Section I Use of English

Directions:

Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)

In our contemporary culture, the prospect of communicating with -- or even looking at -- a stranger is virtually unbearable. Everyone around us seems to agree by the way they fiddle with their phones, even without a __1__ underground.

It's a sad reality -- our desire to avoid interacting with other human beings -- because there's __2__ to be gained from talking to the stranger standing by you. But you wouldn't know it, __3__ into your phone. This universal armor sends the __4__ : "Please don't approach me."

What is it that makes us feel we need to hide _5__ our screens?

One answer is fear, according to Jon Wortmann, executive mental coach. We fear rejection, or that our innocent social advances will be __6__ as "creepy,". We fear we'll be __7__ . We fear we'll be disruptive. Strangers are inherently __8__ to us, so we are more likely to feel __9__ when communicating with them compared with our friends and acquaintances. To avoid this anxiety, we __10__ to our phones. "Phones become our security blanket," Wortmann says. "They are our happy glasses that protect us from what we perceive is going to be more __11__."

But once we rip off the bandaid, tuck our smartphones in our pockets and look up, it doesn't __12__ so bad. In one 2011 experiment, behavioral scientists Nicholas Epley and Juliana Schroeder asked commuters to do the unthinkable: Start a __13__ . They had Chicago train commuters talk to their fellow __14__ . "When Dr. Epley and Ms. Schroeder asked other people in the same train station to __15__ how they would feel after talking to a stranger, the commuters thought their __16__ would be more pleasant if they sat on their own," the New York Times summarizes. Though the participants didn't expect a positive experience, after they __17__ with the experiment, "not a single person reported having been snubbed."

__18__ , these commutes were reportedly more enjoyable compared with those sans communication, which makes absolute sense, __19__ human beings thrive off of social connections. It's that __20__ : Talking to strangers can make you feel connected.

1. [A] ticket [B] permit [C] signall [D] record

2. [A] nothing [B] link [C] another [D] much

3. [A] beaten [B] guided [C] plugged [D] brought

4. [A] message [B] cede [C] notice [D] sign

5. [A] under [B] beyond [C] behind [D] from

6. [A] misinterprete [B] misapplied [C] misadjusted [D] mismatched

7. [A] fired [B] judged [C] replaced [D] delayed

8. [A] unreasonable [B] ungreatful [C] unconventional [D] unfamiliar

9. [A] comfortable [B] anxious [C] confident [D] angry

10. [A] attend [B] point [C] take [D] turn

11. [A] dangerous [B] mysterious [C] violent [D] boring

12. [A] hurt [B] resist [C] bend [D] decay

13. [A] lecture [B] conversation [C] debate [D] negotiation

14. [A] trainees [B] employees [C] researchers [D] passengers

15. [A] reveal [B] choose [C] predictl [D] design

16. [A] voyage [B] flight [C] walk [D] ride

17. [A] went through [B] did away [C] caught up [D] put up

18. [A] In turn [B] In particular [C] In fact [D] In consequence

19. [A] unless [B] since [C] if [D] whereas

20. [A] funny [B] simple [C] logical [D] rare