阅读理解。
Twenty-first century humanity has mapped oceans and mountains, visited the moon, and surveyed the
planets. But for all the progress, people still don't know one another very well.
That brings about Theodore Zeldin's "feast of conversations"- events where individuals pair with persons
they don't know for three hours of guided talk designed to get past "Where are you from?"
Mr. Zeldin, an Oxford University professor, heads Oxford Muse, a 10-year-old foundation based on the
idea that what people need is not more information, but more inspiration and encouragement.
The "feast" in London looks not at politics or events, but at how people have felt about work, relations
among the sexes, hopes and fears, enemies and authority, the shape of their lives. The "menu of conversation"
includes topics like," How have your priorities (优先考虑的事) changed over the years?" Or, "What have you
rebelled against in the past?"
As participants gathered, Zeldin opened with a speech: that despite instant communications in a globalized
age, issues of the human heart remain. Many people are lonely, or in routines that discourage knowing the
depth of one another. "We are trapped in shallow conversations and the whole point now is to think, which is
sometimes painful," he says. "But thinking interaction is what separates us the from the other species, except
maybe dogs...who do have generations of human interactions."
The main rules of the "feast": Don't pair with someone you know or ask questions you would not answer.
The only awkward moment came when the multi-racial crowd of young adults to seniors, in sun hats, ties and
dresses, looked to see whom they would be "intimate" with for hours. But 15 minutes later, everyone was
seated and talking, continuing full force until organizers interrupted them 180 minutes later.
"It is encouraging to see the world is not just a place of oppression and distance from each other," Zeldin
summed up. "What we did is not ordinary, but it can't be madder than the world already is."
Some said they felt "liberated" to talk on sensitive topics. Peter, from East London, said that "it might take
weeks or months to get to the level of interaction we suddenly opened up."
1. What can the "conversations" be best described as?
A. Deep and one-on-one.
B. Sensitive and mad.
C. Instant and inspiring.
D. Ordinary and encouraging.
2. In a "feast of conversations",participants ____.
A. pair freely with anyone they like
B. have a guided talk for a set period of time
C. ask questions they themselves would not answer
D. wear clothes reflecting multi-racial features.
3. In paragraph 6, "they would be 'intimate '" is closest in meaning to "_____".
A. they would have physical contact
B. they would have in-depth talks
C. they would be close friends
D. they would exchange basic information
4. From the passage, we can conclude that what Zeldin does is _____.
A. an attempt to promote thinking interaction
B. one of the maddest activities ever conducted
C. a try to liberate people from old-fashioned ideas
D. an effort to give people a chance of talking freely
