Question

5．What is politeness？This sounds like a simple question．In daily life，we often make judgments about what is polite and what is not polite．For example，to offer your seat to the elderly on a bus is considered polite behavior，and to interrupt when someone is talking is considered impolite； to greet someone the first time you meet him in the morning is polite and to stand up to reach for the dish you want at a dinner table is impolite．So politeness can first of all be regarded as a phenomenon，an observable social phenomenon．
What I would like to propose is that as an observable social phenomenon，politeness is something superficial，but to account for what is understood at the surface，we should dig into the depth where different cultural values are rooted．
When being complimented （赞美），an English-speaking person would readily accept the compliment by saying something like"Thank you"to show his appreciation of the praise，but a Chinese speaker would try to deny the truth of the compliment．They both think they are behaving properly．Yet neither of them would think the other is being polite．The English speaker is being polite to the extent that by accepting and showing appreciation of the compliment，and he avoids hurting the positive face of the person who makes it； the Chinese speaker is showing modesty by Denigrating（贬低） himself，ignoring the fact of the compliment paid to him．As has been mentioned，self-denigration has been at the core of the Chinese understanding of politeness for over two thousand years．The Chinese，in order to show modesty，will go to such lengths as to underrate what he himself has achieved and deny the truth of a complimentary remark．

29．According to the first paragraph，politeness can be briefly described asD
A．proper social phenomena             
B．being modest
C．showing appreciation               
D．an observable social phenomenon
30．In the author's opinion，the nature of politeness lies inC．
A．something superficial
B．what is understood at the surface
C．different cultural values
D．the root of different thoughts
31．Which of the following is TRUE？C
A．Chinese speakers dislike being complimented．
B．English-speaking people are reluctant to accept compliment．
C．Chinese tend to show politeness and modesty by denying the truth of praise．
D．Chinese people think highly of British politeness while English people think poorly of  Chinese politeness．
32．What's the author's attitude towards Chinese politeness？A
A．Objective．                             
B．Critical．
C．Optimistic．                        
D．Approving．

Answer 1

分析 礼貌具有明显的文化特征．中国式礼貌的最大特点是"夫礼者，自卑而尊人"．现在这个礼貌准则中"卑"的成分逐渐被"自贬"和"自谦"取代．那么西方人的礼貌特点是怎么体现的呢？

解答 DCCA
29   D   细节题．根据文中第一段的最后一句"So politeness can first of all be regarded as a phenomenon，an observable social phenomenon"可知，D项符合题意，故正确答案为D．
30   C   细节题．根据文中第二段"politeness is something superficial，but to account for what is understood at the surface，we would dig into the depth where different cultural values are rooted"可知，礼貌的本质在于"different cultural values"，故正确答案为C．
31   C    细节题．根据第三段"…but a Chinese speaker would try to deny the truth of the compliment．They both think they are behaving properly"可知，C项符合题意；A项，中国人为了表示谦虚才会"ignoring the fact of the compliment paid to him"，这并不说明中国人不喜欢被称赞，所以A项错误；B项，be reluctant to…表达"不情愿…"，由原文可知，"English-speaking people would readily accept the compliment"，所以B项错误；D项，根据原文"…Yet neither of them would think the other is being polite"可知，D项不符合原文，所以D项错误．故正确答案为C．
32    A    推断题．根据第三段段末内容可知，作者只是客观陈述中国人价值观里的礼貌，并无 critical"批判的"、optimistic"乐观的"、approving"赞成的，满意的"之意，故正确答案为A．

点评 考察学生的细节理解和推理判断能力，做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句，和题干进行比较，再做出正确的选择．在做推理判断题不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．