[解析]
(1)D.细节题.根据文章内容,Among English speakers,chances are that it will be a second or two at most…Research in Dutch (荷兰语) and also in English found that when a silence in conversation stretches to four seconds,people start to feel uneasy.In contrast,a separate study of business meetings found that Japanese people are happy with silences of 8.2 seconds﹣nearly twice as long as in Americans' meetings.由此可推测,日本人在与他人的谈话中可能会有最长的沉默,结合选项,故选D.
(2)C.推理判断题.根据第四段首句"In Japan,it is recognized that the best communication is when you don't speak at all."可知,在日本,一般认为最好的交流是一句话不说的时候.因此推断日本人认为"伟大的心灵,无言而思".故选C.
(3)D.推理判断题.根据文章最后一句"For example,among your closest friends and family it's easier to sit in silence than with people you're less well acquainted with."可知,亲密的人之间更容易出现沉默,因此我们和家人越亲密,沉默越容易出现.故选D.
(4)A.词句猜测题.根据下文的举例可知,越亲密的人,越容易出现沉默,因此推断画线句In contrast,when there's more homogeneity,perhaps it's easier for some kinds of silence to appear.句意是:相比而言,当有更多相似时,也许沉默更容易出现.故画线词意思与similarlity意义相近.故选A.