D. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

　　One of the biggest problems when we are talking is the awkward silence. Encountering this situation is so uncomfortable that you would avoid meeting new people in the first place. In the past, I struggled with this and I even thought it had to do with my DNA or something... But later I learned that once you know how to keep those words flowing, you can meet and talk to anyone you like, which helps create great possibilities for friendship, fun and shared activities that you would otherwise have missed out on.

　　After studying this in depth, I had different opinions and found that one of these common behaviors is the habit of filtering (过滤)--holding back from saying something until you've "checked" to make sure that what you're about to say is cool, impressive and interesting. Another problem is not learning to get in the mood for conversation. If you don't know how to change from subjects, then it can take a lot of time to warm up.

　　It is the reflex (习惯性思维) that allows you to say whatever goes on in your mind. It's fun to realize that you're allowed to say whatever is on your mind. As long as you don't say anything that could land you in jail (监狱).

　　All of the "Oh! That's interesting..." "Hmm, I've never heard of that" "Hmm, cool!" expressions are reactionary (保守的) bits of conversation that prove to the other person that you're really listening. This works 99% of the time. So, if you show some interest, they'll hang around and want to talk to you even more.

　　Everyone knows that stories juice-up conversations, but most people only talk about stories of their own lives. When someone mentions something related to any of them, just tell the story, even if it's not from your life. The more interesting, stranger or more frightening they are, the harder they are to forget.

8. If people can deal with the awkward silence, they can .

　A. train their working skill B. improve their life quality

　C. enrich their social life D. establish their working relationship

9. When talking with others, we should .

　A. feel nervous B. think twice

　C. be free to express D. avoid breaking in

10. According to the passage, what do the speakers care much about?

　A. The attractive topics of conversation.

　B. The atmosphere of the conversation.

　C. The listener's experiences and tastes.

　D. The listener's curiosity and concern.

11. What does the underlined part "juice-up conversations" mean?

　A. making conversations more boring B. making conversations livelier

　C. making conversations smoother D. making conversations more relaxing

Forcing waiters and waitresses to survive on tips from customers rather than