A new research has uncovered that culture is a determining factor when interpreting facial emotions．The study reveals that in cultures where emotional control is the standard，such as Japan，focus is placed on the eyes to interpret emotions．Whereas in cultures where emotion is openly expressed，such as the United States，the focus is on the mouth to interpret emotion．

    “These findings go against the popular theory that the facial expressions of basic emotions can be universally recognized，”said University of Alberta researcher Dr．Takahiko Masuda．“A person's culture plays a very strong role in determining how they will read emotions and needs to be considered when interpreting facial expression．"

These cultural differences are even noticeable in computer emoticons (情感符号)，which are used to convey a writer’s emotions over email and text messaging．The Japanese emoticons for happiness and sadness vary in terms of how the eyes are drawn，while American emoticons vary with the direction of the mouth．In the United States the emoticons ：) and ：--) show a happy face，whereas the emoticons ：(  or ：--( show a sad face．However，Japanese tend to use the symbol (＾-＾) to indicate a happy face，and ( ；_；) to indicate a sad face．

   “We think it is quite interesting and appropriate that a culture tends to mask its emotions． The Japanese would focus on a person's eyes when determining emotion，as eyes tend to be quite subtle (微妙的)，”said Masuda．“In the United States, where open emotion is quite common，it makes sense to focus on the mouth, which is the most expressive feature on a person's face．”

1.The text mainly tells us that______．

A. cultural differences are expressed in emotions

B. culture is the key to interpreting facial emotions

C. different emoticons are preferred in different cultures，

D．people from different cultures express emotions differently

2.If a Japanese wants to detect whether a smile is, true or false，he will probably______．

A. read the whole face              B. focus on the mouth

C. look into the eyes                   D. judge by the voice

3.People used to believe that___________．

A．some facial expressions of emotions were too complex to be recognized

B．people in the world interpreted basic emotions in different ways

C．people could only recognize the facial expressions of basic emotions；

D．people all’ over the world understood basic emotions in the same way

4.The computer emoticons used by the Americans show that_____________．

A．they express their feelings openly

B．they tend to control their emotions

C．they are good at conveying their emotions

D．they use simpler emoticons to show their feelings

A new research has uncovered that culture is a determining factor when people interpret facial emotions (情感)．The study reveals that in cultures where emotional control is the standard，such as Japan，the focus is placed on the eyes to interpret emotions. Whereas in cultures where emotion is openly expressed，such as the United States，the focus is on the mouth to interpret emotions.

“These findings go against the popular theory that the facial expressions of basic emotions can be universally recognized，” said University of Alberta researcher Dr.Takahiko Masuda.” A person’s culture plays a very strong role in determining how he will read emotions and needs to be considered when interpreting the facial expressions.”

These cultural differences are even noticeable in computer emoticons(情感符号)，which are used to convey a writer’s emotions by email and text message. The Japanese emotions for happiness and sadness vary in terms of how the eyes are drawn ，while the American emotions vary with the direction of the mouth. In the United States the emoticons∶)and∶­) show a happy face，whereas the emoticons∶(and∶­(show a sad face. However，the Japanese tend to use the symbol (‘­‘) to indicate a happy face，and (；­；) to indicate a sad face.

“We think it is quite interesting and appropriate that culture tends to mask its emotions. The Japanese would focus on a person’s eyes when detecting his or her emotions，as eyes tend to be quite subtle(微妙的)，”said Masuda. “In the United States，where an open emotion is quite common，it makes sense to focus on the mouth，which is the most expressive feature on a person’s face.”

1.The text mainly tells us that ________.

A．cultural differences are expressed in emotions

B．culture is a key to interpreting facial emotions

C．different emoticons are preferred in different cultures

D．people from different cultures express emotions differently

2.Which emoticon is used by Americans to show a happy face?

A．(；­；)                                                     B．∶­)

C．∶­(                                                          D．∶(

3.If a Japanese wants to detect whether a smile is true or false，he will probably________.

A．read the whole face                                     B．focus on the mouth

C．look into the eyes                                       D．judge by the voice

4.The computer emoticons used by Americans show that________.

A．they express their feelings openly

B．they tend to control their emotions

C．they are good at conveying their emotions

D．they use simpler emotions to show their feelings

Young women are more adventurous than young men when travelling abroad in gap years．One in three female backpackers visits more than three countries during a year out and travels alone, according to new research．
By contrast, the majority of their male counterparts（地位相当者） visit only one country and tend to travel in groups, says a survey by the Gap Year company, which provides information and services for students considering taking a year out．
More women than men say that their prime reason for taking time off is to see the world and experience different cultures．Men are more likely to rank “having fun” higher on their list of priorities．Women are more likely to value the challenge of a foreign trip, and many cited reasons such as learning a language and meeting new people．
The more adventurous gap years taken by women seem to work to their benefit; more than three quarters of those surveyed have reported increased confidence, self-reliance（自立） and independence, whereas only half of the men had that experience．
The research also shows that women are more likely to do voluntary work while travelling, with more than one in ten helping with teaching or development projects．One of the reasons given for this is a wish to see the country in an authentic light．
A greater proportion of women than men face objections or criticism from their families over their gap­year plans．Among the men surveyed, lack of money is the main barrier to travel．
Carolyn Martin, a doctor from London,is a typically confident female traveller．Starting in Cape Town, she travelled around southern Africa and Australia with a string of unusual and sometimes dangerous jobs．
“I had one job chasing elephants off the runway in Africa by banging a stick against a pan，” she recalled．“It was OK but one day I did get chased by one．”
She said that she had travelled alone because “you meet more people”．
【小题1】By referring to “gap year” the writer means ________．