The way we do things round here

Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, "Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us." That "quite" saddened me. I thought he was saying "we're kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else." Then I discovered that in American English "quite" sometimes means "very", while in British English it means "fairly".

So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don't just mean the words people speak. It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures（文化）．

Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate（气候），while getting on with business.

Some of the differences may be an improvement. People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again. However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality（准时）．If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece. I prefer not to use the word "late" because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive. It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.

1.The author was unhappy as mentioned in Paragraph 1 because he thought______．

 A. the American bank didn't think much of him

 B. the American bank might hire another person

 C. it's difficult to get used to American culture

 D. it's easy to misunderstand Americans

2.The word "highlights" in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.

 A. encourages  B. helps to narrow

 C. increases    D. draws attention to

3.According to the author, what should we do with most cultural differences?

A. Ask the native people for help.

B. Understand and accept them.

C. Do things in our own way.

D. Do in-depth research.

4.When invited to a party the people who are usually punctual are______.

A. Italians   B. Germans   C. Greeks  D. the British

根据下列句子及所给单词的首字母，在答题卷上按题号写出各单词的正确形式（每空限填一词）。

82. For v______ reasons, she gave up her job as a nurse.

83. You can buy many s______ in every place of interest.

84. Mr. Bean likes working on c______ because he loves to make people laugh.

85. The a______ stayed up, but the kids went to bed.

86. The scientist a________ the milk and found that it contained too much water.

87. Dr. Sun Yat-sen was one of the most o________ leaders in Chinese history.

88. He didn’t speak, but with a g______ he told me to follow him.

89. Most members of the committee were in favour of the suggestion; only a m_______ were  against it.

90. If I drink too much red wine, my c______ go all red.

91. The v_____ of the landslide accident in Taiwan are mostly from Guangdong.

92. Many people went to America hoping to make a f_______ there.

93. I turned the h________ and opened the door.

     Computer programmer David Jones earns $35,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot found a bank ready to let him have a credit card. Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18. The 16-year-old works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David's firm releases(推出) two new games for the fast growing computer market each month.

    But David's biggest headache is what to do with his money. Even though he earns a lot, he cannot drive a car, take out a mortgage(抵押货款),or get credit cards. David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said. David spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother 50 pounds a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.

“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said, “But I had been studying is in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway.” David added: “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.”

In which way is David different from people of his age?

A. He often goes out with friends.

B. He lives with his mother.

C. He has a handsome income.

D. He graduated with six O-levels.

What is one of the problems that David is facing now?

A. He is too young to get a credit card.

B. He has no time to learn driving.

C. He has very little spare time.

D. He will soon lose his job.

Why was David able to get the job in the company?

A. He had done well in all his exams.

B. He had written some computer programs.

C. He was good at playing computer games.

D. He had learnt to use computers at school.

Why did David decide to leave school and start working?

A. He received lots of job offers.

B. He was eager to help his mother.

C. He lost interest in school studies.

D. He wanted to earn his own living.

     Computer programmer David Jones earns $35,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot found a bank ready to let him have a credit card. Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18. The 16-year-old works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David's firm releases(推出) two new games for the fast growing computer market each month.

    But David's biggest headache is what to do with his money. Even though he earns a lot, he cannot drive a car, take out a mortgage(抵押货款),or get credit cards. David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said. David spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother 50 pounds a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.

“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said, “But I had been studying is in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway.” David added: “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.”

60. In which way is David different from people of his age?

A. He often goes out with friends.

B. He lives with his mother.

C. He has a handsome income.

D. He graduated with six O-levels.

61. What is one of the problems that David is facing now?

A. He is too young to get a credit card.

B. He has no time to learn driving.

C. He has very little spare time.

D. He will soon lose his job.

62. Why was David able to get the job in the company?

A. He had done well in all his exams.

B. He had written some computer programs.

C. He was good at playing computer games.

D. He had learnt to use computers at school.

63. Why did David decide to leave school and start working?

A. He received lots of job offers.

B. He was eager to help his mother.

C. He lost interest in school studies.

D. He wanted to earn his own living.

Computer programmer David Jones earns $35.000 a year designing new computer games. yet he cannot find a bank ready to let him have a credit card（信用卡）Instead he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18. The 16-year-old works for a small firm in Liverpool where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job David’s firm releases（推出）two new games for the fast growing computer market each month

But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. Even though he earns a lot he cannot drive a car take out a mortgage（抵押贷款）,or get credit cards David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago ,a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs” he said David spends some of his money on records and clothes and gives his mother 50 pounds a week But most of his spare time is spent working.

“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school “ he said “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway” David added :”I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement（退休）is a possibility You never know when the market might disappear.”

68．In what way is David different from people of his age?

       A．He often goes out with friends

       B．He lives with his mother

       C．He has a handsome income

       D．He graduated with six O-levels

69．What is one of the problems that David is facing now?

       A．He is too young to get a credit card

       B．He has no time to learn driving

       C．He has very little spare time

       D．He will soon lose his job

70．Why was David able to get the job in the company?

       A．He had done well in all his exams

       B．He had written some computer programs

       C．He was good at playing computer games

       D．He had learnt to use computers at school

71．Why did David decide to leave school and start working?

       A．He received lots of job offers

       B．He was eager to help his mother

       C．He lost interest in school studies

       D．He wanted to earn his own living