Question

    I was born and raised in England in a culture where privacy and “keeping yourself to yourself” were valued traditions. Speaking to strangers was not encouraged. People were most hospitable(好客的) and friendly—but only once they had been introduced to new people.

However, I have been lucky enough to spend some time in both Italy and the US, where I found traditions of hospitality and politeness to be very different.

I experienced Italian hospitality first－hand on a crowded railway carriage travelling, one afternoon, from Genoa to Florence. Sinking gratefully into an empty seat, I was berated(斥责) in rapid Italian by a gentleman who was returning to this seat－it had not been “spare” after all. I apologized in English, and got up to allow him back into the seat. The gentleman obviously had no understanding of the English language, but he, too, realized my genuine mistake. He smiled and gestured for me to remain in the seat, and he himself remained standing in the corridor for the remainder of the journey. The other occupants of the carriage smiled and nodded at me and made me feel quite welcome amongst them. I feel that if this had been in England, a foreigner who made a mistake would not always be so kindly treated.

Transport also featured in the differences I noticed between English and American culture. I flew to New York on a plane with mainly English passengers. We sat together in near silence. Nobody spoke to me nor, as I expected, to anyone else they did not know. They felt it was not polite to intrude on someone else's privacy. However, when I travelled across the United States, whether by plane or Greyhound bus, I was never short of conversation. Conversation was going on all around me and whoever sat next to me was happy to introduce themselves and ask me about myself. They obviously felt it would have been rude not to speak to another person, whether they were strangers or not.

1.What do we know about the occupants of the carriage when the author was travelling in Italy?

A.They all laughed at the author for his mistake.

B.They would not bear a mistake like the author's in public.

C.They were all on the side of the gentleman.

D.They all showed their understanding of the author's mistake.

2.The author probably believes the Italian people are________.

A.cold B.rude

C.hospitable D.helpful

3.According to the last paragraph, English passengers sat in near silence because________.

A.they were all strangers to each other

B.they were too tired to speak

C.privacy was a valued tradition in England

D.everybody had their own share of privacy

4.The purpose of the author is to tell us ________.

A.his travelling experience

B.cultural differences to show hospitality and politeness

C.the culture shock he experienced in Italy and the US

D.how to adapt ourselves to a new culture

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.C

4.B

【解析】

本文属于记叙文。本文主要讲述了作者通过自己在不同国家的旅行经历来告诉大家，不同文化里人们对礼貌的定义是不相同的。

1.推理判断题。从文章第三段The other occupants of the carriage smiled and nodded at me and made me feel quite welcome amongst them“车厢里的其他乘客对我微笑着点头，让我觉得自己在他们中间很受欢迎”。可知，车厢里所有的人都对作者点头微笑，说明他们理解作者的错误，对作者的错误很宽容。故选D。

2.推理判断题。从文章第三段He smiled and gestured for me to remain in the seat，and he himself remained standing in the corridor for the remainder of the journey“他微笑着做手势让我坐在座位上，而他自己则一直站在走廊上，直到旅途结束”。可知，老人自己站着，让作者坐着，其他的人也都友好地微笑，说明意大利人很热情友好。故选C。

3.推理判断题。文章最后一段Nobody spoke to me nor，as I expected，to anyone else they did not know．They felt it was not polite to interrupt someone else's privacy“没有人跟我说话，正如我所料，也没有人跟他们不认识的人说话。他们认为打扰别人的隐私是不礼貌的”。因此推断，英国乘客都不说话是因为他们国家的传统认为探究别人的隐私是很不礼貌的。故选C。

4.推理判断题。根据第一段I was born and raised in England in a culture where privacy and “keeping yourself to yourself” were valued traditions. Speaking to strangers was not encouraged. People were most hospitable(好客的) and friendly—but only once they had been introduced to new people.“我在英国出生和长大，那里的文化重视隐私和“让自己独处”。不鼓励和陌生人说话。人们是最好客和友好的——但只有当他们被介绍给新的人。”和文章最后一段However，when I travelled across the United States，whether by plane or Greyhound bus，I was never short of conversation“然而，当我在美国旅行时，无论是乘飞机还是乘灰狗汽车，我从不缺乏交谈。” 作者的目的是告诉我们好客和礼貌的文化差异。故选B。