阅读理解。
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 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.
1. According to the first paragraph, politeness can be briefly described as_____.
A. proper social phenomena
B. being modest
C. showing appreciation
D. an observable social phenomenon
2. In the author's opinion, the nature of politeness lies in ________.
A. something superficial
B. what is understood at the surface
C. different cultural values
D. the root of different thoughts
3. The underlined word "denigrate" in the passage means ________.
A. appreciate
B. deny
C. ignore
D. compliment
4. Which of the following is TRUE?
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.
5. What's the author's attitude towards Chinese politeness?
A. Approving.
B. Objective.
C. Optimistic.
D. Critical
