In the United States, it is not customary to telephone someone very early in the morning. If you telephone him early in the day, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very urgent and requires immediate attention. It is the same with telephone calls made after 11: 00 p. m. If someone receives a call during sleeping hour, he probably thinks it is a matter of life or death. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.

The meanings of time differ in different parts of the world. Thus, misunderstanding arises (出现)between people from cultures that treat time differently. In the United States, people tend to think of time as something fixed in nature, something from which one can not escape. As a rule, Americans think of time as a road into the future, along which one progresses. The road has many sections, which are to be kept separate...“one thing at a time”. Thus, an American may feel angry when he has made an appointment with someone and then finds a lot of other things happening at the same time.

Americans look ahead and are concerned (与……有关) almost entirely with the future. The American idea of the future is limited, however. It is the foreseeable future and not the future of involving(牵连) many centuries.

Since time has much different meanings in different cultures, communication is often difficult. We will understand each other a little if we can keep this fact in mind.

1. According to the passage an announcement made during the day in a factory must be very important because________.

A. it interrupts the work of all employees

B. it is made by the manager

C. it makes everyone lose his job

D. it communicates in many ways

2. In the United States, a phone call made after 11: 00 p. m. is considered________, in the view of the writer.

    A. as important as one made in the morning.

    B. Impolite since it disturbs the receiver’s sleep

    C. To be a threat (恐吓) to the receiver’s life

    D. Even more urgent than one made early in the morning

3. The expression “the foreseeable future” could be most suitably replaced by________.

    A. the future that will not be far away

    B. the future that one makes progress

    C. the future toward which one makes progress

    D. the future which involves centuries

4. The writer concludes that people of different countries will understand each other better if________.

    A. they know how to communicate with each other

    B. they are concerned with the future

    C. they learn the way time communicates

    D. they keep in mind that different cultures treat time differently

Time talks. It speaks more plainly (明白地) than words. Time communicates in many ways. Consider the different parts of the day, for example. The time of the day when something is done can give a special meaning to the event. Factory managers in the United States fully realize the importance of an announcement made during the middle of the morning or afternoon that takes everyone away from his work.

In the United States, it is not customary to telephone someone very early in the morning. If you telephone him early in the day, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very urgent and requires immediate attention. It is the same with telephone calls made after 11: 00 p. m. If someone receives a call during sleeping hour, he probably thinks it is a matter of life or death. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.

The meanings of time differ in different parts of the world. Thus, misunderstanding arises (出现)between people from cultures that treat time differently. In the United States, people tend to think of time as something fixed in nature, something from which one can not escape. As a rule, Americans think of time as a road into the future, along which one progresses. The road has many sections, which are to be kept separate...“one thing at a time”. Thus, an American may feel angry when he has made an appointment with someone and then finds a lot of other things happening at the same time.

Americans look ahead and are concerned (与……有关) almost entirely with the future. The American idea of the future is limited, however. It is the foreseeable future and not the future of involving(牵连) many centuries.

Since time has much different meanings in different cultures, communication is often difficult. We will understand each other a little if we can keep this fact in mind.

1. According to the passage an announcement made during the day in a factory must be very important because________.

A. it interrupts the work of all employees

B. it is made by the manager

C. it makes everyone lose his job

D. it communicates in many ways

2. In the United States, a phone call made after 11: 00 p. m. is considered________, in the view of the writer.

    A. as important as one made in the morning.

    B. Impolite since it disturbs the receiver’s sleep

    C. To be a threat (恐吓) to the receiver’s life

    D. Even more urgent than one made early in the morning

3. The expression “the foreseeable future” could be most suitably replaced by________.

    A. the future that will not be far away

    B. the future that one makes progress

    C. the future toward which one makes progress

    D. the future which involves centuries

4. The writer concludes that people of different countries will understand each other better if________.

    A. they know how to communicate with each other

    B. they are concerned with the future

    C. they learn the way time communicates

    D. they keep in mind that different cultures treat time differently

Ideas about polite behavior re different from one culture to another,．Some societies, such as America and Australia, for example, are mobile and very open. People here change jobs and move house quite often．As a result, they have a lot of relationships that often last only a short time, so it’s normal to have friendly conversations with people that they have just met, and you can talk about things that other cultures would regard as personal．

On the other hand there are more crowded and less mobile societies where long-term relationships are more important．A Malaysian or Mexican business person, for example, will want to get to know you very well before he or she feels happy to start business．But when you do get to know each other, the relationship becomes much deeper than it would in a mobile society．

To Americans, both Europeans and Asians seem cool and formal at first．On the other hand, as a passenger from a less mobile society put it, it’s no fun spending several hours next to a stranger who wants to tell you all about his or her life and asks you all sorts of questions that you don’t want to answer．

Cross-cultural differences aren’t just a problem for travelers, but also for the flights that carry them．All flights want to provide the best service, but ideas about good service are different place to place．This can be seen most clearly in the way that problems are dealt with．

Some societies have “universalist” cultures．These societies strongly respect rules, and they treat every person and situation in basically the same way．“Particularist” societies, on the other hand, also have rules, but they are less important than the society’s unwritten ideas about what is right or wrong for a particular situation or a particular person．So the normal rules are changed to fit the needs of the situation or the importance of the person．

This difference can cause problems．A traveler from a particularist society, India, is checking in for a flight in Germany, a country which has a universalist culture．The Indian traveler has too much luggage, but he explains that he has been away from home for a long time and the suitcases are full of presents for his family．He expects that the check-in official will understand his problem and will change the rules for him．The check-in official explains that if he was allowed to have too much luggage, it wouldn’t be fair to the other passengers．But the traveler thinks this is unfair, because the other passengers don’t have his problem．

1．People like Malaysians prefer to associate with those         ．

       A．who will tell them everything of their own

       B．who want to do business with them

       C．they know quite well

       D．who are good at talking

2．A person from a less mobile society will feel it      when a stranger keeps talking to him or her, and asking him or her questions．

       A．boring                 B．friendly               C．normal                D．rough

3．Which of the following is true about “particularist societies?”

       A．There is no rule for people to obey．

       B．People obey the society’s rules completely．

       C．No one obeys the society’s rules though they have．

       D．The society’s rules can be changed with different persons or situations．

4．The writer of the passage thinks that the Indian and the German have different ideas about rules because of different       ．

       A．interests                                              B．habits and customs 

       C．cultures                                              D．ways of life