Reading (25/100)1. Read the article.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression

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20When two people meet for the first time physical impressions are immediate. Before they have a chance to say a word their senses are in overdrive; they are picking up and storing information about each other. They register looks smell and body language. They use eye contact to support the process and to establish a relationship. Within a few seconds they have made a mental picture of each other. On the basis of this tiny amount of data they form opinions which they use in the future. But just how reliable are first impressions? Take the story of Jake and Caroline. Jake didnt like Caroline when he first met her. She seemed cold and distant. She made almost no eye contact and she didnt seem to listen to me. Six months later they met again. Caroline was a complete different person. She was warm friendly and smiled a lot. When she told me that her father had died two days before we first met that explained everything. It taught me to be more careful about making assumptions about people based on first impressions. However wrong they can be first impressions are a necessary survival mechanism.

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Thousands of years ago they helped people decide how to react in potentially dangerous situations. That is still true today although in most cases it is not a question of life and death. According to some, we can learn to read first impressions better. We can also learn to create more powerful first impressions. Professor Helen Trent a specialist in interpersonal relations has studied the practice of good communicators. Research shows that people who can make others feel good about themselves are excellent at creating positve first impressions. We call these people Powerful Communicators or PCs. You can tell when you meet one; you feel really good afterwards and you think What a nice person. PCs immediately get in sync with the other person; they coordinate their body language and smiles with their partner. They also maintain eye contact and sound and look as if they are interested although sometimes they are not. These actions make the other person feel good about the experience. PCs are winners in the first impressions race. So if you want to be a PC start training and remember you only get one chance to make a great first impression!

2. Now complete the sentences 1-5 with the best answers a-c.

1. The moment two people first meet theya) look at and talk to each other. b) look at each other. c) they look at each other and build a picture of each other.

2. The story about Jake and Caroline shows thata) problems stop communication. b) we can make mistakes based on first impressions. c) they liked each other in the end.

3. Studying good communicators tells us that theya) make us feel positive. b) make us feel friendly.c) make us feel like good communicators too.

4. Powerful communicators a) do not always know the effect they have on the other person.b) are never honest. c) are not always honest.

5. PCs are a) the best at running. b) the best at winning.c) the best at creating positive first impressions.

3. Match the words and phrases 1-6 to the definitions a-f.The line numbers are in brackets.

A1 are in overdrive (03)2 data (09)3 reliable (11)4 assumptions (19)5 survival mechanism (21) 6 get in sync (35)

B___a make two or more things happen at the same time___b something that helps you stay alive___c be very active or too active___d information___e something (or someone) that you can depend on___f things that you think are true, but you cannot be certain