5.(2011·全国II)D

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一dress, food and hours of work一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.

4.(2011·上海卷)(A)

    The teacher who did the most to encourage me was, as it happened, my aunt. She was Myrtle C. Manigault, the wife of my mother’s brother Bill. She taught in second grade at all-black Summer School in Camden, New Jersey.

    During my childhood and youth, Aunt Myrtle encouraged me to develop every aspect of my potential, without regard for what was considered practical or possible for black females. I liked to sing; she listened to my voice and pronounced it good. I couldn’t dance; she taught me the basic dancing steps. She took me to the theatre ____ not just children’s theatre but adult comedies and dramas --- and her faith that I could appreciate adult plays was not disappointed.

    My aunt also took down books from her extensive library and shared them with me. I had books at home, but they were all serious classics. Even as a child I had a strong liking for humor, and I’ll never forget the joy of discovering Don Marquis’s Archy & Mehitabel through her.

    Most important, perhaps, Aunt Myrtle provided my first opportunity to write for publication. A writer herself for one of the black newspapers, she suggested my name to the editor as a “youth columnist”. My column, begun when I was fourteen, was supposed to cover teenage social activities---and it did---but it also gave me the freedom to write on many other subjects as well as the habit of gathering material, the discipline of meeting deadlines, and, after graduation from college six years later, a solid collection of published material that carried my name and was my passport to a series of writing jobs.

    Today Aunt Myrtle is still an enthusiastic supporter of her “favorite niece”. Like a diamond, she has reflected a bright, multifaceted(多面的) image of possibilities to every pupil who has crossed her path.

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