单选题 Nobody actually wants to cause offence but, as business becomes ever more international, it is increasingly easy to get it wrong. There may be a single European market but it does not mean that managers behave the same in Greece as they do in Denmark.
In many European countries handshaking is an automatic gesture. In France good manners require that on arriving at a business meeting a man should shake hands with everyone present. This can be a demanding task and, in a crowded room, may require gymnastic ability if the farthest hand is to be reached. Handshaking is almost as popular in some other countries, but Northern Europeans, such as the British and Scandinavians, are not quite so fond of physical demonstrations of friendliness.
In Europe the most common challenge is not the content of the food, but the way you behave as you eat. Some things are just not done. In France it is not good manners to raise tricky questions of business over the main course. Business has its place, after the cheese course. Unless you are prepared to eat in silence you have to talk about something—something, that is, other than the business deal which you are continually chewing over in your head.
In Germany, as you walk sadly back to your hotel room, you may wonder why your apparently friendly hosts have not invited you out for the evening. Don"t worry, it is probably nothing personal Germans do not entertain business people with quite the same enthusiasm as some of their European counterparts.
The Germans are also notable for the amount of formality they bring to business. As an outsider, it is often difficult to know whether colleagues have been working together for 30 years or have just met in the lift. If you are used to calling people by their first names this can be a little strange. To the Germans, titles are important. Forgetting that someone should be called Herr Doktor or Frau Direktorin might cause serious offence. It is equally offensive to call them by a title they do not possess.
In Italy the question of title is further confused by the fact that everyone with a university degree can be called Doctor—and engineers, lawyers and architects may also expect to be called by their professional titles.
These cultural challenges exist side by side with the problems of doing business in a foreign language. Language, of course, is full of difficulties—disaster may be only a syllable away. But the more you know of the culture of the country you are dealing with, the less likely you are to get into difficulties. It is worth the effort. It might be rather hard to explain that the reason you lost the contract was not the product or the price, but the fact that you offended your hosts in a light-hearted comment over an aperitif (开胃酒). Good manners are admired, they can also make or break the deal.
单选题 In which country are you not expected to shake hands with everyone you meet?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】细节题。文章第二段指出:but Northern Europeans are not quite so fond of physical demonstrations of friendliness.但是北欧人不太喜欢这种表达友好的身体接触。四个选项中只有挪威属于北欧。所以C项符合题意。
单选题 In which country people consider it a serious offence not to call their titles?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】细节题。文章第五段指出:To the Germans, titles are important.德国人很重视头衔,因此如果不叫他们的头衔有可能冒犯他们。所以D项符合题意。
单选题 Which of the following statements is TRUE?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】细节题。文章第六段指出:In Italy the question of title is further confused by the fact that everyone with a university degree can be called Doctor—and engineers, lawyers and architects may also expect to be called by their professional titles.在意大利,情况更加复杂,因为所有拥有大学学位的人都可以称为博士,而且工程师、律师和建筑师也喜欢被人们用头衔称呼。所以C项符合题意。
单选题 If you are not invited out for the evening by your business counterparts in Germany, that means ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】细节题。文章第四段指出:Don"t worry, it is probably nothing personal. Germans do not entertain business people with quite the same enthusiasm as some of their European counterparts.在德国,你也许很想知道为什么表面看起来很友好的主人不邀请你参加晚上的活动。别担心,这与私人无关。德国人并不像其他欧洲人那样热情地招待他们的生意伙伴,由此可见他们是没有这个意识,所以D项符合题意。
单选题 Which one below can NOT be a proper title for this passage?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】主旨题。文章的主旨是介绍良好社交礼仪的重要性。A、B、D都和礼仪有关,只有C强调的是做生意,没有表达文章的主旨,所以不适合做文章的标题。