单选题 Do you think that all human beings have a "comfort zone" regulating the distance they stand from someone when they talk? This distance varies in interesting ways among people of different cultures. Greeks, others of the Eastern Mediterranean, and many of those from South America normally stand quite close together when they talk, often moving their faces even closer as they warm up in a conversation. North Americans find this awkward and often back away a few inches. Studies have found that they tend to feel most comfortable at about 21 inches apart. In much of Asia and Africa. there is even more space between two speakers in conversation. This greater space subtly lends an air of dignity and respect. This mater of space is nearly always unconscious, but it is interesting to observe. This difference applies also to the closeness with which people sit together, the extent to which they lean over one another in conversation, how they move as they argue or make an emphatic point. In the United States, for example, people try to keep their bodies apart even in a crowded elevator, in Paris they take it as it comes! Although North Americans have a relatively wide "comfort zone" for talking, they communicate a great deal with their hands — not only with gesture but also with touch. They put a sympathetic hand on a person's shoulder to demonstrate warmth of feeling or an arm around him in sympathy; they nudge a man in the ribs to emphasize a funny story; they put an arm in reassurance or stroke a child's head in affection; they readily take someone's arm to help him cross a street or direct him along an unfamiliar route. To many people — especially those from Asia or the Moslem countries — such bodily contact is unwelcome, especially if inadvertently done with the left hand. The left hand carries no special significance in the U. S. Many Americans are simply left-handed and use that hand more.
单选题 In terms of bodily distance, North Americans______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:信息推断题。文中第二段第二句中find this awkward与B选项中feel ill at ease“不自在”意义相近。故答案为C。
单选题 It can be inferred from the passage that in a crowded elevator, a Frenchmen______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析:信息推断题。文中第三段末句提及在美国,人们在拥挤的电梯也要保持距离,而在巴黎,人们则会顺其自然。由此可知,B选项中提及“法国人不会刻意去保持距离”与原文意义一致。故答案为B。
单选题 An American puts his hand on another man's shoulder______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:信息推段题。文中末段第二句提及美国人会把他们的手搭在别人的肩膀上以示安慰,表达温暖之情。warmth of feelings与选项C中的friendliness意义一致。故C选项符合语义。
单选题 The passage mainly concerns______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:主旨思想题。文章首段提及“舒适区域”以及不同文化的人对距离的理解不同。在随后的段落里具体说明亚洲人和北美、南美人对于距离感的认知区别,由此可知,本文主要讨论东西方文化的差异。故答案为C。