题目内容
______ is known to all,
A. That; advancing B. This; advanced C. As; advanced D. It; advanced
You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it. But Lee Gray, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette (礼仪) is sort of odd (奇怪的),” Gray told the BBC. “They [elevators] are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, liftusers unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally (对角线地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple – look down, or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be construed (理解) as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact,” she said.
1.The main purpose of the article is to _____.
A. remind us to enjoy ourselves in the elevator
B. tell us some unwritten rules of elevator etiquette
C. share an interesting but awkward elevator ride
D. analyze what makes people feel awkward in an elevator
2.According to Gray, when people enter an elevator, they usually _____.
A. turn around and greet one another
B. look around or examine their phone
C. make eye contact with those in the elevator
D. try to keep a distance from other people
3.Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two people in an elevator?
4.The underlined phrase “size up” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to _____.
A. judge B. ignore C. put up with D. make the best of
5.According to the article, people feel awkward in lifts because of _____.
A. someone’s odd behaviors
B. the lack of space
C. their unfamiliarity with one another
D. their eye contact with one another
The English, as a race, are very different in many ways from all other nationalities, including their closest neighbors, the French, the Belgians and the Dutch. It is claimed that living on an island separated from the rest of Europe has much to do with it. Whatever the reasons are, it may be fairly stated that the Englishman has developed many attitudes and habits which distinguish him from other nationalities.
Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a quiet, shy, reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people he knows well. In the presence of strangers or foreigners he often seems restrained, even embarrassed. You have only to witness a city train any morning or evening to see the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or having a light sleep in a corner, and no one speaks. In fact, to do so would seem most unusual. An Englishman, pretending to be giving advice to overseas visitors, once suggested, “On entering a railway carriage, shake hands with all the passengers.” Needless to say, he was not being serious. There is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, if broken, makes the person immediately suspected.
In many parts of the world it is quite normal to show openly extremes of enthusiasm, emotion, excitement, etc, often accompanied by appropriate gesture. The Englishman is somewhat different. Of course, an Englishman feels no less deeply than anyone of a different nationality, but he tends to display his feelings far less. This is reflected in his use of language. Imagine a man commenting on the great beauty of a young girl. A more emotional man might describe her state “Oh, she is a goddess”, whereas an Englishman might just say “Oh, she’s all right.” An Englishman who has seen a highly successful and enjoyable film recommends it to a friend by commenting, “It’s not bad you know”, or on seeing some very unusual scenery he might convey (表达) his pleasure by saying, “Nice, yes, very nice.” The overseas visitor must not be disappointed by this apparent lack of interest and involvement. Instead, he must realize that “all right,” “not bad,” and “nice,” very often have the sense of “first-class,” “excellent,” “beautiful”. This unique style of language use is particularly common in England, and is known as restrained statement.
1.According to the passage, the English are different from other nationalities in _______.
A.habits |
B.attitudes |
C.character |
D.all of the above |
2.The underlined word “restrained” in the second paragraph probably means “ ”.
A.calm and controlled |
B.polite and friendly |
C.nervous and quiet |
D.silent and kind |
3.In Britain, if you don’t want other people to think you are strange, you’d better _________.
A.talk with others as much as possible |
B.behave just like the English do |
C.say nothing about yourself |
D.shake hands with everyone you meet |
4.If an Englishman says “all right”, it may mean “________”.
A.not bad |
B.correct |
C.quite right |
D.wonderful |
5.From the passage, we can infer that an Englishman _________.
A.doesn’t like to show his feelings so much |
B.has less emotion than people of other nationalities |
C.finds it easy to express his emotion |
D.likes to have a joke with strangers |