Question

We convey (传达) information through the position and movement of the body. We often use gestures or body movements to stress what we are saying. For example, when I lecture (演讲), I often use my hands to emphasize (强调) points or point to something on the blackboard. Some people use them more than others. The victory (胜利) sign, the OK sign, the goodbye wave and the blowing of a kiss are all popular gestures in America. It is important to recognize, however, that most gestures are not universally recognized. For example, although the OK gesture means acceptance in America, it has other meanings in other cultures. In France it means worthlessness. And in Greece, it is considered obscene (淫秽).

     There are some sex differences in nonverbal behavior. In American culture, men tend to sit or stand with legs apart and hands outward, while women tend to keep legs together and hands at their sides. Women are also better than men at understanding nonverbal gestures.

     A nonverbal behaviour is to have the tongue just slightly protruding (突出) from the mouth. A study showed that people were less willing to approach others who had their tongues showing. Perhaps this is why people often tend to avoid individuals with bad nonverbal behaviours. When we make decisions about other people, we learn to recognize nonverbal cues (提示) and interpret (理解) them along with verbal information. 

 

36. From the passage we can know that ________.

A. body language in America is more popular than in other countries

B. the deferent cultures share the same body languages

C. the same gestures in deferent cultures may have the deferent meanings

D. body language is more important than words

37. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Women’s body language is easier to understand.

B. Women have a better understanding of body language than men.

C. In American culture, men care more about their gestures than women.

D. In American culture, men and women always employ the deferent gestures.

38. It may be concluded from this passage that ________.

A. body language can completely replace words

B. different cultures share different nonverbal behaviours

C. body language sounds louder than verbal information

D. body language can be helpful for us to communicate with each other

Answer 1

36. C

解析：文中举例说到了许多关于美国的身势语的内容，但是并没有说身势语在美国就比在其他国家更流行，所以A错误；从第一段中“… most gestures are not universally recognized”以及后文关于表达OK的身势语在不同国家表示的不同含义，说明身势语在不同文化环境中表达的含义是不相同的，所以B错误，而C刚好表达了这样的意思，所以C正确；全文讲述了身势语在日常交流中的重要作用，但是并不是说比语言更重要，所以D错误。

37. B

解析：第二段主要讲述了由于性别的不同，从而在非语言行为中也存在着许多不同，而女性比男性更能很好地理解身势语，所以B项正确。A项说，女性的身势语比较容易理解，与文意有悖；C项，在美国文化中，男性比女性更关注姿态，而文中主要是介绍了男性与女性在站着或坐着时的不同姿态的介绍，所以不能得出本结论；从第二段第一句“There are some sex differences in non-verbal behaviour”知，有一些差异，但并不是D说的“always have different gestures”。

38. D

解析：从最后一段知，我们可以通过结合非语言（如身势语）的提示，透过语言信息来了解一个人，所以D项说，身势语可以帮助了解一个人，是正确的。A项说身势语决定了一个人的个性，未免有失偏颇；B项说语言信息不如身势语有用，显然不对，文中意思是身势语能够辅助了解一个人；C项说身势语比语言信息有效，也是不正确的。