You know the moment—the conversation slows, then there's a pause. It's awkward, and so awkward that some people willpanicand say anything. Do we allfindsuch silences so stressful?

你知道那种时刻——对话慢下来，然后出现停顿。这种沉默很尴尬，尴尬到有些人会慌乱地说些话来填补。我们所有人都觉得这样的沉默很有压力吗？

1.panic 恐慌

2.find 觉得

Researchers analysed thefrequencyand impact ofgapsgreater than 2 seconds during conversations, including anoverviewof previous studies which indicate that the fear of awkward silences can be soextremethat people avoid talking to strangers, even though doing so is likely to be an enjoyable experience.

研究人员分析了对话中超过两秒的停顿出现的频率及其影响，并回顾了之前的研究。这些研究表明，对尴尬沉默的恐惧可能非常强烈，以至于人们会避免与陌生人交谈，即使这样做很可能是一种愉快的经历。

1.frequency 频率

2.gaps 间隔，停顿

3.overview 回顾

4.extreme 极端的，偏激的

During conversations with short gaps, people feel moreconnectedto their conversation partners. But such feelings ofconnectionmarkedlydipwhen entering a long gap. Long gaps between strangers are likely to befollowedby achangein topic.

在对话中，如果停顿较短，人们会感觉与对话伙伴更亲近。但当出现较长的停顿时，这种亲密感会显著下降。陌生人之间的长停顿之后，通常会换一个话题。

1.connected 亲近的，联系的

2.connection 亲密，关系

3.markedly 显著地

4.dip 下降

5.followed 接着

6.change 更换

But the opposite seems to be true for conversations between friends. Long gaps there saw increased connection. Between friends, longer gaps seem to provide natural moments forreflectionand expression.

但在朋友之间的对话中，情况似乎正好相反。朋友之间较长的停顿反而会让彼此感到更亲近。在朋友之间，较长的停顿似乎是自然的反思与表达的时刻。

1.reflection 反思，深思