Meeting people from another culture can be difficult. From the beginning, people may send the wrong signal. Or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship.
Different cultures emphasize the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree. For example, business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend a lot of time in "small talk", usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job. In many European countries -- like the UK or France -- people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or cafes rather than at the office.
Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures. I once made a speech in Thailand. I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion; instead there was an uncomfortable silence. The people present just stared at me and smiled. After getting to know their ways better, I realized that they thought I was talking too much. In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary.
Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values; however, Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.
People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.In some countries, eating together at restaurants may make it easier for people to _______.
| A．develop closer relations | B．share the same culture |
| C．get to know each other | D．keep each other company |
The author mentions his experience in Thailand to show that _________.
| A．the English prefer to make long speeches |
| B．too many words are of no use |
| C．people from Thailand are quiet and shy by nature |
| D．even talk and silence can be culturally different |
According to the text, how can people from different cultures understand each other better?
| A．By sharing different ways of life. | B．By accepting different habits. |
| C．By recognizing different values. | D．By speaking each other' s languages. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Multicultural Environment. | B．Cross-Cultural Differences. |
| C．How to Understand Each Other. | D．How to Build Up a Relationship. |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
The Worst Part
Mom is usually home on Sunday but this week she was going to a big golf game and I was all alone in the house．I was mad at Mom for divorcing Dad．
I kept looking at the telephone until I couldn’t stand it any longer．I picked up the receiver and dialed Dad’s number over in Bakersfield．I even remembered to dial 1 first because it was long distance．“You promised to phone me this week but you didn’t,” I said, feeling I had to talk to him．
“Take it easy, kid,” he said．“I just didn’t get around to it．I was going to call this evening．The week isn’t over yet．”
I thought about that．
“Something on your mind?” he asked．
“I hoped you would call, so I waited and waited．” Then I was sorry I said it．
“There was heavy snow in the morning,” he said, “I had to chain up on highway 80 and lost time．”
I know putting chains on eight big wheels in the snow is no fun．I felt a little better, as long as we were talking．“How is Bandit?” I asked．
There was a funny silence．For a minute I thought the line was dead．Then I knew something must have happened to my dog．
“Well, kid—”, he began．“My name is Leigh!” I almost yelled．“I’m not just some kid you met on the street!”
“Keep your shirt on, Leigh,” he said．“When I had to stop along with some other truckers to put on chains, I left Bandit out of the cab, I thought he would get back … I have sent out a call to CB radio, but I didn’t get an answer yet．” I was about to say I understood when there came the bad part, the really bad part．I heard a boy’s voice say, “Hey, Bill, Mom wants to know when we’re going out to get the pizza?”From the story we know that _______．
| A．Leigh’s dad never had a rest on Sundays |
| B．Leigh’s dad lived in another city |
| C．Leigh was a deserted boy |
| D．Leigh’s mother often went to golf games |
What happened to Bandit?
| A．It was frozen to death． |
| B．It ran off Highway 80 and into the mountain． |
| C．It was killed by a truck． |
| D．It was let out of the cab and got lost. |
The underlined sentence “Keep your shirt on” probably means “_______ ”．
| A．Calm down | B．Stop talking |
| C．Put on your shirt | D．Keep warm |
The worst part in Leigh’s eyes may be that ________．
| A．his dad didn’t love him | B．his parents got divorced |
| C．his dad got remarried | D．his mom didn’t take him to pizza |
Road politeness is not only good manners ,but good sense too .It takes the most cool-headed and good-tempered of drivers to resist the temptation to take revenge (报复)on uncivilized behavior. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the tensions of motoring A friendly nod or a wave of acknowledgement in response to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of goodwill and tolerance so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such acknowledgements of politeness are all too rare today. Many drivers nowadays don’t even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.
However, misplaced politeness can be dangerous. Typical examples are the driver who brakes violently to allow a car to come out of a side street at some danger to following traffic, when a few seconds later the road would be clear anyway; or the man who waves a child across a zebra crossing into the path of oncoming vehicles that may be unable to stop in time The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they like to. It always amazes me that the highways are not covered with the dead bodies of these grannies.
An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if motorists learnt to move correctly into traffic streams one at a time without causing the total blockages that give rise to bad temper. Unfortunately, modern motorists can’t even learn to drive ,let alone master the less obvious points of roadmanship. Years ago the experts warned us that an explosion in car-ownership would demand a lot more give and take from all road users. It’s high time for all of us to take this message to heart.According to the passage, the role of politeness is .
| A．resisting the temptation to take revenge on uncivilized behavior |
| B．reducing the tensions of motoring |
| C．responding to a friendly nod or wave of acknowledgement |
| D．Both A and B |
By“good sense”in the first paragraph, the writer means .
| A．the driver’s ability to understand and react reasonably |
| B．the driver’s immediate response to difficult and severe conditions |
| C．the driver’s tolerance of bad or even rude behavior |
| D．the driver’s acknowledgement to politeness and regulations |
In the writer’s opinion,
| A．strict traffic regulations are badly needed |
| B．drivers should apply road politeness properly |
| C．rude drivers should be punished |
| D．drivers should avoid traffic jams |
When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter（炼铜厂），and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest. One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area. Paul knocked him down. From then on, something happened inside him.
Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office. He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back. The answer from that big industry was “No”.
Paul then went to college to study the science of plants. Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren't any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds. It would be a waste of his life to try to do it. Everyone knew that, he was told. Even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn’t get his idea accepted.
Paul later got married and had some kids. But his dream would not die. And then one night he did what he could with what he had. As Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote. Attainable(可得到的) good is often ignored by minds busied in wide ranges.” Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.
And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass. For fifteen years he did this against the plain common sense. Slowly rabbits appeared. Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing.
Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has. It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he made to himself as a child.When Paul was a boy，______________.
| A．he had decided never to leave his hometown |
| B．the economy of Utah depended wholly on the copper smelter |
| C．no laws were made to protect the environment against pollution |
| D．he had determined to stop the copper smelter polluting the area |
Why did Paul go to college to study the science of plants？
| A．Because he wanted to find out the best way to save the area himself. |
| B．Because he was interested in planting trees since he was young. |
| C．Because he wanted to get more knowledgeable people to help him. |
| D．Because he thought his knowledge would make his advice more persuasive. |
What does the underlined phrase “the plain common sense” probably refer to?
| A．That it was impossible for trees to grow on the wasteland. |
| B．That his normal work and life would be greatly affected. |
| C．That no one would like to join him in the efforts. |
| D．That he had to keep everything he did secret. |
The company hired Paul to plant trees and grass because___________.
| A．they realized the importance of environmental protection |
| B．What Paul was doing moved them |
| C．Paul persuaded them to help him |
| D．they had legal pressure |
The message of the passage is that _____________.
| A．action speaks louder than words | B．perseverance will work wonders |
| C．God helps those who help themselves | D．many hands make light work |
This is an open letter to the three people who stole my handbag from the department store I am employed as a shop assistant.
When you took my bag, I don’t know what you thought you were going to get. With my wages, there’s not much left on a Tuesday. I hope the ￡5 was useful to you. I have informed the social security office so you won’t be able to cash the child benefit next week. I hope that won’t leave you too short．But if you really need a couple of pounds, I suppose you could always cash one of the two checks left in my check book．Of course, I phoned the bank right away and the check-cashing card is no longer valid(有效的), so it won’t be much use to you.
Actually I don’t mind about the money too much. We single parents who work to support our families understand only too well what it means to be short of cash. However, I don’t suppose it went very far among the three of you. Sorry about that!
I wish you had left the bag behind and just taken the wallet and check book．There were all kinds of papers in it, and notes and things that I really need. I really think that was very inconsiderate of you . I mean, how would you like something like that to happen to you?
Well, perhaps the bag will turn up. It wasn’t even an expensive one, just a plain, old brown leather handbag. You probably dumped it in the nearest rubbish bin or threw it into the bushes. We’ve looked around, of course, but no one saw which way you went after you left the shop.
I’m not really angry with you．I know how the pressures of modern living can affect us, but I am sad at the loss of my personal things. I feel offended and helpless. The police were very icy, and they just shrugged（耸） their shoulders. “It happens all the time,” they told me. Some small comfort, I suppose. But I’ve lost just a little more faith in human nature. And as my young son said when I told him what had happened, “Why? Mummy, why us?” I couldn’t answer that question. I wonder if you can.In writing Paragraph 2, the writer wants to __________.
| A．describe the contents of the bag in detail |
| B．give some suggestions to the three thieves |
| C．tell the thieves they could hardly get any money |
| D．state the fact that she was careless with the money |
Which of the following is the most valuable to the writer?
| A．The cash in her bag. |
| B．The papers and notes in the bag. |
| C．The handbag itself. |
| D．The check books in the bag. |
What can we conclude about the police?
| A．They have doubts about human nature. |
| B．They show sympathy for the woman. |
| C．They think the case quite common. |
| D．They are unable to find the thieves. |
Why does the author write the letter?
| A．To give the thieves a serious warning. |
| B．To complain about the fall of human goodness. |
| C．To call people’s attention to their belongings. |
| D．To express her affection for her valuable bag. |
Below is a web page from http:// ww.parents.com/
Kid of the Year Photo Competition
Enter your kid’s photo today and win! We’re giving away 52 weekly $250 prizes from Readers’ Choice votes. PLUS our editors will select one entry to win our grand prize of $7,000.
Official Competition Rules
No purchase necessary to enter or win.
The Kid of the Year Photo Competition entry period begins at 12:00 a.m.
January 23, 2011, and ends January 21, 2012 (“Entry Period”). Entries must arrive by 9:00 p.m. on January 21, 2012 (“Entry Deadline”). Entries will not be acknowledged or returned. SPONSOR(赞助商): Meredith Corporation, 1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa. ENTRY: There will be two methods of entry. Share My Entry:
Visit http://www.parents.com/photos/photo-contests-1/kid-of-the-year/ and click the button to enter. Facebook Entry:
Visit http://Facebook.com/ParentsMagazine and click the Kid of 2011 tab(选项卡).
Then complete the registration form and follow the instructions to upload one album of up to six photos of your child aged three months to eight years. You may provide one description and one album title that will be applied to all photos. Photos, without any brand names or trademarks, must be taken by participants, non-professional, unpublished and may not have won any prize or award. Photos must be .jpeg or .bmp image formats (格式) and cannot be over 3 MB
This promotion is in no way sponsored, supported or run by, or associated with Facebook. You are
providing your information to Parents Magazine and not to Facebook. The information you provide will
only be used to run the promotion and register for Parents.com.
LIMIT: One entry per family, per child, per week. One weekly prize per child. For entries of more
than one child in a family, the entry process must be completed separately for each child. No group entries. We can learn from the passage that _________.
| A．you should buy something first before you enter the contest |
| B．your entry will not be returned even if you don’t win the contest |
| C．you should send your entry before 9:00 p.m. on January 21, 2011 |
| D．the editors of the contest will decide who will win the 20,000 dollars in prizes |
Linda, a mother with seven-year-old twins, wants to enter the competition. She must _________.
| A．provide a description and an album title for the kid’s photos |
| B．go to Meredith Corporation to fill out the registration forms |
| C．complete the entry process separately for each of her kids |
| D．provide the information to Facebook if she chooses Facebook Entry |
To enter the competition, photos must __________.
| A．be taken by non-professional participants |
| B．have won some prize or award |
| C．contain brand names or trademarks |
| D．contain parents’ personal information |
The purpose of the passage is __________.
| A．to advertise the website Facebook. Com |
| B．to attract photographers’ interest in a photo contest |
| C．to introduce two methods of entering a photo contest |
| D．to encourage parents with children to enter a photo contest |
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