填空题 That can be a good thing, with the Web serving as a kind of buffer zone (缓冲地带) for uncomfortable interaction. It's easier to face rejection, there aren't lulls in conversation or geographic boundaries - and social networking is like a window into the lives of potential mates. Say two people meet on Facebook, though a mutual friend. Immediately, they know whether the other person is single - without having to ask. 1 It's all the details a person might encounter on a first or second date, without ever having to go on one. As David Yarus, a recent graduate of Babson College, outside Boston, puts it: "Facebook has taken the potentially awkward first stages of flirting and getting to know someone into the comfort of your own home. "

• A. It's easier to approach each other, to talk casually, to get to know one another and feel out romantic potential without ever having to truly put themselves out there.
• B. "And you don't even have to be on the computer to engage in it. "
• C. They can see where that person grew up, their political interests, whether they're "looking for a relationship" or only interested in" hooking up. "
• D. As the thinking went, if you had to go to the Web to find a mate, or break up with one, it must have meant you weren't capable of attracting anyone in the real world.
• E. Now a relationship may still begin by locking eyes across a crowded bar, but instead of asking for a phone number, the next step almost surely involves a Facebook friendship offer.
• F. David Hein zinger, a 24 - year - old new - media specialist in New York. recently asked a girl he met at a happy hour to dinner.