The English, as a race, are very different from ail other nationalities, includi

The English, as a race, are verydifferent from ail other nationalities, including their closest neighbors, theFrench, Belgians and Dutch. It is claimed that living on an island separatedfrom the rest of Europe has much to do with it. Whatever the reasons, it may befairly stated that the Englishman has developed many attitudes and habits whichdistinguish him from other nationalities.

Broadly speaking, the Englishmanis a quiet, shy, reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people heknows well. In the presence of strangers or foreigners he often seemsinhibited, even embarrassed. You have only to witness a city train any morningor evening to see the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sitreading their newspapers or having a light sleep in a comer; no one speaks. Infact, to do so would seem most unusual. An Englishman, pretending to be givingadvice to an overseas visitor, once suggested, “On entering a railway carriageshake hands with all the passengers.” Needless to say, he was not beingserious. There is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which,if broken, makes the person immediately suspect.

In many parts of the world it isquite normal to show openly extremes of enthusiasm, emotion, excitement, etc,often accompanied by appropriate gestures. The Englishman is somewhatdifferent. Of course, an Englishman feels no less deeply than any othernationality, but he tends to display his feelings far less. This is reflectedin his use of language. Imagine a men commenting on the great beauty of a younggirl. Whereas a more emotional men might describe her as “an excellent jewel”,“extremely beautiful”, “precious”, the Englishman will taffy state “Um, she'sall right”. An Englishman who has seen a highly successful and enjoyable filmrecommends it to a friend by commenting, “It's not bad, you know,” or on seeingvery unusual scenery he might convey his pleasure by saying, “Nice, yes, verynice.” The overseas visitor must not be disappointed  by this apparent lack of interest and involvement; he mustrealize that “all right”, “not bad”, and "nice", very often  have the sense of “first-class”,“excellent”, “beautiful”. This special use of language, particularly common inEngland, is known as restrained statement.

 1. If one doesn't want to be suspected in public, he had better

  A. behaverelaxedB. shake hands with all people he meets

  C. talk withothers D. keep quiet

 2. The word “inhibited” (Para. 2) most nearly means——.

  A.friendly B. polite

  C.afraid   D. restrained (拘谨的)

 3. According to the passage, the Englishman——.

  A. has lessfeeling than other nationalities

  B. hasemotions as deep as any other nationalities

  C. expressesemotion by use of his language

  D. likes tohave a joke with foreign visitors

 4. An Englishman's saying “all right” usually has the sense of——.

  A. notbad B.quite right

  C. fairlygood D. very good

试题答案

答案：1D 2 D 3 B 4D