Exchange a glance with someone, and then look away. Do you realize that you have made a statement? Hold the glance for a second longer and you have made a different statement. Hold it for 3 seconds, and the meaning has changed again. For every social situation, there is a permissible time that you can hold a person’s stare without being friendly, rude, or aggressive. If you are on a lift, what stare-time are you permitted? To answer this question, consider what you typically do. You very likely give other passengers a quick glance to size them up and to assure them that you mean no harm. Since being close to another person signals the possibility of interaction, you need to send out a signal telling others you want to be left alone. So you cut off eye contacts. That is what sociologist Erving Goffiman calls “a dimming of the lights”. You look down at the floor, at the indicator lights, anywhere but into another passenger’s eyes. Should you break the rule against staring at a stranger on a lift, you will make the other person extremely uncomfortable, and you are likely to feel a bit strange yourself.
If you hold eye contacts for more than 3 seconds, what are you telling another person? Much depends on the person and the situation. For instance, a man and a woman communicate interest in this manner. They stare at each other for about 3 seconds at a time, and then drop their eyes down for 3 seconds, before letting their eyes meet again. But if one man gives another man a 3-second-plus stare, he signals, “I know you”, “I am interested in you” or “You look peculiar and I am curious about you.” This type of stare often produces hostile feelings.
60. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that ______.
A. every glance has its significance
B. a glance carries more meaning than words
C. a stare longer than 3 seconds is unacceptable
D. staring at a person is an expression of interest
61. If you want to be left alone on a lift the best thing to do is ______.
A. to look into another passenger’s eyes
B. to keep a distance from other passengers
C. to avoid eye contacts with other passengers
D. to signal you don’t mean to do harm to anyone
62. By “a dimming of the lights”, Erving Goffiman means ______.
A. closing one’s eyes B. turning off the lights
C. stopping glancing at others D. reducing stare-time to the minimum
63. The passage mainly discusses ______.
A. the limitations of eye contacts
B. the exchange of ideas through eye contacts
C. proper behavior in different situations in people’s daily life
D. the role of eye contacts in communication between people
