单选题 Most of us are taught to pay attention to what is said — the words. Words do provide us with some information, but meanings are derived from so many other sources that it would hinder our effectiveness as a partner to a relationship to rely too heavily on words alone. Words are used to describe only a small part of the many ideas we associate with any given message. Sometimes we can gain insight into some of those associations if we listen for more than words. We don't always say what we mean or mean what we say. Sometimes our words don't mean anything except "I'm letting off some steam. I don't really want you to pay close attention to what I'm saying. Just pay attention to what I'm feeling." Mostly we mean several things at once. A person wanting to purchase a house says to the current owner, "This step has to be fixed before I'll buy. "The owner says, "It's been like that for years." Actually, the step hasn't been like that for years, but the unspoken message is; "I don't want to fix it. We put up with it. Why can't you?" The search for a more expansive view of meaning can be developed through examining a message in terms of who said it, when it occurred, the related conditions or situation, and how it was said. When a message occurs can also reveal associated meaning. Let us assume two couples do exactly the same amount of kissing and arguing. But one couple always kisses after an argument and the other couple always argues after a kiss. The ordering of the behaviors may mean a great deal more than the frequency of the behavior. A friend's unusually docile behavior may only be understood by noting that it was preceded by situations that required an abnormal amount of assertiveness. Some responses may be directly linked to a developing pattern of responses and defy logic. For example, a person who says " No!" to a serials of charges like "You're dumb," "You're lazy," and "You're dishonest," may also say "No!" and try to justify his or her response if the next statement is " And you're good looking. " We would do well to listen for how messages are presented. The words, "It sure has been nice to have you over," can be said with emphasis and excitement or ritualistically. The phrase can be said once or repeated several times. And the meanings we associate with the phrase will change accordingly. Sometimes if we say something infrequently it assumes more importance; sometimes the more we say something the less importance it assumes.

单选题 Effective communication is rendered possible between two conversing partners, if______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：事实细节题。第一段提到，言语能向我们提供信息，但含义来自许多其他来源，过度依赖言语本身将妨碍沟通的效率(hinder our effectiveness)。任何我们给出的信息都包含了相关的想法，而言语仅能描述其中的一小部分。如果我们能听到更多的话(listen for more than words)，有时就能洞察出这些相关的想法。[D]项是对原文的同义转述，故为答案。其他三个选项文中均未提及。

单选题 "I'm letting off some steam" in paragraph 1 means______.

单选题 The house-owner's example shows that he actually means______.

单选题 Some responses and behaviors may appear very illogical, but are justifiable if______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：事实细节题。由题干中的Some responses and behaviors和illogical将本题出处定位于第二段。该段提到，行为的顺序所包含的意义比行为的频率要多得多。可能只有注意到某些需要异常多肯定的情况，才能理解一个朋友之后反常的温顺行为。一些反应可能与一系列反应模式直接相关，并且不合逻辑。接着举例说明：一个人一直对“你笨”“你懒”“你不诚实”等一系列指责回答“不”，可能会继续对“你漂亮”的评价回答“不”。由此可知，有些反应和行为可能显得非常不合逻辑，但如果将其看作一系列有次序的反应或行为的一部分，却是合理的，故答案为[C]项。

单选题 The word " ritualistically" in the last paragraph equals something done______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：词义理解题。该词所在句提到，“真高兴你能来”这句话可以以强调且兴奋的语气表达出来，也可以说得“ritualistically”。后一句用相同的句式：这句话可以说一次，也可以重复说多次。可见ritualistically是与with emphasis and excitement不同或是相反的，结合“真高兴你能来”这句话的使用语境，推断该词是“客套”的意思，四个选项中只有[C]项符合。