Public speaking fills most people with dread. Humiliation is the greatest fear; self-exposure and failing to appeal to the audience come a close second. Women hate it most, since girls are pressurized from an early age to be concerned with appearances of all kinds.
Most people have plenty of insecurities, and this seems like a situation that will bring them out. If you were under pressure to be perfect, you are terrified of falling in the most public of ways.
Extroverts, on the contrary, will feel less fear before the ordeal. It does not mean they will necessarily do it better. Some very shy people manage to shine. When I met the British comedian Julian Clary, he was shy and cautious, yet his TV performances are perfect.
In fact, personality is not the best predictor of who does it well. Regardless of what you are like in real life, the key seems to be to act yourself.
Actual acting, as in performing the scripted lines of a character other than yourself, does not do the job. While politicians may limit damage by having carefully rehearsed, written scripts to speak from, there is always a hidden awareness among the audience that the words might not be true.
Likewise, the incredibly perfect speeches of many American academics are far from natural. You may end up buying their book on the way out, but soon afterwards, it is much like fast food, and you get a nameless sense that you’ve been cheated.
Although, as Earl Spencer proved at his sister Princess Diana’s funeral, it is possible both to prepare every word and to act naturally. A script rarely works and it is used to help most speakers.
But, being yourself doesn’t work either. If you spoke as if you were in your own kitchen, it would be too authentic, too unaware of the need to communicate with an audience.
I remember going to see British psychiatrist R. D. Laing speak in public. He behaved like a seriously odd person, talking off the top of his head. Although he was talking about madness and he wrote on mental illness, he seemed to be exhibiting rather than explaining it.
The best psychological place from which to speak is an unselfconscious self- consciousness, providing the illusion of being natural. Studies suggest that this state of “flow”, as psychologists call it, is very satisfying.
1.Women hate public speaking most mainly because of （ ） .
2.Which of the following is NOT the author’s viewpoint?
3.What is the author’s view on personality?
4.In the last paragraph the author recommends that（ ） .
问题1选项
A.their upbringing very early on
B.their inability to appeal to the audience
C.their sense of greater public pressure
D.their sense of greater humiliation
问题2选项
A.Acting like performers spoils the message in a speech.
B.Perfection of scripts is necessary in making good impressions.
C.Acting naturally means less dependence on the prepared script.
D.There should be a balance between actual acting and acting naturally.
问题3选项
A.Personality is the key to success in public speaking.
B.Extroverts are better public speakers.
C.Introverts have to learn harder to be good speakers.
D.Factors other than personality ensure better performance.
问题4选项
A.you forget about your nervousness
B.you feel natural and speak naturally
C.you may feel nervous, but appear naturally
D.you may imagine yourself to be natural
第1题:
1.【选项释义】
1. Women hate public speaking most mainly because of ______. 1. 女性讨厌公开演讲主要是因为______。
A. their upbringing very early on A. 她们很早就受到了教育
B. their inability to appeal to the audience B. 她们无法吸引观众
C. their sense of greater public pressure C. 她们感到更大的公众压力
D. their sense of greater humiliation D. 她们更大的屈辱感
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据第一段最后一句“女性最讨厌它，因为女孩从小就受到压力，要关注各种仪表（since girls are pressurized from an early age to be concerned with appearances of all kinds）”，从中可知，女性讨厌公开演讲的原因是，她们感到更大的压力，C项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A项“她们很早就受到了教育”和B项“她们无法吸引观众”没有提到，无中生有；
D项“她们更大的屈辱感”不只针对女性而言，该项曲解原文。
第2题:
2.【选项释义】
2. Which of the following is NOT the author’s viewpoint? 2. 以下哪项不是作者的观点？
A. Acting like performers spoils the message in a speech. A. 像演员一样演讲破坏了演讲的要旨。
B. Perfection of scripts is necessary in making good impressions. B. 为了给人留下好的印象，完美的脚本是必要的。
C. Acting naturally means less dependence on the prepared script. C. 自然地演讲意味着减少对准备好的脚本的依赖。
D. There should be a balance between actual acting and acting naturally. D. 在真实的演讲和自然的演讲之间应该有一个平衡。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据倒数第四段最后一句“脚本很少起作用，它被用来帮助大多数演讲者”，从中可知，脚本在实际演讲中的作用很少，所以完美的脚本并不重要，故B项“为了给人留下好的印象，完美的脚本是必要的”不符合题意。该题选择B项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A项“像演员一样演讲破坏了演讲的要旨”，根据第五段的内容“真正的演讲，如果像表演一个角色的脚本台词，而不是你自己的话，并不能完成任务。尽管政客们可能会通过仔细排练、写好演讲稿来限制损失，但观众中总有一种隐性意识，那就是这些话可能不是真的。”，可知，像一个演员一样做演讲脱离了演讲的实际目的，该项符合原文，属于反向干扰；
C项“自然地演讲意味着减少对准备好的脚本的依赖”，根据第七段最后一句“脚本很少起作用，它被用来帮助大多数演讲者”可知，该项也符合原文，属于反向干扰；
D项“在真实的演讲和自然的演讲之间应该有一个平衡”，根据最后一段的内容“演讲的最佳心理状态是无意识的自我意识，有一种表面看起来很自然的假象”可知，该项也符合原文，属于反向干扰。
第3题:
3.【选项释义】
3. What is the author’s view on personality? 3. 作者对性格的看法是什么？
A. Personality is the key to success in public speaking. A. 性格是公众演讲成功的关键。
B. Extroverts are better public speakers. B. 外向的人更擅长演讲。
C. Introverts have to learn harder to be good speakers. C. 内向的人要想成为一名优秀的演讲者就必须更加努力地学习。
D. Factors other than personality ensure better performance. D. 性格之外的其他因素保证了更好的表现。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据第四段“事实上，性格并不能很好地预测谁能做好这件事。不管你在现实生活中是什么样的人，关键似乎是做你自己。”，从中可知，作者认为性格并不能表明谁做得更好，那么推断，性格之外的其他因素能使人在演讲中有更好的表现。D项意思与之相符，D项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A项“性格是公众演讲成功的关键”，根据解题思路可知，该项反向干扰；
B项“外向的人更擅长演讲”，根据第三段前两句“相反，外向的人在面对考验时不会那么害怕。这并不意味着他们一定会做得更好。”，可知该项与原文相反，属于反向干扰；
C项“内向的人要想成为一名优秀的演讲者就必须更加努力地学习”没有提到，无中生有。
第4题:
4.【选项释义】
4. In the last paragraph the author recommends that ______. 4. 在最后一段，作者建议______。
A. you forget about your nervousness A. 忘记你的紧张
B. you feel natural and speak naturally B. 感觉自然，说话自然
C. you may feel nervous, but appear naturally C. 你可能会感到紧张，但表现得自然点
D. you may imagine yourself to be natural D. 你可以想象自己很自然
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位至文章最后一段第一句“从心理上说，演讲的最佳心理状态是无意识的自我意识，有一种表面看起来很自然的假象（providing the illusion of being natural）。”，从the illusion of being natural可知，作者建议即使可能你的内心很紧张，在演讲时也要表现得很自然。C项“你可能会感到紧张，但表现得自然点”符合题意。
【干扰项排除】A项“忘记你的紧张”、B项“感觉自然，说话自然”和D项“你可以想象自己很自然”根据解题思路可知，这三项都曲解原文。
