What is the overall tone maintained in the passage? Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage:
Within the maze of global exchange—where nations negotiate, corporations collaborate, and communities interact— the challenge of intercultural communication remains a demanding mental territory. Confusion often stems less from a shortage of vocabulary and more from symbolic mismatch, where pauses, tone, facial expressions, personal space, or even silence are decoded through clashing cultural assumptions. Believing that speaking a language well automatically ensures effective communication is a harmful misconception; fluency can sometimes conceal cultural gaps, letting misunderstanding appear as understanding. In high-context settings—seen in cultures such as Japan and parts of the Arab world—meaning is carried through relationships, indirect hints, shared history, and social rank. In contrast, low-context cultures like Germany and the United States value direct statements, objective framing, and individual clarity. When people from these two styles interact, the mismatch may trigger diplomatic strain, inefficient negotiations, or social distance. Even small behaviors—eye contact, conversational timing, or jokes—can create unease when judged from a single-cultural viewpoint. Moreover, mental filters shaped by schooling, tradition, and political conditioning often strengthen in-group approval while branding unfamiliar styles as “wrong” or “inept.” This ethnocentric tendency fuels stereotyping, shrinks empathy, and limits genuine cooperation. Technology, though it seems to shrink distances, can further complicate intercultural exchange. Emojis, for example, are meaning-flexible; the same symbol may convey warmth in one culture and mockery in another. Machine translation, lacking situational nuance, can turn delicate meaning into awkward distortion. Video calls may also compress or hide paralinguistic signals that support understanding across cultures. Ultimately, crossing these gaps requires self-awareness, cultural humility, and flexible dialogue. Strong intercultural communicators do not only master grammar; they build cultural empathy, question their own perceptions, and develop comfort with uncertainty. Often, the deepest growth arises not by removing differences, but by learning to engage with them.

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Accepted Answer

1. The passage points out problems and errors (words like **confusion**, **harmful misconception**, **ethnocentric tendency**).
2. It gives clear reasons and examples (high- vs low-context, emojis, machine translation).
3. It offers calm, constructive steps (self-awareness, cultural humility) rather than anger or joy.
4. So the overall mood is **critical** but also **reasoned** and solution-focused.

FINAL_ANSWER: c

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