Passage 3

Exchange a glance with someone, then look away. Do you realize that you have made a statement? Hold the glance for a second longer*and you havemade a different statement. Hold it for 3 seconds,and the meaning has changed again. Forevery social situation,there is a permissible timethat you can hold a person's gaze without being intimate,rude,or aggressive. If you are onan elevator,what gaze-time are you permitted? To answer this question, consider what youtypically do. You very likely give other passengers a quick glance to size them up (打量)and toassure them that you mean no threat. Since being close to another person signals thepossibility of interaction，you need to emit a signal telling others you want to be left alone. So you cut off eye contact* what sociologist Erving Goffman (1963) calls“a dimming of thelights”. You look down at the floor,at the indicator lights?anywhere but into anotherpassenger's eyes. Should you break the rule against staring at a stranger on an elevator, youwill makethe other person exceedingly uncomfortable，and you are likely to feel a bit strangeyourself.

If you hold eye contact for more than 3 seconds, what are you telling another person? Muchdepends on the person and the situation. For instance*a man and a woman communicateinterest in this manner. They typically gaze at each other for about 3 seconds at a time, thendrop their eyes down for 3 seconds， before letting their eyes meet again. But if one man givesanother 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 hostilefeelings.

The passage mainly discusses ?

A. the limitations of eye contact

B. the exchange of ideas through eye contact

C. the role of eye contact in interpersonal communication

D. proper behavior in different situations

主旨题。文章主要论述在人际交往过程中，眼光接触长短及其变化所起的作用文中没有或很 少涉及A、B的含义，D的范围太大，所以C“在人与人之间交往中，眼睛接触的作用”最恰当。