Many years ago, I had my first chance to visit Russia. “Russians are a very polite people,” I had been told before my arrival. One of my friends explained that a gentleman will pour the lemonade(柠檬水) for the ladies and show other good manners.

Toward the end of my three-week trip, I was invited by my Russian friend Nicolai Vasilevich and his wife Yulya out to dinner. At the end of a wonderful meal, Yulya asked if I would like a banana. I politely declined (婉谢) and thanked her, and explained I was most satisfied(满意的) with the meal. But my mind was racing: “What should I do? Should I offer her a banana though they are as close to her as they are to me? What is the polite thing to do?”

“Would you like a banana?” I asked Yulya.

“Yes,” she smiled, but didn’t try to take any of the three bananas in the fruit basket.

“Which one would you like?” I asked again.

“That one,” she pointed at one of the bananas. So thinking about Russian politeness, I picked the banana Yulya had pointed at. Then I peeled it half way and handed it to her. Smiles on Yulya’s and Nicolai’s faces told me I had done the right thing. After this experience, I spent much time letting the world know that in Russia, the polite thing was to peel bananas for ladies.

However, sometime during my third trip I learned I was wrong.

“Oh no, David,” a Russian politely corrected me. “In Russia, when a man peels a banana for a lady, it means he has a romantic(浪漫的)interest in her. ” How embarrassed (尴尬) I felt.

So to communicate properly with people of different cultures, we should watch carefully how people of the same culture communicate with each other. Besides, don’t be afraid to ask questions about their culture.

1.Before his first visit to Russia, the writer learned Russian gentlemen are polite to ___.

A. foreigners B. strangers

C. friends D. women

2.The underlined word “peeled” in paragraph 6 means “_______”.

A. took the skin off something

B. put something back

C. made something clean

D. cut something in two

3.Which of the following seems to be true according to the passage?

A. The writer’s third trip lasted about three weeks.

B. Russian gentlemen never peel bananas for ladies.

C. The writer tried to follow Russians’ behavior in Russia.

D. Yulya was pleased with the writer’s behavior but Nicolai wasn’t.

4.The writer wrote the passage mainly to ______.

A. show us how polite Russian people are

B. tell us his funny experience in Russia

C. ask us to care about cultural differences

D. remind us what we should do in Russia

阅读下面短文,然后从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。

About 10 years ago, I started a job as a trainer . In one of my first classes, the head trainer told a very story that I would like to share with you.

He began by drawing a standing in the middle of a circle. To make it more interesting, he drew things like a house, a car, and a few friends inside the circle.

He asked the question, "Can anyone tell me what this is?" In a long silence, one guy decided to his idea, "the world?" The trainer said, "That's close and this is your Comfort Zone. Inside your circle you have all the things that are to you. Your home, your family, your friends and your job. People feel that inside this circle they are safe from any or conflict. "

"Can anyone tell me what happens when you step this circle?" A strong silence came over the room. The same eager guy announced, "You are afraid. " guy said, "You make mistakes. " The silence continued and the trainer smiled and said, "When you make mistakes, can the result be?" The first guy shouted, "You something. "

"Exactly, you are learning. " The trainer turned to the board and drew an arrow from the man directly to the outside of the circle. He continued to say, "When you leave your Comfort Zone you put out there, in front of the world to be in situations that you are not with. The end result is that you have learned that you did not know and you expand your knowledge to become a better person. " He turned again to the board and drew a circle around the original circle, and added a few new things like more friends, a bigger house, etc.

"The moral of the story is that if you stay inside your Comfort Zone, you will be able to expand your horizons and learn. When you step out of your Comfort Zone you will finally make your circle bigger and your mind grow stronger, and all in all a better person. "

1.A. moving B. educational C. interesting D. surprising

2.A. man B. lamp C. horse D. tree

3.A. take B. argue C. write D. show

4.A. important B. strange C. friendly D. useless

5.A. noise B. disagreement C. danger D. argument

6.A. forward B. back C. out of D. into

7.A. Another B. Other C. Others D. The other

8.A. how B. which C. where D. what

9.A. lose B. learn C. want D. miss

10.A. leaving B. flying C. pointing D. connecting

11.A. yourself B. himself C. themselves D. ourselves

12.A. busy B. strict C. popular D. comfortable

13.A. nothing B. everything C. anything D. something

14.A. small B. smaller C. big D. bigger

15.A. often B. never C. sometimes D. always

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