READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on
Reading Passage 2 below.

Questions 14-19
Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-ix, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

How sounds and physical contact strengthen social connections

ii A cross-cultural study of superficial interaction

iii An experiment that led to surprising results

iv A study that categorised types of spoken exchanges

v The personality types that find small talk more difficult

vi The effect of social media on conversation skills

vii Some occupations involve little or no interesting conversation

viii A campaign to improve interaction in the workplace

ix A range of common situations that were enhanced by small talk

vii 14 Paragraph A
iv 15 Paragraph B iii

i 16 Paragraph C iv
iii 17 Paragraph D

ix 18 Paragraph E viii

v 19 Paragraph F

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 Speaking of Nothing

Why we talk about the weather and other trivial topics

A Some workers are happier in their jobs than others, but it's not only to do with the work
itself For example, security guards, truck drivers and salespeople: year after year, these
jobs appear on lists of the unhappiest careers. It's true that many factors can make a job
cheerless, including unusual hours, low pay and a lack of chances for advancement.
However, these three types of work stand out for another reason: they're characterised by a
lack of conversation or by meaningless small talk, which unfortunately represents an
obligatory part of the job. Examples of such small talk include comments about the weather,
holiday destinations and food. Psychologists have long said that connecting with others
through meaningful exchanges is central to well-being, but just how much conversation we
require is under investigation.

B Matthias R. Mehl and Simine Vazire of the University of Arizona in the United States
wanted to investigate the types of conversations people have. The team used a device to
periodically record short verbal exchanges while participants went about their daily tasks.
In the study, the researchers eavesdropped on undergraduates for four days, then catalogued
each overheard conversation as either 'small talk' ("What do you have there? Popcorn?
That looks good!") or 'substantive' ("So did their proposal get funding?" "How did you
feel?"). They found that people who had more substantive conversations were more likely
to say they were feeling happy and fulfilled overall. In fact, the happiest students had
roughly twice as many substantive talks as the unhappiest ones. Small talk, meanwhile,
made up only 10 per cent of their conversation, versus almost 30 per cent of conversation
among the least content students.

C However, small talk still has a role to play. Rather than convey information, scientists
believe that it can promote bonding. Ipek Kulahci and her team of researchers at University
College Cork in Ireland tested the relationship between vocal exchanges and grooming in
lemurs. The researchers reported that the animals reserve their call-and-response
conversations, equivalent to human chitchat, for the animals they groom the most -
suggesting that small talk maintains closeness with loved ones, and isn't merely for
awkward exchanges with strangers. It appears that, even among animals, vocal exchanges
indicate strong social bonds between the group members.

D Connecting with others seems to increase happiness, but strangers in close proximity
routinely ignore each other. To examine the experience of connecting to strangers,
psychologists Nicholas Epley and Juliana Schroeder from the University of Chicago in the
United States gave volunteers varying directions about whether to talk with other
commuters who usually took the same train to work every day - something they typically
avoided. Those told to chat with others reported a more pleasant journey than those told to
'enjoy your solitude' or do whatever they normally would. All of the volunteers in the study
who initiated conversations reported a positive reaction from the people they spoke to.

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 Participants had predicted precisely the opposite outcome. They expected that the others on
the train would have preferred to be left alone.

E When we buy a cup ofcoffee at a cafe, we sometimes chat with the service staff, but on
other occasions we say as little as possible so as not to waste time. Every day we have
opportunities to transform potentially impersonal exchanges into genuine social
interactions; in other words, treating a service provider like we would an acquaintance
might make us happier. In a study by Gillian Sandstrom and Elizabeth Dunn, people who
had a social interaction with a server in a coffee shop felt better emotionally than people
who were in a rush to get everything done. As well as feeling happier, the first group had a
stronger sense ofbelonging. These results suggest that, although people are often reluctant
to have a genuine social interaction with a stranger, they are happier when they do. In
similar studies, when volunteers broke the silence at a gallery to chat with other visitors, the
visitors felt happier and more connected to the paintings than those who were not
approached. The pleasure ofconnection seems contagious; in a laboratory waiting room,
participants who were talked to had equally positive experiences as those instructed to talk
to them.

F Ofcourse, some ofus are better than others at small talk. In a study by Todd Kashdan and
his team from George Mason University in the United States, people who were rated by the
researchers as 'less curious' about all aspects oflife had trouble getting a conversation
going on their own. However, they had greater luck building closeness with others when
they were supplied with topics that encouraged people to open up about themselves and
their lives. But people who were deemed 'curious' needed no help transforming
conversations about ordinary things like favourite holidays into other areas ofconversation
that allowed for intimate exchanges. The study showed that curious people expect to
generate closeness during intimate conversations but not during small talk; less curious
people anticipated poor outcomes in both situations. In an experiment by William Fleeson
at Wake Forest University in the United States, participants were divided into two groups -
those who were naturally outgoing, and those who were more reserved in social situations.
They were then instructed to behave in the opposite manner to their usual nature.
Participants reported more positive feelings when instructed to act extroverted than when
instructed to act introverted. The overall conclusion, therefore, is that everyone can benefit
from more conversation; the more meaningful, the better.

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 Questions 20-25

Look at the following statements (Questions 20-25) and the list of people below.

Match each statement with the correct person, A-E.

Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 20-25 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

d
20 Interacting socially is preferable to hurrying through a transaction.
e 21 If someone is truly uninterested in the wider world, they'll find small talk more
difficult.

c
22 People who had been unwilling to start a conversation ended up enjoying a social
exchange.

a 23 People whose conversations are mainly of a personal and meaningful nature are
more satisfied with their lives.

b 24 There is more than one species whose members communicate for social reasons.

e 25 Some people find it easier than others to change the subject of a conversation

List of Researchers
A Matthias R. Mehl and Simine
Vazire
B lpek Kulahci
C Nicholas Epley and Juliana
Schroeder
D Gillian Sandstrom and
Elizabeth Dunn
E Todd Kashdan

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Questions 26-29

Complete the sentences below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 26-29 on your answer sheet.

26 obligatory when
In the case of salespeople, some meaningless small talk is .....................
dealing with customers.

27 In a study that took place on a train, volunteers approached people who were
regular ....................
commuetrs.

28 In an experiment in an art gallery, people related more to the ....................

paitings .
when they were drawn into a conversation.

29 Introverted people found it helpful to be given .....................

topic which they could
use to start conversations.

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