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 (强调) the importance of relationship building to a greater or less 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 countires--- 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 may 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 realised 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 diffeerences 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 (多元文化环境)will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.
1.In some countires, 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
2.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
3.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 language.
4.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
My students often tell me that they don’t have “enough time” to do all their schoolwork.
My reply is often a brief “You have as much time as the president.” I usually carry on a bit about there being twenty-four hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that “not enough time” is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done.
Once in graduate school, I tried to prove to one of my professors by saying that I was working hard. His answer to me was, “That’s irrelevant (无关的). What’s important is the quality of your work.” Since then I have had time to think carefully about the “hard worker” dodge (诀窍), and I have come to some conclusions — all relevant to the problem of how much time we have.
If you analyze the matter, you can identify two parts of the problem: There is, of course, the matter of “time”, which we can think of as fixed. Then there is the problem of “work” during that time. But, as my professor suggested, it’s not how hard one works but the quality of the product that’s important.
That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work. That concept is perhaps best explained by a sign I once saw on the wall in someone’s office: “Don’t work harder. Work smarter.” There is a lot of sense in that idea.
If you can’t get more time, and few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of the work. That means thinking of ways to get more out of the same time than we might otherwise get. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits. Since “work” for students usually means “homework”, the expression “work habits” should be read as “study habits”.
Then, as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you learn to read better and write better, there are big benefits that pay off in all your studies.
1.We can infer from the 2nd paragraph that we students still _____ .
A．have enough time B．can meet the president
C．get everything done well D．should accept the explanation
2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．The author’s students make good use of their time to do all their homework.
B．The author tried to tell the professor that he/she (author) had done a good job.
C．You can’t improve the quality of the work if you can’t get more time.
D．You’ll try to improve your skills in reading and writing if you’re a clever student.
3.What’s the passage mainly about?
A．Students don’t have enough time. B．Don’t work harder; work smarter.
C．No one can get more time. D．Read better and write better.
I came to India a year ago to find a village in which I could live and write but it was many months before I settled down happily in this Himalayan community.I wasted a lot of time looking for the “typical” village, yet no such thing exists. Conditions vary too widely.But the villages I stayed in had much in common—poverty, dirt, ignorance. Often the villagers themselves were puzzled, suspicious. Why had I come? I had put aside my work as a political journalist because my ideas had changed. I had come to believe that what was happening in the Third World was more important than anything else. But to understand how three quarters of the world’s people live, and how their future might affect ours, I felt that I first had to try and share their way of life.In the end I chose a mountain village because it was a little cooler than those in the plains. I took the bus from town along a bumpy road. Then came a rough walk down a steep path to the river. After this I began the climb into the Mils. Whenever I stopped to catch my breath, there was a magnificent view. After several hours’ walk the village came into view.
1.After the writer had arrived in India,________.
A．he spent a year writing about the place he lived in
B．he spent quite some time looking for a suitable place to live in
C．he stayed in an Indian village working for the poor
D．he lived in a Himalayan community for many months.
2.While looking for a typical village, the writer found__________.
A．he was searching for the impossible
B．all the villages were exactly the same
C．he was doing something enjoyable
D．the villagers were curious about him
3.Before coming to India, the writer________.
A．had been a successful politician
B．had made a decision to work for India
C．had studied India culture for some months
D．had worked for newspapers and magazines
Dear son,
The day that you see me old and I am already not in good health, have patience and try to understand me.
If I get dirty when eating, if I can not dress, have patience and remember the hours I 26 teaching it to you. If, when I speak to you, I 27 the same things thousand and one times, do not 28 me, listen to me. When you were small, I had to read to you thousand and one times the same story 29 you got to sleep. When I do not want to have a 30 , neither shame me nor scold me. Remember when I had to chase you with thousand excuses I 31 , in order that you wanted to bathe. When you see my 32 little about new technologies, give me the necessary time and do not look at me with your mocking(嘲弄) smile. I taught you 33 to do so many things: to eat good, to dress well, to confront life…. When at some moment I lose the memory or the 34 of our conversation, let me have the necessary time to remember, and if I cannot do it, do not become nervous, as the most important thing is not our conversation but surely to be with you and to have you 35 to me.
If ever I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know well 36 I need to and when not. When my 37 legs do not allow me to walk, give me your 38 , the same way I did when you gave your first 39 . And when someday I say to you that I do not want to 40 any more ---- that I want to rest forever, do not get ___41__. Someday you will understand.
Try to understand that my age is not lived but survived. Some day you will discover that, despite my mistakes, I always wanted the 42 thing for you and that I tried to prepare the way for you. You must not feel sad, angry or impotent(无可奈何) for seeing me 43 you. You must be next to me, try to understand me and to help me as I did it when you 44 living. Help me to walk, help me to end my way with love and 45 . I will pay you by a smile and by the immense love I have had always for you.
I love you, Son
Your father
1. A．paid B．spent C．cost D．took
2. A．praise B．think C．repeat D．criticize
3. A．interrupt B．disturb C．look D．avoid
4. A．when B．after C．since D．until
5. A．rest B．word C．shower D．sleep
6. A．discovered B．invented C．noticed D．assumed
7. A．knowing B．fearing C．enjoying D．consulting
8. A．what B．when C．how D．why
9. A．news B．attitude C．material D．thread
10. A．talking B．listening C．responding D．appealing
11. A．where B．how C．that D．when
12. A．tired B．short C．long D．strong
13. A．leg B．ear C．hand D．mind
14. A．step B．pace C．laugh D．cry
15. A．talk B．live C．write D．sleep
16. A．careful B．interested C．calm D．angry
17. A．last B．first C．best D．most
18. A．near B．behind C．below D．against
19. A．made B．started C．earned D．found
20. A．mercy B．care C．excuse D．patience
The teacher called Tim’s mother __________ what he had done in the test.
A．because of B．because C．since D．as
She is also 25 and a native of Beijing, but the ______ between us ends there.
A．difference B．advantage C．disadvantage D．similarity
