In an age of perpetual digital connectedness, why do people seem so disconnected In a Duke University study, researchers found that from 1985 to 2004, the percentage of people who said there was no one with whom they discussed important matters tripled, to 25%; the same study found that overall, Americans had one-third fewer friends and confidants than they did two decades ago.
Another recent study, by researchers at the University of Michigan, found that college students today have significantly less empathy than students of generations past did. The reason, psychologists speculate, may have something to do with our increasing reliance on digital communication and other forms of new media.
It’s possible that instead of fostering real friendships off-line, e-mail and social networking may take the place of them—and the distance inherent in screen-only interactions may breed feelings of isolation or a tendency to care less about other people. After all, if you don’t feel like dealing with a friend’s problem online, all you have to do is log off.
The problem is, as empathy wanes, so does trust. And without trust, you can’t have a cohesive society. Consider the findings of a new study co-authored by Kevin Rockmann of George Mason University and Gregory Northcraft at the University of Illinois who specializes in workplace collaboration. Northcraft says high-tech communications like e-mail and (to a lesser extent) videoconferencing—which are sometimes known as "lean communication" because they have fewer cues like eye contact and posture for people to rely on—strip away the personal interaction needed to breed trust. In a business setting—as in all other social relationships outside the workplace—trust is a necessary condition for effective cooperation within a group. "Technology has made us much more efficient but much less effective," said Northcraft in a statement. "Something is being gained, but something is being lost. The something gained is time, and the something lost is the quality of relationships. And quality of relationships matters."
In Rockmann and Northcraft’s study, 200 students were divided into teams and asked to manage two complicated projects: one having to do with nuclear disarmament; the other, price fixing. Some groups communicated via e-mail, some via videoconference and others face to face. In the end, those who met in person showed the most trust and most effective cooperation; those using e-mail were the least able to work together and get the job done.
Northcraft thinks this is because real-life meetings, during which participants can see how engaged their colleagues are, breed more trust. Over e-mail, meanwhile, confirmation of hard work gets lost, which tends to encourage mutual slacking off.
The expression "lean communication" (Lines 5-6, Paragraph 4) most probably means（）
A. the communication which can make us work effectively
B. the communication that lacks personal interaction
C. the communication which can foster trust
D. the communication facilitating workplace cooperation
参考答案：B
解析：
[试题类型] 语意理解题。
[解题思路] 根据题干关键词"lean communication" (Lines 5-6, Paragraph 4)定位到文章第四段第五、第六行。lean communication出现在修饰先行词high-tech communications的非限制性定语从句中，该从句意为“高科技通讯手段——有时被认为是‘低效沟通’，因为它们有较少的可以让人信赖的眼神交流和肢体语言(they have fewer cues like eye contact and posture for people to rely on)”。由此可知，“低效沟通”意味着缺乏眼神交流和肢体语言，即缺乏人与人之间的交流与互动，故选项[B]最符合文意。
[干扰排除] 文中指出，“低效沟通”是指高科技的通讯手段，接着作者在本段第六句指出，“科技让我们更高效，但效果却更差(Technology had made us much more efficient but much less effective)”。由此可见，作者并不认为科技能使我们工作更加有效，故排除选项[A]。本段第四句后半部分指出，这种被认为是“低效沟通”的高科技通讯手段，剥夺了人们培养信任所必需的人与人之间的互动(..."lean communications" ...strip away the personal interaction needed to breed trust...)。由此可见，“低效沟通”并不能加强信任，选项[C]的表述与原文相反。由本段后半部分及第五段提到的实验可以看出：科技让人失去了人际关系的品质，通过电子邮件等高科技通讯手段交流的小组在合作以及完成任务方面表现得是最差的(those using e-mail were the least able to work tighter and get the job done)。由此可知，“低效沟通”不能促进职场合作(facilitate workplace cooperation)，故排除选项[D]。