Passage1InhisbookTheTippingPoi-名校题库网

Passage 1

In his book The Tipping Point,Malcolm Gladwell argues that"social epidemics"are driven in?large part by the actions of a tiny minority of special individuals,often called influentials,who are?unusually informed,persuasive,or well-connected．The idea is intuitively compelling,but it doesn′t?explain how ideas actually spread．

The supposed importance of influentials derives from a plausible-sounding but largely untested?theory called the"two-step flow of communication":Information flows from the media to the?influentials and from them to everyone else．Marketers have embraced the two-step flow because it?suggests that if they can just find and influence the influentials,those selected people will do most of?the work for them．The theory also seems to explain the sudden and unexpected popularity of certain?looks,brands,or neighborhoods．In many such cases,a cursory search for causes finds that some?small group of people was wearing,promoting,or developing whatever it is before anyone else paid?attention．Anecdotal evidence of this kind fits nicely with the idea that only certain special people?can drive trends．

In their recent work,however,some researchers have come up with the finding that influentials?have far less impact on social epidemics than is generally supposed．In fact,they don′t seem to be?required of all．

The researchers′argument stems from a simple observation about social influence:With the?exception of a few celebrities like Oprah Winfrey--whose outsize presence is primarily a function of?media,not interpersonal,influence--even the most influential members of a population simply don′t?interact with that many others．Yet it is precisely these non-celebrity influentials who,according to?the two-step-flow theory,are supposed to drive social epidemics,by influencing their friends and?colleagues directly．For a social epidemic to occur,however,each person so affected must then?influence his or her own acquaintances,who must in turn

A.the power of influence goes with social interactions
B.interpersonal links can be enhanced through the media
C.influentials have more channels to reach the public
D.most celebrities enjoy wide media attention

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答案： A

本题解析：

细节题。根据题干关键词定位到第三、四段。根据第三段中的“influentials have far less?impacton social epidemics than is generally supposed”以及第四段可知．社会流行潮形成的关键在于将影响随社交网络传递下去，随着社会交往的增多，流行潮的影响力也在增大。影响力的大小与社会交往相关。故选A。