1 . Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal, but that the gestures we use are understood by everyone. We do not realize that waving good-bye is the way to ask a person from the Philippines to one’s side, or that in Italy and some Latin-American countries, curling the finger to oneself is a sign of farewell.
Those private citizens who sent packages to our troops occupying Germany after World War II and marked them GIFT to escape duty payments did not bother to find out that “Gift” means poison in German. Moreover, we like to think of ourselves as friendly, yet we prefer to be at least 3 feet or an arm’s length away from others. Latins and Middle Easterners like to come closer and touch, which makes Americans uncomfortable.
Our linguistic and cultural blindness and the informality with which we take notice of the developed tastes, gestures, customs and languages of other countries, are losing us friends, business and respect in the world.
Even here in the United States, we make few compromises to the needs of foreign visitors. There are no information signs in four languages on our public buildings or monuments; we do not have multilingual guided tours. Very few restaurant menus have translations, and multilingual waiters, bank clerks and policemen are rare. Our transportation systems have maps in English only and often we ourselves have difficulty understanding them.
When we go abroad, we tend to cluster in hotels and restaurants where English is spoken. The attitudes and information we pick up are conditioned by those natives—usually the richer—who speak English. Our business dealings, as well as the nation’s diplomacy, are conducted through interpreters.
For many years, America and Americans could get by with cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance. After all, America was the most powerful country of the free world, the distributor of needed funds and goods.
But all that is past. American dollars no longer buy all good things, and we are slowly beginning to realize that our proper role in the world is changing. A l979 Harris poll reported that 55 percent of Americans want this country to play a more significant role in world affairs; we want to have a hand in the important decisions of the next century, even though it may not always be the upper hand.
1. It can be inferred that Americans being approached too closely by Middle Easterners would most probably________.A.stand still | B.scream out | C.step forward | D.draw back |
A.cultural self-centeredness | B.casual manners |
C.indifference towards foreign visitors | D.blindness to native culture |
A.are isolated by the local people |
B.are not well informed due to the language barrier |
C.tend to get along well with the natives |
D.need interpreters in hotels and restaurants |
A.it is dangerous to ignore their foreign friends |
B.it is important to maintain their leading role in world affairs |
C.it is necessary to use several languages in public places |
D.it is time to get acquainted with other cultures |
A. addressed B. boast C. approach D. sense E. wealthy F. glimpse G. revealed H. pushy I. statistics J. peers K. motivation |
College Rankings Are Something, but Not Everything
I am always confused when reading statements like “Princeton University is the number one college in the United States.” Are those who attend Princeton inherently brighter than their
High-ranking colleges in global education leagues attract greater talent in staff and students, and
I didn’t care about college rankings for years until I recently saw something different. This past October, Shanghai Ranking Consultancy
In my opinion, college rankings can serve as a reference, offering a
I once taught a three-month program to prepare university students for overseas exchange programs in England. But some of them displayed low
3 . Contact between adolescents (between the ages of 15 and 19) and their peers (同龄人) is a universal characteristic of all cultures. However, the nature and the degree of such contact
This pattern of age segregation (隔离) in American society did not become usual until the beginning of the industrialized society. Changes in the
Research
A.reveal | B.vary | C.imply | D.prove |
A.younger children | B.professional teachers | C.close relatives | D.responsible researchers |
A.interest | B.attitude | C.workplace | D.age |
A.slightly | B.seldom | C.regularly | D.further |
A.resulted in | B.objected to | C.held back | D.checked out |
A.solution | B.factor | C.concern | D.argument |
A.spending | B.volunteers | C.partners | D.population |
A.increase | B.share | C.disappearance | D.selection |
A.opposes | B.doubts | C.supports | D.changes |
A.diets | B.activities | C.expenses | D.necessities |
A.in addition | B.as a result | C.in particular | D.for example |
A.late | B.typical | C.early | D.common |
A.pressure | B.networks | C.skills | D.background |
A.culture | B.pressure | C.respect | D.education |
A.develop | B.control | C.escape | D.apply |
4 . They say the average person makes 35,000 decisions a day. Yet in her new book, How Woman Decide, Therese Huston explores a widespread phenomenon that many women fail to notice. “There’s a huge double standard when it comes to how men and women are viewed as decision-makers,” explains Therese, a psychologist from Seattle University. Therese decided to write the book after looking at her bookshelf: At one end, there were bestselling books about how to be a clever decision-maker — all written by men and featuring interviews with men like athletes. At the other end were books aimed at women on gaining leadership skills and confidence.
“Once those women are at the table, will their decisions be taken as seriously as men’s?” Therese wondered. “Men are respected as decision-makers more than women, especially in the workplace, largely because there’s this cultural belief that women are unable to make smart choices at work.”
So, Therese set out to pick apart the stereotypes to see what scientific research had found. “Scientific research shows that men and women struggle with decision-making equally. The only disadvantage I found was that during the teenage years — teenage girls are more indecisive than teenage boys. Otherwise, there’s little difference between the genders.”
However, there are some differences. “Women are more collaborative,” says Therese. “A female boss is more likely to ask the opinions of those around her when making a choice. Women ask for input, which helps make better decisions. However, this is often seen as a weakness rather than a strength.”
Therese also found that during times of stress, men and women make different choices, and the outcomes are often better when women are involved.
Study after study backs this view up. Neuroscientists Mara Mather and Nicole Lighthall from the University of Southern California studied the way men and women make decisions and found that in times of stress, they react very differently.
During their study, which involved playing a virtual gambling game, they found that when the females became stressed, they made smart decisions — quitting while they were ahead or taking safe bets. But when the men became stressed, they did the opposite, risking everything for a slim chance of a big win.
1. Therese Huston wrote the book How women Decide because she finds that ____________.A.Women are less respected as decision makers. |
B.Women are not equally treated in workplaces. |
C.Women are unable to make smart choices. |
D.Women are poor at making big decisions. |
A.Men can make quicker decisions than women. |
B.Women easily get stressed when making decisions. |
C.Women are likely to ask for input when making decisions. |
D.Teenage girls are less able to make decisions than teenage boys. |
A.Women show less confidence in times of stress. |
B.Men tend to make risky decisions in times of stress. |
C.Men demonstrate great bravery in times of stress. |
D.Women quit making decisions when ahead in games. |
A.Women are brilliant as decision makers. |
B.Men are weaker in making smart decisions. |
C.We should give up all cultural beliefs about gender. |
D.Great difference exists between the two genders in decision-making. |
The TERM “killjoy parents” has been trending on Chinese social media platforms as many young pcople complain that their parents would rather criticize than praise them for their accomplishments. One poster, for example, remarked that his parents said his high score in math wasn't good enough
It’s a terrible feeling to have someone “burst your bubble” when you think they should be sharing your joy. And your parents, after all, are probably the people with
I think a lot of it has to do with Chinese society. Parents know that life
When I asked a Chinese friend why Chinese parents don’t praise their children, he said it’s because they don't want to bring their children bad luck. He told me the story of two women sitting in a park and watching their children play. One of the mothers said to the other, “Your boy is so handsome and healthy.” That other mother replied, “No, he’s very ugly and he’s a very sickly child.” The mother, my friend explained, didn't want her son praised in case the “gods” heard and punished him. It's an old superstition (迷信), but it does have some basis in fact.
American parents, at the other extreme, are taught to ever criticize their children because it may hurt their feelings—their self-esteem. Instead, they
Stacey and Toby aren’t the only people to be welcoming Mariella’s app. It’s now got thousands of users, and she’s working long days to balance it with her A-level studies. The time difference from New York to her school in Rugby, Warwickshire, means she sets her alarm for 5am.
6 . In spite of “endless talk of difference”, American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. This includes the uniformity in clothing and communication, as well as the casualness and lack of respect seen in popular culture. People are absorbed into “a culture of consumption” launched by the 19th-century department stores that offered a wide range of goods in an elegant atmosphere. Instead of fancy shops catering to the upper-class, these were stores “anyone could enter, regardless of class or background.” This turned shopping into a public and democratic (民主的) act. The mass media, advertising and sports are other forces for homogenization.
Immigrants are quickly adapting to this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. Writing for the National Immigration Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that today’s immigration is neither at remarkable levels nor resistant to assimilation (融合). In 1998 immigrants were 9.8 percent of population; in 1900, 13.6 percent. In the 10 years prior to 1990, 3.1 immigrants arrived for every 1,000 residents; in the 10 years prior to 1890, 9.2 for every 1,000. Now, consider three indicators of assimilation — language, home ownership and intermarriage.
The 1990 Census revealed that “a majority of immigrants from each of the fifteen most common countries of origin spoke English ‘well’ or ‘very well’ after ten years of residence.” The children of immigrants tend to be bilingual (双语的) and good at English. “By the third generation, the original language is lost in the majority of immigrant families.” Hence, America is described as a “graveyard” for languages. By 1996 foreign-born immigrants who had arrived before 1970 had a home ownership rate of 75.6 percent, higher than the 69.8 percent rate among native-born Americans. Foreign-born Asians and Hispanics “have higher rates of intermarriage than do U.S.-born whites and blacks.” By the third generation, one third of Hispanic women are married to non-Hispanics, and 41 percent of Asian-American women are married to non-Asians.
Rodriguez notes that children in remote villages around the world are fans of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet “some Americans fear that immigrants living within the United States are not influenced by the nation’s assimilative power.”
Are there divisive issues and anger in America? Indeed. It is big enough to have a bit of everything. But particularly when viewed against America’s troubled past, today’s social Indicators hardly suggest a dark and worsening social environment.
1. The underlined phrase in paragraph 1 probably means ________.A.making people adapt to American consumption culture |
B.encouraging people to embrace a democratic lifestyle |
C.encouraging people to stick to their own ideas and principles |
D.making people behave more similarly in many aspects |
A.Their adaptation to the common culture is quick but harmful to the society. |
B.The scale of immigration is not big and the immigrants welcome American culture. |
C.Their children are good at both English and their original language. |
D.Hispanic and Asian-American women both prefer to marry native-born Americans. |
A.provide examples of successful immigrants |
B.suggest the weakness of America’s assimilative power |
C.show the powerful influence of American culture |
D.prove their popularity at home and abroad |
A.Optimistic. | B.Concerned. | C.Neutral. | D.Negative. |
A.The truck’s over speeding. |
B.The truck’s heavy load. |
C.The terrible weather. |
D.The pedestrians’ carelessness. |
A.The relocation of several factories. |
B.The company’s pay offer. |
C.The high rate of unemployment. |
D.The union’s demand. |
A.They will increase by a third this year. |
B.They have been rising in the last five years. |
C.The average price of a house in the UK is £255,900 |
D.They make it extremely difficult for those on the property ladder to buy a house. |
8 . Modern computer technology has made a new kind of human relationship possible: online friendship.
Some people believe that the Internet is the best way to make new friends. It’s convenient, it’s fast, and it allows making contact with different kinds of people from all over the world. When you use social networking, websites and chat rooms, you can easily find people with interests and hobbies similar to yours. Information updates and photos add to the experience. Making friends on the Internet is especially good for shy people who feel uncomfortable in social situations. It’s often easier to share thoughts and feelings online.
Although the Internet can encourage friendship, it has a major disadvantage.
Can online friendship be as meaningful as face-to-face ones? There are different points of view. Researchers at the University of Southern California surveyed 2,000 households in the United States. The results showed that more than 40 percent of participants feel “as strongly about their online buddies” as they do about their “offline” friends.
People continue to express different opinions about online friendship. However, most of them would agree that virtual friendships must not replace face-to-face friendships. As one life coach says, “a social networking site should only be the ‘add on’ in any relationship.”
A.In addition, virtual friends can offer emotional support. |
B.When you’re not face to face, it’s much easier to deceive people. |
C.Many people would agree. |
D.Researchers also found that it’s not unusual for online friends to become face-to-face friend. |
E.Online friends may be of help in many ways. |
F.Online friends, or virtual friends, are people who have become acquainted with each other through the Internet. |
9 . History has not yet
Whatever we
Historian Neil Howe sees
A.remarked | B.convinced | C.guaranteed | D.revealed |
A.numbers | B.houses | C.accommodates | D.contains |
A.peers | B.adolescents | C.folks | D.guys |
A.over | B.without | C.besides | D.beyond |
A.diagnosed | B.dismissed | C.labeled | D.coined |
A.end up | B.consider about | C.appeal for | D.approve of |
A.distribution force | B.purchasing power | C.global view | D.unique outlooks |
A.vivid | B.instructive | C.instant | D.profitable |
A.feed up with | B.put up with | C.make up for | D.identify with |
A.faking | B.revising | C.illustrating | D.maintaining |
A.supervising | B.forming | C.representing | D.promoting |
A.parallels | B.contrasts | C.comparisons | D.reservations |
A.because | B.although | C.while | D.when |
A.emphasis | B.generation | C.intensity | D.cultivation |
A.routes | B.schemes | C.names | D.definitions |
Venice, one of Europe’s most historical, romantic, and unique cities, is in danger of drowning — not in one of its famed canals but under the weight of people. Since 1980, there have been more tourists than residents in Venice and right at present the number
Venice is not alone. Croatian favourite Dubrovnik, with history and cultural excellence, is suffering the same fate. There were 5,000 residents in 1991, but in 2017 only 1,157 people were living in the Old Town
Many popular locations have started to apply strategies