高考英语每日练 | 一张长椅的邀请:聊天长椅 Happy to Chat Bench(阅读+七选五)

A green bench stands under a tree in a park in Wells, a small city in the west of England. Its back carries a small sign: "Happy to Chat Bench. If you would like to stop and chat, please do." Since it appeared in 2019, the bench has become one of the city's smallest and most famous attractions.

The idea came from a local resident who noticed something while walking his dog: many older people passed him every morning, but almost nobody spoke. Some of them lived alone and might not hear another friendly voice all day. So he wrote the message on paper, fixed it to the bench, and waited. Within a week, strangers were greeting one another there. Some came with questions; some just wanted to talk about the weather; one woman said she came to practise talking before meeting her family at Christmas.

Photographs of the bench spread online, and the idea travelled fast. Today, similar benches can be found in parks, railway stations and hospitals in more than twenty countries, each painted in its own colours but carrying the same simple message.

The bench also has science on its side. Researchers have found that even a short conversation with a stranger leaves people feeling happier than they expected. Doctors, meanwhile, warn that long-term loneliness harms health almost as much as smoking — one reason some health centres now keep their own chat benches near the waiting rooms.

Still, the bench asks for nothing. Nobody has to stop. "The sign simply leaves the door open," its creator says. "We are not trying to turn a park into a party. We just do not want anyone to feel that they are invisible."

1. Why did the resident put the message on the bench?

A. He wanted the bench to become a tourist attraction.

B. The park office asked him to decorate the bench.

C. He hoped to give lonely walkers a chance to talk.

D. He wanted to teach people to feed the birds.

2. What do we learn about the woman mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A. She met her family on the bench at Christmas.

B. She used the bench to practise talking with people.

C. She came to check the weather report.

D. She wrote a sign of her own.

3. What does Paragraph 4 mainly tell us?

A. Short talks can lift our mood, and loneliness harms health.

B. Hospitals refuse to build chat benches.

C. Scientists doubt the effect of talking to strangers.

D. Smoking is the leading cause of loneliness.

4. What does the creator's words in the last paragraph suggest?

A. Everyone should talk to every stranger they meet.

B. The bench is a friendly invitation, not a duty.

C. Parks are no place for parties.

D. People who sit on the bench must chat.

Most of us are taught, as children, not to talk to strangers. Yet research suggests that a friendly word to the person beside us might be one of the cheapest ways to feel better. (36)______ In the experiments, passengers who chatted with the person next to them arrived at their destinations happier than those who sat in silence.

Why don't we do it more often? (37)______ We imagine that strangers will find us strange. When researchers asked people to guess how such a conversation would go, almost everybody expected it to be awkward. (38)______ The fear, it turns out, is far bigger than the reality.

Talking with strangers also sharpens the mind. (39)______ You cannot predict what a stranger will say, so you have to listen carefully, ask questions and adjust — a small but real mental workout.

None of this means you must chat with everyone you meet. On some days we need quiet, and that is perfectly fine. (40)______ But when you do feel like reaching out, remember: the other person is probably happier that you did.

A. What matters is that the choice stays yours.

B. On several train and bus routes, researchers asked some passengers to start a conversation and others to keep to themselves.

C. The reason is usually fear, not dislike.

D. A stranger knows nothing about you, so every conversation is a small surprise.

E. Yet those conversations almost always ended more pleasantly than the passengers had expected.

F. Chatting with strangers is only useful on long journeys.

G. Try to keep every conversation under one minute.

阅读理解

1. C　第二段："Some of them lived alone and might not hear another friendly voice all day." → 他挂牌子的初衷，是给孤独的散步者一个开口说话的机会，选 C。A「想让长椅成为景点」是把结果（became famous）当成了目的；B「公园管理处要求」无据；D「教人喂鸟」纯属无中生有。

2. B　第二段末："one woman said she came to practise talking before meeting her family at Christmas." → 她来长椅是为了在见家人之前先练习与人交谈，选 B。A「在长椅上见到了家人」曲解——见家人是之后的事；C「来看天气预报」把 talk about the weather 误读为查天气；D「自己也写了一块牌子」原文未提。

3. A　第四段两句话：研究者发现"even a short conversation with a stranger leaves people feeling happier than they expected"，医生警告"long-term loneliness harms health almost as much as smoking" → 概括为"短交谈能改善情绪、孤独损害健康"，选 A。B「医院拒绝建聊天长椅」与"some health centres now keep their own chat benches"相反；C「科学家怀疑效果」无争议表述；D「吸烟是孤独的头号原因」颠倒了原文的比较关系。

4. B　末段："The sign simply leaves the door open. We are not trying to turn a park into a party." → 牌子只是善意的邀请，不强求任何人，选 B。A「人人都该和每个陌生人聊天」与"Nobody has to stop"矛盾；C「公园不是聚会的地方」断章取义——创牌人的意思是"不想把它变成强制社交"；D「坐长椅的人必须聊天」同样与"asks for nothing"相反。

七选五

36. B　空后"In the experiments, passengers who chatted … arrived happier than those who sat in silence"——需要先引出这组"实验"，B "On several train and bus routes, researchers asked some passengers to start a conversation and others to keep to themselves." 正是实验内容，选 B。G「把每次交谈控制在一分钟内」与全文无关。

37. C　空前问"Why don't we do it more often?"，空后"We imagine that strangers will find us strange." C "The reason is usually fear, not dislike."（原因通常是害怕，而不是讨厌）直接回答了"为什么"，并与"想象自己会尴尬"衔接，选 C。

38. E　空前"几乎人人都预计交谈会很尴尬"，空后"恐惧，事实证明，远大于现实"。E "Yet those conversations almost always ended more pleasantly than the passengers had expected."（但交谈实际结束得比预想愉快得多）形成转折并引出"恐惧大于现实"，选 E。D 讲"每次交谈都是惊喜"，属于下一段的"锻炼头脑"。

39. D　空前"与陌生人交谈还能让头脑更敏捷"，空后"你无法预测陌生人会说什么，所以必须认真听、多提问、随时调整"。D "A stranger knows nothing about you, so every conversation is a small surprise."（陌生人对你一无所知，每次交谈都是小惊喜）正是"无法预测"的原因，选 D。

40. A　空前"有些日子我们需要安静，这完全没问题"，空后"但当你真的想开口时，对方多半会因此更高兴"。A "What matters is that the choice stays yours."（重要的是选择权在你手里）收束"说不说由你"，与空后"但……"衔接自然，选 A。F「与陌生人聊天只在长途旅行中有用」与全文主张相反；G「每次交谈别超过一分钟」无据。