The way we do things round here

Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, "Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us." That "quite" saddened me. I thought he was saying "we're kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else." Then I discovered that in American English "quite" sometimes means "very", while in British English it means "fairly".

So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don't just mean the words people speak. It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures（文化）．

Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate（气候），while getting on with business.

Some of the differences may be an improvement. People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again. However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality（准时）．If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the

American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece. I prefer not to use the word "late" because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive. It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.

1.The author was unhappy as mentioned in paragraph 1 because he thought_____.

A. the American bank didn’t think much of him

B. the American bank might hire another person

C. it’s difficult to get used to American  culture.

D. it’s easy to misunderstanding Americans

2.The word “highlights”in paragraph 2 probably means_____

A. encourage B. helps to marrow

C. increase D. draws attention to

3. According to the author, what should we do with most cultural differences?

A. Ask the native people for help.    B. Understand and accept them.

C. Do things in our own way.       D. Do in-depth research.

4.. When invited to a party the people who are usually punctual are______.

A. Italians      B. Germans      C. Greeks       D. the British

The way we do things round here

Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, "Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us." That "quite" saddened me. I thought he was saying "we're kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else." Then I discovered that in American English "quite" sometimes means "very", while in British English it means "fairly".

So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don't just mean the words people speak. It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures（文化）．

Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate（气候），while getting on with business.

Some of the differences may be an improvement. People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again. However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality（准时）．If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece. I prefer not to use the word "late" because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive. It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.

1.The author was unhappy as mentioned in Paragraph 1 because he thought______．

 A. the American bank didn't think much of him

 B. the American bank might hire another person

 C. it's difficult to get used to American culture

 D. it's easy to misunderstand Americans

2.The word "highlights" in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.

 A. encourages  B. helps to narrow

 C. increases    D. draws attention to

3.According to the author, what should we do with most cultural differences?

A. Ask the native people for help.

B. Understand and accept them.

C. Do things in our own way.

D. Do in-depth research.

4.When invited to a party the people who are usually punctual are______.

A. Italians   B. Germans   C. Greeks  D. the British

The way we do things round here

Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, “Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us. ”That “quite” saddened me. I thought he was saying “we’ re kind of pleased you decided to join　us although I wish we had hired someone else.” Then I discovered that in American English “quite” sometimes means “very”, while in British English it means “fairly”.

So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don' t

just mean the words people speak. It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures（文化）．

Some of these differences may be only on the surface—dress, food and hours of work—while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate（气候），while getting on with business.

Some of the differences may be an improvement. People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again. However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality（准时）．If you invite people to a party at 7 o’ clock

your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the

American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece. I prefer not to use the word “late” because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive. It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.

1.The author was unhappy as mentioned in Paragraph 1 because he thought______．

    A. the American bank didn’ t think much of him

    B. the American bank might hire another person

    C. it’ s difficult to get used to American culture

    D. it’ s easy to misunderstand Americans

2.The word “highlights” in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.

    A. encourages                  B. helps to narrow

    C. increases                    D. draws attention to

3.According to the author, what should we do with most cultural differences?

    A. Ask the native people for help.

    B. Understand and accept them.

    C. Do things in our own way.

    D. Do in-depth research.

4.When invited to a party the people who are usually punctual are______.

    A. Italians 　　　B. Germans　　　 C. Greeks 　　　D. the British

The easiest way for the English to deal with their social discomfort is to avoid social interaction altogether, by choosing either leisure (闲暇) activities that can be performed in the privacy of one’s own house, or outdoor activities that follow their interest without direct contact with anyone other than one’s own family members, such as going for a walk, or to the cinema, or shopping．
In recent survey, over half of all the leisure activities were of this private domestic type, and of the top ten pastimes, only two—having friends round for a meal or drink, and going to the pub—could be described as ‘sociable’．The most domestic activities are the most popular: watching TV, listening to the radio, reading, DIY （Do It Yourself） and gardening．Even when the English are being sociable, the survey findings show that most of them would much rather entertain a few close friends or relatives in the safety of their own homes than venture out  among strangers．
In the latest national census survey （人口普查）, over half of the entire adult male population had been DIYing in the four weeks before the census date．Nearly a third of the female population had also been busily improving their homes, and their work with their gardens was equally obvious: 52 percent of all English males and 45 percent of females had been out there, cutting branches and weeding grass．
Even among people claiming to belong to a particular religion, only two percent attend services every week．The rest of the population can be found every Sunday at their local garden center or DIY superstore．And when they want a break from caring about their own homes and gardens, they go on trips to visit bigger and better houses and gardens, such as the stately homes and gardens opened to the public by the National Trust and the Royal Horticulture Society．Visiting grand country houses always ranks as one of the most popular national pastimes．
45．The result of the survey shows that ________.
A．about half English people enjoy working in their gardens
B．8 out of 10 pastimes can be described as social activities
C．2 percent of the religious people enjoy visits to public houses
D．visiting stately homes is the most popular national pastime
46．According to the passage, the English enjoy all of the following EXCEPT________.
A．the social activities, such as gathering with friends
B．working at home and in their gardens
C．dining out in a public place among strangers
D．visits to stately homes and gardens
47．The underlined word “domestic” probably means________.
A．public      B．household     C．outdoor           D．collective
48．The passage mainly tells us about________.
A．why the English don’t like social activities
B．how the English spend their leisure time
C．what the result of a recent census survey is
D．where the English hold their private activities

Surrounded by the towns of Davidson, Huntersville and Cornelius, Lake Norman is a man-made lake. It is also the largest lake in the state covering a shoreline of more than 500 miles. State Park on the lake gives a chance for different water activities.

People, both tourists and locals, come to the area on weekends, where during the peak season a large crowd arrives to relax and have fun. A great activity for kids is education except fun. The tour covers aquatic(水生的) life, especially that seen at Lake Norman. Since it is more of an educational one it also covers other important knowledge about water.

Those wanting to go boating are seen off into the lake on canoes and pedal boats which are rented on hourly basis. The charges are $5 per hour increased by $3 for every additional(附加的) hour. The boats can be kept on the lake all day from 10 in the morning till 5 in the evening during the summers. Both canoes and pedal boats can seat 2 to 4 people.

The park also set up a group tent camp, where a site can hold about 25 people. People from all over the country come here to catch some fishing action, obviously hoping to catch some fish as well. The inner park lake is also great for fishing, though it offers a smaller area compared to Lake Norman. Those here for adventure like to go for biking and hiking on the trails inside the park.

Lake Norman is a great place to spend time with family and friends. People come here on vacation or simply to kick back after a week’s work and relax.

1.From the passage we learn that Lake Norman is ______.      

A．the second largest lake in the USA

B．surrounded by the town of Davidson

C．not a natural one but made by people

D．about five hundred metres long

2.A large number of people came to the park ______. 

A．to watch the performances here            B．during the peak season

C．to have sports games                     D．all the year round

3.In what way does the park attract children except having fun?

A．Learning a lot.                          B．Catching fish.

C．Going hiking.                           D．Going cycling.

4.How much will you have to pay at least if the five of you want to go boating a day?

A．28 dollars.         B．36 dollars.         C．23 dollars.         D．46 dollars.

5.If you want to save more money you can ______.  

A．stay in the hotel that is near the park

B．come to the park in summer or spring

C．stay in the tent of the park for the night

D．fish in the small lake in the park