高中英语阅读理解 第二部分 欧美习俗（三）练习.doc

第二部分 欧美习俗（三）11. politeness in english conversation英国人会话的礼貌british habits of politeness are on the whole very informal.a simple “good morning ” (or “good afternoon”) or a merry wave of the hand across the street is quite satisfactory. handshakes are only exchanged on a first introduction, or on special occasions or as a token of agreement or congratulation.“excuse me” is used as an advance apology for troubling somebody, as when passing in front of him or interrupting his or her conversation, or when patting a stranger.“im sorry” expresses regret for an accidental disturbance or an impolite behavior. it also takes the place of “no” when you cant accede to a request or a suggestion like “may i borrow your pen?” or “shall we go swimming?”“pardon?” is the polite way of asking someone to repeat what he has said. a polite request does not begin with “i want ” or “i think”, but with a phrase like “will (would, could) you please?” or “would you mind?”if you are invited into a persons home, what time should you arrive? if it is a social occasion, not a business one, it is not polite to arrive early. ten minutes late is suitable. half an hour late if excessive, and requires apologies.what time should you leave? it is most impolite to stay too late; youll probably take your leave between ten and eleven oclock. if you have been asked to stay for several days, youll give the hostess a bunch of flowers before you leave.comprehension questions: (true or false)1. just like in china, people in britain often shake hands no matter when and where they meet. ( )2. “excuse me” is used after you have interrupted others. ( )3. “im sorry” is used to express your regret and apology after you have already troubled someone. ( )4. when you do not hear or understand what others say, youd better begin with “repeat what you said”. ( )5. in britain, when asked about the time, one should say, “i dont know.” if he really doesnt know. ( )(fftff)12. dos and donts in greetings and in addressing people问候和称呼别人时应注意什么when visiting england for the first time, it is necessary to know most of the “dos and donts ”. here we are going to discuss the forms of greetings.the very formal “how do you do?” is not a question; that is why it doesnt require any other answer except “how do you do?” this form of greeting is used when you are introduced to someone or you meet someone for the first time.if you often meet someone you usually say, “how are you?” the answer to such a greeting must be short, for example: “very well, thank you. (and how are you?)”but this is not all. you can, of course, say “good morning.” when you see somebody in the morning. you can say it till noon. till about 6 oclock in the evening you say “good afternoon.” and from that time on “good evening.” but all these are rather formal greetings.if you meet a friend of yours you may just say “hello, john.” or “hello, mary.”the manner of addressing people in britain is quite different from ours.first of all, never use the words “sir” or “madam” while speaking with equals. a usual form of addressing people is “mr. smith”, “mrs. smith”. but you must remember that “mrs.” is the form of addressing a married woman, while “miss” is used for a young girl or an unmarried woman.the next rule to be remembered is about shaking hands. british people avoid shaking hands as much as possible. they shake hands with you when they meet you for the first time or when they leave you for long. and remember that it is always the visitor who offers his hand first, even if the person visited is a woman.comprehension questions:1. when the speaker is introduced to someone or meets someone for the first time, he should say “_”a. how are you? b. what are you?c. how do you do? d. hello, john.2. the reply to “how do you do?” is “_”a. very well, thank you. b. how do you do?c. i am a middle school student. d. youre welcome.3. when you meet someone youve already known and you want to know something about his or her health, youd better say “_”a. how do you do? b. how are you?c. what do you do? d. what about your health?4. the reply to “how are you?” is “_”a. im fine, thank you. b. very good, and how are you?c. how do you do? d. its very kind of you to ask so.5. when people shake hands, who offers the hand first? _a. the man does. b. the woman does.c. the visitor does. d. the person visited does.(cbbac)13. body language in the u.s.a.体态语在美国sometimes people add to what they say even when they dont talk. gestures are the “silent language” of every culture. we point a finger or move another part of the body to show what we want to say. it is important to know the body language of every country or we may be misunderstood.in the united states, people greet each other with a handshake in a formal introduction. the handshake must be firm. if the handshake is weak, it is a sign of weakness or unfriendliness. friends may place hands on the others arm or shoulder. some people, usually women, greet a friend with a hug.space is important to americans. when two people talk to each other, they usually stand about two and a half feet away and at an angle, so they are not facing each other directly. americans get uncomfortable when a person stands too close. they will move back to have their space. if americans touch another person by accident, they say, “pardon me.” or “excuse me.”americans like to look at the other person in the eyes when they are talking. if you dont do so, it means you are bored, hiding something, or not interested. but when you stare at someone, it is not polite.for americans, thumbs-up means “yes”, “very good” or “well done”. thumbs-down means the opposite. to call a waiter, raise one hand to head level or above. to show you want the check, make a movement with your hands as if you are signing a piece of paper. it is all right to point at things but not at people with the hand and index finger. americans shake their index finger at children when they scold them and pat them on the head when they admire them.learning a cultures body language is sometimes confusing. if you dont know what to do, the safest thing to do is to smile.comprehension questions:1. from the first passage we can learn that _ a. gestures dont mean anything while talking. b. gestures can help us to express ourselves. c. we can learn a language well without body language. d. only american people can use gestures.2. if you are introduced to a stranger from the us, youd better _ a. greet him with a hug. b. place a hand on his shoulder. c. shake his hand firmly. d. shake his head softly.3. in the united states, people often _ a. show their friendship by touching each other. b. express their friendship by glancing at each other. c. say “pardon me” to each other when they are talking. d. get uncomfortable when you stand close to them.4. if you talk with an american friend, it is polite to _ a. look your friend up and down. b. look at the other person in the eyes. c. look at your watch now and then. d. hide your point of view.(bcdb)14. what to ask and what not to ask该问什么，不该问什么there are certain things which it is considered bad manners in western countries to talk about in society. it is very important to know these and avoid them. the subjects to be avoided are: bodily functions, or anything connected with the more private parts of the body, intimate sex relations, details of birth, details of unpleasant illnesses, the age of the person one is talking with; income or salary of friends; or prices of their possessions; personal questions or remarks, such as, “why dont you get married?” or “i should think you would want to have some children.” some of these are permissible in chinese society, but they are all taboo in western society.it is not good manners to speak of ones own country as if it were more important or better than others. but neither is good to speak depreciatingly of ones country or call it “unworthy”. western manners do not require one to say anything that is untrue, but it is best to avoid being too frank about things that make people feel unhappy. speak naturally of the good things in your own country, and speak appreciatively of what you can approve of in the foreign country.comprehension questions:1. which of the following questions is not considered impolite in western countries? _a. how old are you?b. how much do you earn each month?c. why dont you get married and have some children?d. whats the weather like today?2. the word “taboo” in the first paragraph refers to something _a. that is strongly forbidden by social custom. b. you should learn from. c. you cannot do in chinese society. d. that is not permissible only in western countries.3. if you meet a foreigner in your own country _a. you can praise your country before him. b. you can just tell him your own country is more important than his.c. you shouldnt speak too much of your own country.d. you should speak proudly of your own country because it is much more important and better.4. if you meet a foreigner in his own country, _a. you should speak of good things naturally.b. you should speak highly of something that is actually untrue in his country.c. you should point out all the bad things in his country.d. you tell him that you like his country better than your own.(daca)15. american holidays美国的节日in the united states, the fall holiday season begins on thanksgiving day, the fourth thursday in november. originally a day of thanks for good harvests, it is celebrated with a big dinner, a turkey being the traditional main course.christmas comes on december 25, about a month after thanksgiving. at christmas time, people give each other gifts and send christmas cards. children especially look forward to this season.new years eve, people have gay parties to celebrate the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. this is the end of the h