Question

It’s really true what people say about English politeness: it’s everywhere. When squeezing(挤) past someone or passing through a crowd in a narrow place, people say “sorry”. When getting off a bus, English passengers say “thank you” rather than the driver. In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things. After all, squeezing past others is sometimes unavoidable(不可避免的), and the bus driver is only doing his job. I used to think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles and came to appreciate(欣赏) some more polite ways of communicating with people, and here are some more polite ways of interacting with people in UK.

People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time. When people buy something in a shop, customer and shop assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more. In Germany, it would be surprising to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation. British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room. English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, which is different from Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough.

Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize(批评) others. Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me, my employers repeated several times but none of their explanations were intended as scolding me. It has been my impression that by avoiding scolding, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable. This also is showed in other ways. British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat(请客) women to a meal than German men. However, I do need to point out here that this applies(适用于) to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men! Yes, the latter are a bit mean(吝啬的).

1.What is the author’s feeling of English politeness?

A. He thinks highly of it.    B. He thinks little of it.

C. He thinks it is unnecessary.    D. He thinks it goes too far.

2.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. British men never treat a woman to dinner.

B. British men think it’s unnecessary to say “thank you” to the bus driver.

C. In Germany, employers often say “thank you” to employees for their job.

D. Germans think it is unnecessary to thank workers because payment is enough.

3.We can learn from the last paragraph that Scottish men ______.

A. like to fight with each other    B. treat women more politely than English men

C. are as generous as English men    D. are unwilling to spend money for women

4.The author develops the text through the method of ______.

A. telling stories    B. making comparisons (对比)

C. giving reasons    D. doing scientific research (调查)

Answer

1. A

2. D

3. D

4. B

【解析】

本文为介绍说明文。相比德国人和苏格兰人，英国人的礼貌无处不在。作者通过把英国人和德国人、苏格兰人相比较，来体现英国人的礼貌及绅士。

1.推理判断题。通过第一段及全文可知，作者看到英国人的礼貌无处不在，起初他不以为然，认为有些事大可不必说客气话，但是在英国大不列颠岛的一次旅行改变了作者对英国人礼貌的看法。appreciate意为“欣赏”。故A选项正确。

2.细节理解题。通过文中第二段最后一句话“English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, which is different from Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough.”可知，英国老板会感谢工人为自己做的工作。相反，德国老板却不会，因为他们觉得付给工人的钱已经足够了。所以D项与原文意思相符。故D选项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据文中最后一段的后半部分可知，英国男士比德国男士更喜欢请女士吃饭，但是，作者同时指出这个规律相比苏格兰男士而言更适合英国男士，因为苏格兰男士有一些很吝啬，不愿意出钱。故D选项正确。

4.细节理解题。通过全文可知，作者通过把英国人和德国人、苏格兰人相比较，来体现英国人的礼貌及绅士。故B选项正确。