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

 

 As she waited at the edge of the ice for her music to start, Peggy took a quick look at her father standing nearby with a group of parents and teachers. He smiled at her . Then she (1) out at the audience , hoping to see her mother. These two , Alvert and Doris, Flemint, had driven all the way from California more than 2,000 miles away, to see their (2) compete in this sports meet in Cleveland, Ohio.

The music (3) and Peggy moved onto the ice, letting the music carry her along into her turns, and she began skating with much (4) in herself . The cold fear she always had in the last seconds before skating onto the ice was (5) . She was feeling the movement of the (6) and letting it carry her. She skated easily , then did some jumps, a final turn and her performance was finished.

The crowd loved it and cheered as she skated off the ice. ”Nice job,” said one of the other (7) . It was the remark that always came after a free-skating performance. But what should the (8) say? Standing  beside her father , Peggy young skaters , some waiting (9) alone, others with a parent .Shortly before 10 o’clock the results were (10). The new United States Women’s Figure Skating Champion was Peggy Fleming of Passdena, California.

1.A looked         B. watched      C. found          D. stepped

2.A friend          B. children      C. son            D. daughter

3.

A.started

B.played

C.developed

D.sang

 

4.

A.thought

B.belief

C.success

D.anxiety

 

5.

A.lost

B.present

C.strong

D.gone

 

6.

A.music

B.fear

C.ice

D.body

 

7.

A.skaters

B.parents

C.teachers

D.journalists

 

8.

A.players

B.audience

C.judges

D.listeners

 

9.

A.comfortably

B.hurriedly

C.happily

D.anxiously

 

10.

A.carried out

B.let out

C.announced

D.declared

 

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