2020年是“内向者之年”吗

北京师范大学贵阳附属中学 罗跃梅

近十年来，内向者活动人士一直呼吁一场变革：重塑由外向者主导的职场，不再歧视那些不适应开放式办公室氛围的内向者们。 2020年给内向者们证明自己独特的性格优势提供了契机。

难词探意

1. censure /΄senʃə(r)/ n. 斥责；谴责

2. camaraderie /ˌkæmə΄rɑːdəri/ n. 同事情谊；友情

For at least a decade, introvert activists have been calling for a revolution: remake the extrovertdominated workplace. They hope we can stop putting those who don't fit the loud, highly sociable ideal fostered by open-plan offices in an unfavorable position. Also, they hope for a more tolerant culture equally suited to those who work better alone with less outside stimulation.

Then came the pandemic and many of us had to work from home. The 2020 “office” suddenly looked like the answer to an introvertemployee's declaration. It would be “a chance to play to our strengths”. Five months on, how is the year of the introvert working out?

At first it felt unsettling. “Introverts recharge their batteries by being alone,” writes Susan Cain in her best-selling Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking. Home is where we do it.So turning a place of escape into an office and sharing a refuge by video calls is weird.

Yet for introverts anxious about public speaking, it can also be helpful. They may feel less anxious addressing big groups when they're in their own space secretly wearing their slippers. Also it is invaluable for softer-speaking people in a culture that rewards loudness: the levelling power of the volume control. Just as even the most voluble are expected to switch off their mic or risk polite censure like “Can everyone please mute”, so they can now all make themselves equally audible. This relieves introverts of a frequent worry: Will they be able to hear me?

In theory, all this has ended the suffering of the introvert: dominant colleagues cutting other people off or ignoring them. In an online room,however, everyone waits their turn. Similarly, working from home is often considered as a calmer, prointrovert alternative to the notoriously distracting open-plan office.

And what about the lack of workplace camaraderie?Soon after we were all sent home,my supersociable work friend raised a concern: Won't you miss your colleagues? For introverts, who do their best work alone, this is not necessarily a problem.And it turns out that I see my teammates every day at our online morning meetings. Since March, I have seen them more than anyone I'm related to. It might sound odd but, typically for a solitude loving introvert, I'm not sure I understand the question.

Reading Check

Fill in each blank with only one word or with the word given in its proper form.

For at least ten years, introvert activists 1.___________（hope） that the extrovert-dominated workplace can turn into a 2._________（tolerance） place for both extroverts and introverts so that the discrimination 3.__________the latter may weaken.The year 2020 seems to 4.________opportunity for the introverts to show their 5.__________（strength） because of the unexpected pandemic.Firstly, they can improve 6.___________（they） by staying alone at home. Secondly, 7.____________（address） at home, they will feel more natural to make a public speech without any disturbance 8.____________at their workplaces. When 9.____________comes to workplace camaraderie,it doesn't seem like a question for them because they can see their 10.____________（teammate）every day at their online morning meetings.

Language Study

Sentences for writing

1. Then came the pandemic and many of us had to work from home.

【信息提取】句中的Then是一个表示时间的副词， 谓语动词came放在了主语the pandemic的前面，构成全部倒装语序。 当表示时间、地点的副词或副词短语、介词或介词短语放在句首时，句子应使用全部倒装形式。

【句式仿写】接着，传来了消息，我们的比赛取消了。

2. And it turns out that I see my teammates every day at our online morning meetings.

【信息提取】It turns out that...意为“结果……”。

【句式仿写】结果证明，他的努力得到了回报。