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板凳
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发表于 2011-6-10 11:14:00
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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 th at 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.
52. 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 cu lture
D. it's easy to misunderstand Americans
53．The word "highlights" in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.
A. encourages B. helps to narrow
C. increases D. draws attention to
54. 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.
55. When invited to a party the people who are usually punctual are______.
A. Italians B. Germans C. Greeks D. the British
E
"I didn't hear them call my name," explained Shelley Hennig to Active Teens (AT) as she talked about that exciting moment on national television when she won the honor of Miss Teen USA 2004. "Are you ready?" is what she heard. Then she said, "I shook my head no, and then they said ‘yes’ and it was announced again."
It was four days after that life changing moment for the seventeen-year-old high school student from Destrehan, Louisiana----she was still on cloud nine．
"I was so shocked! I never believed that it could actually really happen." Present in the audience（观众）that day were: her mother and father, older brother, her friends, and her dance teacher. 更多免费试卷下载绿色圃中小学教育网www.lspjy.com 分站www.fydaxue.com
Understanding why members of her family and her friends would be there, AT asked why her
dance teacher had traveled so far to see her compete（比赛）．"She's always been my role model．I've danced with her since I was six. She's been through so many difficulties and came through them all. I've learned to get over bad life's experiences and learned how to move on because of her."
One of those bad life's experiences for Shelley happened three years ago when her brother Brad was killed in a drunk driving accident. He was 18. She found writing helped her get through the rough days. She said, "I write a lot about my brother. I write a lot, a lot, a lot...”
As Miss Louisiana Teen, she traveled around the state speaking to teens（青少年）about the dangers of drinking and driving. In her role as Miss Teen USA, Sheiley will continue to speak to youth about safe driving, in addition to many other things to help the youth.
When AT asked Miss Teen USA if she had any advice for our readers, she said, "Don't let anyone change you. Hang out with people that make you feel good about yourself. That way, it is easy to be yourself." |
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发表于 2011-6-10 11:14:00
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eace Walk."
