Good manners are always good manners. That’s what I thought until I married Alexander, who is Russian.
When I first met Alexander and he said to me in Russian, “Nalei mnye chai—pour me some tea”, I got angry and answered, “Pour it yourself.” Translated into English, without a “Could you..?” or a “please”, it sounded really rude to me. But in Russian it was fine—you don’t have to add any polite words.
However, when I took Alexander home to meet my parents in the UK, I had to give him a good lesson about pleases and thank you (which he thought were completely unnecessary), and to teach him to say sorry if someone happened to step on his toes, and to smile, smile, smile.
Another thing that Alexander just couldn’t understand was why people say things like “Would you mind passing me the salt, please?” He said, “It’s only the salt, for God’s sake! What do you say in English if you want a real favour?”
He also watched in amazement when, at a dinner party in England, we swallowed some really disgusting food and I said, “Mmmm...delicious.” In Russia, people are much more direct. The first time Alexander’s mother came to our house for dinner in Moscow, she told me that my soup needed more flavouring. Afterwards, when we argued about it, my husband said, “Do you prefer your dinner guests to lie?”
Alexander complained that in England he felt like an idiot because in Russia if you smile all the time people think you are mad. In fact, this is exactly what my husband’s friends thought of me the first time I went to Russia because I smiled at everyone, and always said “please” and “thank you” in Russian.
At home we now have an agreement. If we’re speaking Russian, he can say “Pour me some tea”, and just make a noise like a grunt (咕哝声) when I give it to him. But when we’re speaking English, he has to add a “please”, a “thank you”, and a smile.
1. What can we know from what Alexander said?| A．He didn’t think politeness was necessary. |
| B．He didn’t like the writer’s politeness. |
| C．He wasn’t used to the English politeness. |
| D．He wasn’t willing to have good manners. |
| A．She was noble. | B．She was strange. |
| C．She was lovely. | D．She was impolite. |
| A．They respect each other. | B．They change a lot for each other. |
| C．They learn from each other. | D．They fail to fit in with each other. |
| A．Good manners. | B．Human relations. |
| C．Culture shock. | D．Mixed marriages. |
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【推荐1】It was a dream born in fire. Andrea Peterson was five when she and her mother were trapped on the ledge (窗台) of a burning building.
“Throw the kid down!” said one of the firemen below, and little Andrea leaped into lifesaving arms and a life-long ambition: She wanted to fight fires like her rescuers did.
She told that to the men who had saved her, and they laughed good-naturedly the way grown-ups do when a kid says they want to be an astronaut or a sports star. But this was back in a time when little girls weren’t even allowed to fantasize about such grand goals.
“You’ll be a good mommy,” the firemen told her, “you’ll be a good teacher, maybe you’ll be a nurse, but you can never be a fireman.”
And then, as it tends to do, life sidelined her dreams. She was studying for a degree in aviation (航空) technology — the only female in her class — and that’s where she met her husband, Dennis.
Later, Dennis was diagnosed with cancer, and Peterson spent 31 years caring for him. At 61, she went on an ambulance ride-along. It turned out to be a life-and-death situation, and Peterson felt that long-ago childhood calling. She earned her emergency medical technician license and responded to fire calls with the ambulance. She found that her years of tending to Dennis had prepared her for dealing with various hurts and ills.
After a year, she told her boss she wanted to be a firefighter.
The fact that everyone else in her training unit was between 18 and 21 didn’t stop her. She passed the written test, she cleared the physical and, finally, that little girl’s dream became a reality.
1. What inspired Peterson to be a firefighter?| A．Her physical abilities. | B．Her being rescued in fire. |
| C．Her mother’s expectation. | D．Her lifesaving experience. |
| A．They thought it was a satisfying dream. |
| B．They thought she was gifted in being a nurse. |
| C．They thought it was just a childish dream for a girl. |
| D．They thought kids should dream of being an astronaut. |
| A．Curious and wise. | B．Talented and educated. |
| C．Creative and devoted. | D．Determined and caring. |
| A．She was most experienced in her training unit. |
| B．Her dream came true because of her childhood calling. |
| C．Her aviation technology enabled her to realize her dream. |
| D．Years of attending her husband contributed to realizing her dream. |
Near lunchtime, everything quieted down.Mr.Robert stood by his desk with his hands full of letters. Suddenly through the open window came a smell of flowers,like the thin breath of spring.Mr.Robert stood still. This was Miss Angelia’s smell, her own and only hers.The world of the stock market disappeared. And Miss Angelia was in the next room--only twenty steps away.
“I’ll do it now,” said Mr.Robert softly. “I’ll ask her now.Why didn’t I do it long ago?”
He ran into her office. She looked up at him with a smile. Her face turned a soft pink.
“Miss Angelia,”he said, hurriedly, “I only have a moment to talk.I want to say something important to you,Will you be my wife?I haven’t had time to show you, but I really do love you.”
“Why ...what are you talking about?” cried the young lady.She stood up and looked at him strangely. “Don’t you understand?” Mr. Robert asked quickly. “I want you to marry me now.”
Miss Angelia acted very strangely. At first she seemed surprised. Then she began to cry. But then she smiled through her tears like the sun through rain. She put her arms around his neck. “But don’t you remember, darling?” she said .”We were married yesterday evening at 8:00, in the little church around the corner.”
1. What can we know from the first paragraph?
| A．Mr. Robert didn’t love Miss Angelia. |
| B．Mr. Robert was too happy to enjoy nature. |
| C．Mr.Robert was busy in working diligently |
| D．Mr. Robert didn’t make much money at all |
| A．think of a lot of letters |
| B．work harder and faster |
| C．enjoy the breath of spring |
| D．think of nothing but Miss Angeli |
| A．Miss Angelia felt happy in her heart. |
| B．Mr.Robert always acted strangely |
| C．Miss Angelia was angry at his words |
| D．Mr.Robert pretended to marry her actually |
【推荐3】I used to be crazy about the hunting season. The excitement of waiting for a prey(猎物)and the pride of showing off the kill fascinated me. However, everything changed after that cold morning.
Early on that day of the late fall, I set off alone for the woods, packing a gun, a bottle of hot coffee and three thick sandwiches. After finding the fresh deer’s tracks in the snow, I settled down behind a little bush.
I sat there for about an hour. It was then that I saw him. A deer, a big beautiful deer! There was no cover nearer to him than 30 yards. Surely I couldn’t miss! I waited for him to realize I was there. I waited for him to be shocked and run away. But he fooled me completely. He came towards me! He was curious, I suppose, or maybe he was stupid---how else can you explain it? Well, that deer walked right up to where I was sitting. Then he stopped and looked at me!
What happened next is hard to believe, but it’s true. And it all seemed quite natural. Just as when a friendly young deer comes near you, I reached up and scratched his head. And he liked to be scratched. In fact, he practically asked for more. Then, I fed him my sandwich! Yes, I know what a deer eats, but that deer ate my sandwich. Well, he finally went his way, down the hill and up the deer trail. Shoot him? Not me. You wouldn’t have either, not after that. I just watched him go.
When I was about half way back, I heard two shots, followed by a dull slam(撞击)a few seconds later. Those two shots usually mean a kill. I had forgotten there were other hunters that day.
Those hunters would never know they could have scratched his head.
1. Why didn’t the author kill the deer?| A．He preferred to shoot a shy deer. | B．He was fooled by the tricky deer. |
| C．He was sympathetic for the deer. | D．He was too shocked to shoot the deer. |
| A．Other hunters shot the deer to death. |
| B．Other hunters scratched the deer’s head too. |
| C．The deer managed to escape from being shot. |
| D．The deer would become friends with the author. |
| A．A Hunting in Late Fall. | B．A Lovely Deer. |
| C．The Cruel Killing. | D．The Last Hunting. |
【推荐1】There are many body languages. One of them is eye contact, which may have completely different meanings in different cultures across the globe.
In Western countries, it is a good thing to maintain eye contact with the speaker during a conversation, It is especially true in Spain, France, Germany and the United States.
Although all Middle East cultures cannot be grouped into one class, they do have similarities in their rules for the appropriateness of eye contact.
Learn how to use eye contact and other body languages wisely so that you are considered as a polite person.
| A．It is often considered more polite to have only brief eye contact |
| B．Then you can better connect with people in a culture that is foreign to you |
| C．Instead, he is being polite and respectful according to the Japanese culture |
| D．In Asian culture, extended eye contact can be taken as a challenge of authority |
| E．Eye contact is good, but nonstop staring can make the speaker feel uncomfortable |
| F．On the one hand, only brief eye contact is permitted between a man and a woman |
| G．In these countries, you’ll be thought to lack interest if you look away from the speaker |
【推荐2】I still remember my father’s embarrassment the day when he was invited to have dinner at a colleague’s house. Freshly arriving in Brazil, and not being able to look up on the Internet, he offended his hosts by making a hand gesture — a circle with the thumb and index finger. He had always understood it to mean “OK”, but in Brazil, it meant something different.
The incident was quickly forgotten. My father’s colleague understood that he probably wasn’t yet aware of the local meaning of the gesture. He gently explained it meant something rude, and then it was kept in mind under “things not to be done in Rio”.
I was reminded myself when touring China. After I replied to a friend’s WeChat message with a Van Gogh sticker that I thought meant “keep fighting”, another friend told me I used it wrong.
“The Chinese version is a bit different,” she said, taking out her phone and showing to me. “See these characters? They mean ‘I will hit you!’”
Life is full of crossed meanings. In India, you sign to someone to come over with your palm down, not up. And in the Middle East, you never use your left hand for anything public.
As adults, we understand that even if it hurts, a mistake is only an insult (侮辱) when it is made on purpose. Yet, many conflicts come from misunderstanding, and history is full of the unfortunate outcomes of cross-cultural communication.
My father’s pre-Internet Brazilian mistake was forgiven because of context — he had just arrived and he didn’t know its local meaning. But when context is absent or simply differently understood — especially in the social media — perhaps it is time we all think twice before typing or talking, especially when the consequences can be more severe than the misuse of a WeChat sticker.
1. What can be inferred from the author’s father’s story?| A．Cultural differences are common. | B．The Internet helps to avoid mistakes. |
| C．Misunderstandings lead to bad results. | D．The OK sign means differently in Brazil. |
| A．To greet his friend. | B．To threaten his friend. |
| C．To encourage his friend. | D．To make fun of his friend. |
| A．Forgiveness. | B．Cultural gaps. | C．Cultural conflicts. | D．Mutual(相互的) respect. |
| A．Tourism and Culture. | B．Language and Culture. |
| C．Verbal Communication. | D．Cross-Cultural Communication. |
【推荐3】No matter how many times you go, Dubai always has something new in store for its natives and tourists. Let’s take a look at a few must-dos for your first time in this impressive city in the United Arab Emirates!
●Hit the famous Dubai Mall.
Any shopaholic (购物狂) worth their salt knows about the Dubai Mall, one of the most famous and the most expensive shopping centres in the world.
●Mind your manners.
While you’re searching for the next adventure, make sure you follow some basic rules of conduct that the local law prescribes. For example, if you’re travelling with your significant other, public displays of affection are strictly forbidden.
●
Although you’ll find many tourists wearing clothes considered not entirely polite by the locals, there are certain rules that are strictly implemented in restaurants, malls, and entertainment centres. So, if you put on something considered inappropriate or revealing, you risk being asked to leave a place.
●Save some time for Jumeirah Beach.
Situated conveniently close to Burj al Arab, this spectacular stretch of the coast is a perfect way to spend some time sunbathing and enjoying the warm waters of the Persian Gulf.
●Prepare your palate for Emirati cuisine.
Have you ever had a chance to sample Al Machboos, camel meat, or Manousheh? Arabic cuisine has some of the most extraordinary delicacies you could possibly imagine, few of which are prepared in the same manner outside of their native lands.
| A．Jumeirah Beach is about 10 kilometres long. |
| B．Pay attention to your dressing requirements. |
| C．If you’re travelling with kids, you’ll find the beach perfect. |
| D．Try the authentic Arabic coffee for a flavourful taste of the East. |
| E．Dubai is indeed a destination packed with adventure and culture. |
| F．Getting drunk or using offensive hand gestures are all illegal activities. |
| G．Home to around 1,300 stores, it is a wonderful shopping place. |
