Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities). Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian cultures, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt to “read” people from another culture as we would “read” someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions. Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressiveness permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural backgrounds in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of “reading” the other person incorrectly.
【小题1】What does the smile usually mean in the U.S.?

Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture (文化) the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities). Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian culture, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt to “read” people from another culture as we would “read” someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions. Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of “reading” the other person incorrectly.
【小题1】What does the smile usually mean in the U.S.?

Parents________much importance to education. They will do their best to give their children that priceless gift.

         A.attach                              B.pay                                    C.link                                    D.apply

Teachers and parents usually call attention to the pictures when they read storybooks to pre-school children. But a new study suggests that calling attention to the words and letters on the page may lead to better readers.

The two-year study compared children who were read in this way in class with children who were not. Those whose teachers most often discussed the print showed clearly higher skills in reading, spelling and understanding. These results were found one year and even two years later.

Shayne Piasta, an assistant professor of teaching and learning at Ohio State University, was an author of the study. She says most pre-school teachers would find this method manageable and would need only a small change in the way they teach. They already read story-books in class. The only difference would be increased attention to the printed text. “If you get children to pay attention to letters and words, it makes sense that they will do better at word recognition and spelling.” But she says research suggests that very few parents and teachers do this in a systematic way.

Few of us act alone in the real world. Most things are done with the help or ideas of other people. Group projects are great practice for high school, college, and real life, when you will probably have a job that requires working with others. Right now, group projects can be fun and they often allow you to do a bigger, more interesting project than you could alone. With group work, you can actually learn more in less time.

Group projects also give you a chance to get to know kids you might not otherwise know or talk with. Group projects are also a great way to practice skills you’re not so sure of. For example: working on a deadline, staying organized, or being patient. And if you’re a little nervous talking in front of a group, a joint project can help you become more comfortable with it. Maybe your group will pick you to tell the whole class about your project. If so, you’ll know your whole group is rooting for you!

One of the most important things about group work is talking and meeting together. It’s a good idea to continually check with everybody on their progress to see if anyone needs help. You might think the first step is to figure out who will do what, but actually it’s getting to know another a little. Take a few minutes to chat. Even if you know each other well, it can help to take a minute to think about your skills and share your strengths and weaknesses. The second step is to go over ground rules from your teacher and any that you want to create together as a group.

1.Group projects can give you a chance to do the following EXCEPT ________.

A．get to know more friends                 B．learn more than you do alone

C．work in an organized way                 D．get rid of shyness forever

2.The underlined phrase “root for” in the second paragraph means _______.

A．like              B．support           C．offer             D．prevent

3.What’s the purpose in checking others’ progress?

A．To learn what they will do next.

B．To find good topics to talk with them about.

C．To help them when they need help.

D．To make sure that their work is finished on time.

4. According to the passage, we can infer that _______.

A．group members should be your close friends

B．talking with group members should be the first step of group work

C．knowing persons is more important than your projects

D．rules from teachers are more important than working among group members