Question

Ideas about polite behavior are different from one culture to another. Some societies, such as America and Australia for example, are mobile and very open. People here change jobs and move house quite often. As a result, they have a lot of relationships that often last only a short time, and they need to get to know people quickly. So it's normal to have friendly conversations with people that they have just met, and you can talk about things that other cultures would regard as personal.

    On the other hand there are more crowded and less mobile societies where long-term relationships are more important. A Malaysian or Mexican business person, for example, will want to get to know you very well before he or she feels happy to start business. But when you do get to know each other, the relationship becomes much deeper than it would in a mobile society.

     To Americans, both Europeans and Asians seem cool and formal at first. On the other hand, as a passenger from a less mobile society puts it, it's no fun spending several hours next to a stranger who wants to tell you all about his or her life and asks you all sorts of questions that you don't want to answer.

     Cross-cultural differences aren't just a problem for travelers, but also for the flights that carry them. All flights want to provide the best service, but ideas about good service are different from place to place. This can be seen most clearly in the way that problems are dealt with.

     Some societies have 'universalist' cultures. These societies strongly respect rules, and they treat every person and situation in basically the same way.

     'Particularist' societies, on the other hand, also have rules, but they are less important than the society's unwrinen ideas about what is right or wrong for a particular situation or a particular person. So the normal rules are changed to fit the needs of the situation or the importance of the person.

     This difference can cause problems. A traveler from a particularist society, India, is checking in for a flight in Germany, a country which has a universalist culture. The Indian traveler has too much luggage, but he explains that he has been away from home for a long time and the suitcases are full of presents for his family. He expects that the check-in official will understand his problem and will change the rules for him. The check-in official explains that if he was allowed to have too much luggage, it wouldn't be fair to the other passengers. But the traveler thinks this is unfair, because the other passengers don't have his problem.

1.Often moving from one place to another makes people like Americarts and Australians

A. like traveling better

B. easy to communicate with

C. difficult 1o make rcal friends

D. have a long-term relationship with their neighbors

2.People like Malaysians prefer to associate with those

A. who will tell them everything of their own

B. who want to do business with them

C. they know quite well

D. who are good at talking

3.A person from a less mobile society will feel it_____ when a stranger keeps talking to him or her, and asking him or her questions.

A. boring       B. friendly        C. normal            D. rough

4.Which of the following is true about "particularist societies"?

A. There is no rule for people to obey.

B. People obey the society's rules completely.

C. No one obeys the society's ruies though they have.

D. The society's rules can be changed with different persons or situations.

5.The writer of the passage thinks that the Indian and the German have different ideas about rules because of different__________.

A. interests        B. habits and customs

C. cultures        D. ways of life

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.B

2.C

3.A

4.D

5.C

【解析】

试题分析：文章主要讲的是文化差异，不同的文化背景下，形成了不同的行为习惯，当这些行为交织在一起时，就会出现矛盾。

1.根据第一段“are mobile and very open, get to know people quickly, it's normal to have friendly conversations with people that they have just met”可知，美国人和澳大利亚人很开放，容易交流。故选B。

2.第二段讲的是相反的情况，根据“want to get to know you very well before”可知，马来西亚人不喜欢与陌生人交谈，和熟人才会无话不谈。故选C。

3.根据第三段“as a passenger from a less mobile society puts it, it's no fun spending several hours next to a stranger who wants to tell you all about his or her life and asks you all sorts of questions that you don't want to answer.”可知，生活没有太多变动的人，不喜欢听他人说他们的事情。故选A。

4.对于particularist societies来说，规定是可以改变的。根据最后一段“A traveler from a particularist society, India, is checking in...”可知，在禁止带许多行李的情况下，印度游客希望规定能改变一下。故选D。

5.根据文章第一句“Ideas about polite behavior are different from one culture to another.”可知，作者主要讲的是，不同文化背景下的行为习惯也不同。造成印度人和德国人的不同想法的原因是，不同的文化背景。故选C。

考点：生活类短文阅读