Question

The way we do things round here

Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, "Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us." That "quite" saddened me. I thought he was saying "we're kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else." Then I discovered that in American English "quite" sometimes means "very", while in British English it means "fairly".

So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don't just mean the words people speak. It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures（文化）．

Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate（气候），while getting on with business.

Some of the differences may be an improvement. People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again. However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality（准时）．If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the

American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece. I prefer not to use the word "late" because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive. It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.

1.The author was unhappy as mentioned in paragraph 1 because he thought_____.

A. the American bank didn’t think much of him

B. the American bank might hire another person

C. it’s difficult to get used to American  culture.

D. it’s easy to misunderstanding Americans

2.The word “highlights”in paragraph 2 probably means_____

A. encourage B. helps to marrow

C. increase D. draws attention to

3. According to the author, what should we do with most cultural differences?

A. Ask the native people for help.    B. Understand and accept them.

C. Do things in our own way.       D. Do in-depth research.

4.. When invited to a party the people who are usually punctual are______.

A. Italians      B. Germans      C. Greeks       D. the British

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.B

【解析】

试题解析：社会文化类阅读。本文讲述了作者通过自己的亲身经历体会到的各国在文化、语言方面的差异，告诉我们一个道理：了解文化差异并且适应和接受文化的差异。。

1.A 细节理解题。根据第一段第三行I thought he was saying "we're kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else.可以得出A正确。

2.D词义猜测题。根据第二段内容：所以在其他国家工作的第一课就是学习语言，我所指的不只是文字和人说的话，而是肢体语言，衣着，举止，思想等。人们做事的方式让我们注意到不同文化之间的差异。所以D正确。

3.B细节理解题。革命军第三段的最后一句话Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate（气候），while getting on with business.可以得出B正确。

4.Ｂ细节理解题。根据第四段最后一句话．If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany,可以得出B正确。

考点：社会文化类短文理解。