Multiple choice

Which of the following are used to rationalise what we hear?

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the question.

To listen properly is a hard job, and probably one of the toughest skills in the art of communication. Good listening has nothing to do with proper functioning of one’s auditory organs, which is assumed to be inevitable. Good listening in the sense we are interested in, is not a biological factor, but a psychological one. Your auditory organs may be in perfect order when actually you cannot use them creatively. Creative listening implies your being efficient in the art of concentration. In other words, you concentrate on what one is saying so as to make sure that you hear all that is said. At the same time, you are concentrating on hearing all that is being said you are also thinking fast, digesting what is being said allowing your mental faculties and your memory to accept what you understand and to reject what is not. Sorting out what you do not understand and storing them somewhere in your brain for future discussion. At the same time rationalising what you hear; accepting that which you find rational and rejecting that which you do not find rational.
After you have listened creatively to what you have been told, you can respond if the need arises. It is quite obvious that you respond, because the process of response enhances the art of communication. But your response ought to be only a necessary response, a response that will improve your understanding. This response should involve your mentioning some of those things you have been told but which you do not understand, or politely questioning the rationality of some of the speaker’s must enhance the communicative worth. It should not be an unnecessary argument, or an opportunity for you to express dissatisfaction or disaffection. The ability to listen properly aids communication and understanding.

  1. Auditory organs

  2. Communication skills

  3. Mental faculties

  4. Creative listening skills

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The passage describes mental processes while listening: 'accepting that which you find rational and rejecting that which you do not find rational.' This rationalizing process is explicitly performed by 'your mental faculties' mentioned earlier in the passage - the brain functions that process, evaluate, and judge information.