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Flirting Fascination
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[1] Long trivialized and even demonized, flirtation is gaining new respectability thanks to a spate of provocative studies of animal and human behavior in many parts of the world1. The capacity of men and women to flirt and to be receptive to flirting turns out to be a remarkable set of behaviors embedded deep in our psyches2. Every come-hither look sent and every sidelong glance received are mutually understood signals of such transcendent history and beguiling sophistication that only now are they beginning to yield clues to the psychological and biological wisdom they encode3.

[2] This much is clear so far: flirting is nature’s solution to the problem every creature faces in a world full of potential mates—how to choose the right one1. We all need a partner who is not merely fertile but genetically different as well as healthy enough to promise viable offspring, provide some kind of help in the hard job of parenting and offer some social compatibility. 2

[3] Our animal and human ancestors needed a means of quickly and safely judging the value of potential mates without “going all the way” and risking pregnancy with every possible candidate they encountered. 1 Flirting achieved that end, offering a relatively risk-free set of signals with which to sample the field, try out sexual wares and exchange vital information about candidates’ general health and reproductive fitness2.

[from Flirting Fascination, Joann Ellison Rodgers, Psychology Today, January/February 1999]

1

The author claims that flirting is much more important than usually thought.
A)True
B)False
2

Flirting is designed to help us find the right mate.
A)True
B)False
3

It’s impossible to find the right partner without flirtation.
A)True
B)False
4

One of the benefits of flirting is that it allows virtually risk-free “sampling” of the qualities of a potential partner.
A)True
B)False
5

    Long trivialized and even demonized, flirtation is gaining new respectability.
    Because the capacity to cure with herbs was demonized in some cultures, women who could do so were often labeled witches.
In these sentences, “demonized” means
A)cast under a spell
B)labeled evil or wrong
C)coming from the devil
D)robbed of money
6

    We all need a partner who is healthy enough to promise viable offspring.
    The company went bankrupt because its product was no longer viable in today's workplace.
“Viable” means
A)true
B)fortunate
C)lively
D)capable of surviving
7

Which of the following is the least relevant factor in determing the suitablity of a potential mate?
A)place of birth
B)the ability to have offspring
C)general health
D)compatible interests and behavior
8

Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
A)If we didn’t flirt, we would all choose the wrong partners.
B)Flirting is rightly considered trivial, but it’s interesting to study.
C)Flirting is a complex response to fear of physical intimacy.
D)Important psychological and biological motivations underly flirting.





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