For questions 1-10, listen to a recording about awkwardness and fill in the

missing information using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. You will hear
the recording TWICE.

- Some people have difficulty adapting to the ____________________ ​(1) of

society due to the different way in which their brains function. But why do we feel
awkwardness?

- According to Ty Tashiro, author of the book “​Awkward”​, the feeling of

awkwardness is actually evolutionary. In ____________________ ​(2)​, behaving
in socially acceptable ways was a means of maintaining
____________________ ​(3)​ and keep out potential threats.

- In the present day, humans are still sensitive to social customs such as
signifying ____________________ ​(4) by responding to “How are you?” with
“Fine”, and deviating from these customs can create awkwardness. However,
these ____________________ ​(5) are not something that comes naturally for
some people.

- For instance, awkward people don’t instinctively make eye contact, which can
make people feel socially ____________________ ​(6)​. Instead, they focus more
on other facial features, possibly alienating the person they’re talking to.

- Luckily, awkward people’s brains may excel in aspects other than

____________________ ​(7)​. Just like how people with autism are brilliant at
____________________ ​(8)​, problem solving ​and memory, awkward people
often have obsessive interests and talents.

- In his book, Tashiro also mentions that one of the factors that makes people
consider robots to be ____________________ ​(9) ​is the fact that they are quite
incapable of complying with ____________________ ​(10)​. Therefore, in a
manner of speaking, these robots are similar to awkward people themselves.