The word ‘sorry’ is probably the most over-used word in the United Kingdom: whether people are sorry about the weather or sorry because someone else has bumped(撞上)into them, chances are an average person has made at least one apology in the past hour or two.
The British apologise more frequently than members of other cultures. But why?
The readiness of the British to apologise for something they haven’t done is impressive. In her book Watching the English, social anthropologist Kate Fox describes experiments in which she deliberately bumped into hundreds of people in towns and cities across England. She also encouraged colleagues to do the same abroad, for comparison.
Fox found that around 80% of English victims said ‘sorry’—even though the collisions were clearly Fox’s fault. “Possibly people said it without even realising it, but compared to when tourists from other countries were bumped, the difference was marked,” Fox writes.
British society values that its members show respect without imposing(强加)on someone else’s personal space, and without drawing attention to oneself. As a consequence, British people may sometimes use ‘sorry’ in a way that can seem inappropriate to outsiders, including Americans.
There may be some benefits to saying ‘sorry’, too—such as fostering trust. Interestingly, that is true even when people are apologising not for mistakes they’ve made, but rather for circumstances beyond their control.
In one study, psychologist Wood Brooks arranged for an actor to approach 65 strangers at a train station on a rainy day and ask to borrow their mobile phone. In half the cases, the stranger began by saying: “Sorry about the rain”. When he did this, 47% of strangers gave him their mobile, compared to only 9% when he simply asked to borrow their phone. Further experiments confirmed it was the apology about the weather that mattered, not the politeness of the opening sentence.
“By saying ‘I’m sorry about the rain’, the apologiser acknowledges an unfortunate circumstance, takes the victim’s attitude and expresses empathy for the negative circumstance—even though it is outside of his or her control,” says Wood Brooks.
12. Why did Fox deliberately bump into people?
A.To prove what was written in her book. |
B.To compare the results of her experiments. |
C.To see how many people would make an apology. |
D.To see how many people would demand an apology. |
13. What is the effect of saying sorry to people about the rain?
A.It makes them believe in you. |
B.It makes them feel confident. |
C.It helps them deal with a difficult situation. |
D.It makes them less worried about the weather. |
14. Which of the following can replace the underlined part in the last paragraph?
A.shows interest in | B.expresses doubts about |
C.gives his or her opinion about | D.shares the victim’s feelings about |
15. What does the text focus on?
A.Social skills. | B.Changes in languages. |
C.Traditional customs. | D.Cultural differences in languages. |