Whether the eyes are "the windows of the soul" is debatable; that they are intensely impor
The role of eye contact in a conversational exchange between two Americans is well defined; speakers make contact with the eyes of their listener for about one second, then glance away as they talk; in a few moments they re-establish eye contact with the listener or reassure themselves that their audience is still attentive, then shift their gaze away once more. Listeners, meanwhile, keep their eyes on the face of the speaker, allowing themselves to glance away only briefly. It is important that they be looking at the speaker at the precise moment when the speaker re-establishes eye contact: if they are not looking, the speaker assumes that they are disinterested and either will pause until eye contact is resumed or will terminate the conversation. Just how critical this eye maneuvering is to the maintenance of conversational flow becomes evident when two speakers are wearing dark glasses: there may be a sort of traffic jam of words caused by interruption, false starts, and unpredictable pauses.
The author is convinced that the eyes are ______ .
A.of extreme importance in expressing feelings and exchanging ideas
B.something through which one can see a person' s inner world
C.of considerable significance in making conversations interesting
D.something the value of which is largely a matter of long debate