Part BListening ComprehensionDirections: In this part of the test there will be some short

Part B Listening Comprehension

Directions: In this part of the test there will be some short talks and conversations. After each one, you will be asked some questions. The talks, conversations and questions will be spoken ONLY ONCE. Now listen carefully and choose the right answer to each question you have heard and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

听力原文：W: A recent study shows Americans are generally speaking, more shy than many people would expect, and getting shyer all the time. Philip Zimbardo is a professor of psychology and the author of numerous studies on shyness. Good morning, Professor Zimbardo. M: Good morning.

W: Professor Zimbardo, your earlier study showed shyness already widespread, but what about the newest figures？

M: Our research, which we've been conducting since 1972, focused on adults who were shy. Before our research started, of course, the interest was always in shy children, and to our amazement, we discovered that about 40% of all Americans label themselves as shy, and over the past ten years that figures has increased to about 48%. What that means is two out of every five people you meet think of themselves as shy, and now that figure is moving toward one out of two, which is a surprise, especially to foreigners who think of Americans as bold and outgoing and not shy at all.

W: When you say shy, when you say it's a problem, what kind of shyness do you mean？ Many people feel some awkwardness in social situations, especially ff they get attention from others, if they're the object of attention.

M: At one level, to be shy means to be reticent, to be self-conscious. It's a kind of social phobia, a fear of people. It s not just a momentary shyness or situational shyness, say if you're on a blind date, ff you're asked to perform. in public, we are not really prepared. Or if your mother says: "Play the piano for your uncle and aunt." Well, you will certainly have the physical tension, feeling nervous, a blank mind, sweating all over but that is situational. It' s only when it becomes chronic and habitual that really matters, as it will mark their lives. And that' s the focus of our study on shyness.

W: So what do you think that lead to lots of people to be shy？

M: I think there are many things in a culture, our culture. We have a very competitive culture. We have a culture where people are constantly overshadowed by or at least, er, frequently fear the notion of being compared and evaluated, a notion extends from school to their work and social life. Besides that, what's been happening recently is a whole series of social forces that are increasingly isolating people from normal day-to-day informal social contact.

W: A set of social factors, you say. What do you mean？

M: Well, first, the electronic revolution replaces people with computer chips wherever possible, so at every level where you replace bank tellers with ATM machines, you replace operators with direct dialing, you replace the gas station attendant with automatic gas fill-ups.

W: So there's just less opportunities for social interaction？ People forget about it？

M: Well, people don't forget, they don't learn young people don't have the chance to learn in the first place, they don't practice it, and they don't see it practiced. All the computers, computer games and video games are things young people can play alone. You don't need others the way you used to in the past. Also, as families get smaller, as both parents work, we no longer have extended families, children don't have the opportunity to see their parents and relatives relating in a natural, easy, friendly way. So... so they just... we are losing the social lubrication that's essential for people to feel comfortable in tile presence of each other.

Questions:

1.According to the conversation, which statement is true about the recent figures on shyness research？

2.According to th

A．About 40% of the American children regard themselves as shy.

B．Now one out of two American think of themselves as a shy person.

C．About two out of every five people used to be shy people.

D．The number of shy people in America is in steady decline.