______. [A] people become too introverted to talk about personal matters [B] people tend not to be empathetic [C] people may feel more isolated than they did before [D] people prefer online communication with others
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[试题类型] 推理引申题。 [解题思路] 根据题干关键词the study和Duke University可定位至文章第一段。该段首句指出，在数字互联时代，人际关系反而不密切了(people seem so disconnected)，接着作者用一组数字证明此观点：认为没有人可以与自己商量重要事情的人数与二十年前相比增长了两倍(people who said...tripled)，同时，朋友和知己的人数减少了三分之一(Americans had one-third fewer friends and confidants than they did...)。由此可见，与以前相比，现在人们的人际关系生疏了，朋友少了，因此“人们感觉比以前更孤单了，选项[C]正确。 [干扰排除] 原文第二句提到“声称没有人同自己商量重要事情的人数增长了两倍”，但这并不是因为人们变得很内向(introverted)，而只是没有人去讨论重要问题，选项[A]是对这句话的曲解。选项[B]的含义为“现在的人们变得没有同情心”，这一观点在第二段有所提及，但并不是杜克大学的研究揭示的内容。选项[D]意为“现在人们倾向于用网络跟他人进行交流”，这一观点在第一段介绍杜克大学的研究中也没有提及。
单选题
We learn from Paragraph 2 that nowadays college students______. [A] can hardly find real friendship in their daily life [B] are more skillful at using new forms of media [C] realize the disadvantage of digital communication [D] are less able to understand others' feelings
单选题
One reason why people may have feelings of isolation is that______. [A] they care less about each other in their real life [B] they have more chances to meet new friends [C] there exists an physical or psychological distance among e-friends [D] they have more opportunities to deal with their problems
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[试题类型] 具体信息题。 [解题思路] 根据题干关键词feelings of isolation定位到文章第三段。第二段破折号后的内容指出对着屏幕与网友交流会让人有距离感，从而感到孤独(the distance inherent in screen-only interactions may breed feelings of isolation)，故选项[C]“网友之间的空间或心理上的距离感使人感到孤独”是最符合文意的选项。 [干扰排除] 第三段第一句提到仅仅通过屏幕交流的距离感会让人变得对他人漠不关心(the distance inherent in screen-only interactions may breed...a tendency to care less about other people)，由此可知，对他人冷漠(care less about each other)是距离感的结果，而不是人们感到孤独的原因，故排除选项[A]。选项[B]“他们有更多的机会结识新朋友”文中没有提及，可排除。选项[D]“有更多机会解决他们的问题”是根据第三段最后一句设置的干扰项，这也不是导致人们产生孤独感的原因。
单选题
The expression "lean communication" (Lines 5-6, Paragraph 4) most probably means______. [A] the communication which can make us work effectively [B] the communication that lacks personal interaction [C] the communication which can foster trust [D] the communication facilitating workplace cooperation
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[试题类型] 语意理解题。 [解题思路] 根据题干关键词"lean communication" (Lines 5-6, Paragraph 4)定位到文章第四段第五、第六行。lean communication出现在修饰先行词high-tech communications的非限制性定语从句中，该从句意为“高科技通讯手段——有时被认为是‘低效沟通’，因为它们有较少的可以让人信赖的眼神交流和肢体语言(they have fewer cues like eye contact and posture for people to rely on)”。由此可知，“低效沟通”意味着缺乏眼神交流和肢体语言，即缺乏人与人之间的交流与互动，故选项[B]最符合文意。 [干扰排除] 文中指出，“低效沟通”是指高科技的通讯手段，接着作者在本段第六句指出，“科技让我们更高效，但效果却更差(Technology had made us much more efficient but much less effective)”。由此可见，作者并不认为科技能使我们工作更加有效，故排除选项[A]。本段第四句后半部分指出，这种被认为是“低效沟通”的高科技通讯手段，剥夺了人们培养信任所必需的人与人之间的互动(..."lean communications" ...strip away the personal interaction needed to breed trust...)。由此可见，“低效沟通”并不能加强信任，选项[C]的表述与原文相反。由本段后半部分及第五段提到的实验可以看出：科技让人失去了人际关系的品质，通过电子邮件等高科技通讯手段交流的小组在合作以及完成任务方面表现得是最差的(those using e-mail were the least able to work tighter and get the job done)。由此可知，“低效沟通”不能促进职场合作(facilitate workplace cooperation)，故排除选项[D]。
单选题
Which of the following could best summarize the passage? [A] Digital communication is hurting personal relationship. [B] Online networking may take the place of offline relationship. [C] New media contribute less to fostering real friendship. [D] Real-life meetings can breed trust among students.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[试题类型] 主旨要义题。 [解题思路] 纵观全文，文章首先提出问题：在电子信息时代，人际关系为何会变得生疏? 接着分析了其原因：对电子通讯产品的依赖使人缺乏同情心并滋生孤独感，使人变得冷漠；高科技的通讯手段使人们失去了培养信任所必需的互动，从而使人与人之间的信任减少。最后作者通过一项实验证实了前段提到的问题。由此可见，本文主要谈论的内容是“电子通讯手段损害了人际关系”，故选项[A]正确。 [干扰排除] 本文第三段中提到电子邮件和社交网络可能会取代线下交流方式来培养真正的友谊(instead of fostering real friendships off-line, e-mail and social networking may take the place of them)，但这是作者提出的一种可能性，不足以概括全文，也不是本文论述的重点，故排除选项[B]。本文的论述重点是，高科技的通讯手段损害了人际关系，而友谊只是人际关系的一部分，故选项[C]有表述不够全面。选项[D]“真实的会议能培养学生间的彼此信任”，这是文章最后两段提到的一个实验的研究结果，但不足以概括全文，故排除。