单选题 Public speaking fills most people with dread. Humiliation is the greatest fear; serf-exposure and failing to appeal to the audience come a close second. Women hate it most, since girls are pressurized from an early age to be concerned with appearances of all kinds.
Most people have plenty of insecurities, and this seems like a situation that will bring them out. If parents, teachers or peers mocked your foibles as a child, you fear a repeat. If you were under pressure to be perfect, you are terrified of failing in the most public of ways.
While extroverts will feel less fear before the ordeal, it does not mean they will necessarily do it better. Some very shy people manage to shine. In fact, personality is not the best predictor of who does it well. Regardless of what you are like in real life, the key seems to be to act yourself.
Actual acting, as in performing the scripted lines of a character other than yourself, does not do the job. While politicians may limit damage by having carefully rehearsed, written screeds to speak from, there is always a hidden awareness among the audience that the words might not be true.
Although, as Earl Spencer proved at his sister Princess Diana's funeral, it is possible both to prepare every word and to act naturally, as script rarely works and it is used as a crutch by most people. But, being yourself doesn't work either. If you spoke as if you were in your own kitchen, it would be too authentic, too unaware of the need to communicate with an audience.
I remember going to see British psychiatrist RD Laing speak in public. He behaved like a seriously odd person, talking off the top of his head. Although he was talking about madness and he wrote on mental illness, he seemed to be exhibiting rather than explaining it.
The best psychological place from which to speak is an unselfconscious self-consciousness, providing the illusion of being natural. Studies suggest that this state of "flow", as psychologists call it, is very satisfying. Whether in normal life or making speeches, the key is to remind yourself that, contrary to what your teachers or parents may have implied, your best is good enough. In the zone, a strange place of authentic falsehood and shallow depth, play is possible.

单选题 For most people the biggest fear for public speaking is______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第—段开篇就提到演讲使大多数人都深感恐惧。人们最怕的就是丢面子。故选 A项。
单选题 According to the passage, shy people______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第三段提到,虽然性格外向的人面对考验能稍显轻松,但这并非表明他一定会做得更好。有些性格腼腆的人在演讲中往往能够发挥出色。性格无法预示演讲的成败。故选C项。
单选题 A successful speech maker is usually one who______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第三段最后一句话提到无论你在现实生活中是什么样子,关键是要表现自然,不要矫揉造作。故选A项。
单选题 The example of the British psychiatrist in Paragraph 6 shows a failure in______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 文章中的例子都是用来证明作者的某个观点,所以考生需要联系文章的上文来理解和判断。文章第5段最后一句话,第六段中谈到的英国心理学家RD Laing的例子,其实就是说明这个观点的,文章提到这位心理学家总是发表一些即席的讲话,完全不顾及观众的感受,就好像在表现而并非在向观众解释。故选D项。
单选题 "Shallow depth" in the last paragraph implies______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 文章主要讲了两种演讲的方式是不可取的。一是准备的过于认真仔细,使得演讲太像表演,以至于观众怀疑其真实性。二是太过真实了,太自然,太不留心于观众交流的需求了。而真正成功的演讲成该是介于这两者之间的,即文章最后一段提到的演讲中要保持一种自然的自我意识状念。故选A项。
单选题 From the passage, we get the impression that public speaking is something______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 概括题,本题的答题关键是把握文章的主旨大意。文章强调演讲时应尽量保持自然,避免矫揉造作。虽然紧张的因素不可避免,但仍可适度控制。演讲时应注重与观众的交流和互动。故选B项。