单选题Questions 16-20 The
tourist trade is booming. With all this coming and going, you'd
expect greater understanding to develop between the nations of the world.
Not a bit of it! Superb systems of communication by air, sea and land make it
possible for us to visit each other's countries at a moderate cost. What was
once the "grand tour", reserved for only the very rich, is now within
everybody's grasp. The package tour and chartered flights are not to be
sneered at. Modern travelers enjoy a level of comfort which the lords and
ladies on grand tours in the old days couldn't have dreamed of. But what's the
sense of this mass exchange of populations if the nations of the world remain
basically ignorant of each other? Many tourist organizations
are directly responsible for this state of affairs. They deliberately set out to
protect their clients from too much contact with the local population. The
modern tourist leads a cosseted, sheltered life. He lives at international
hotels, where he eats his international food and sips his international drink
while he gazes at the natives from a distance. Conducted tours to places of
interest are carefully censored. The tourist is allowed to see only what the
organizers want him to see and no more. A strict schedule makes it impossible
for the tourist to wander off on his own; and anyway, language is always a
barrier, so he is only too happy to be protected in this way. At its very worst,
this leads to a new and hideous kind of colonization. The summer quarters of the
inhabitants are temporarily reestablished on the island of Corfu.
Blackpool is recreated at Torremolinos where the traveler goes not to eat
paella, but fish and chips. The sad thing about this situation
is that it leads to the persistence of national stereotypes. We don't see the
people of other nations as they really are, but as we have been brought up to
believe they are. You can test this for yourself. Take five nationalities, say,
French, German, English, American and Italian. Now in your mind, match them with
these five adjectives: musical, amorous, cold, pedantic, native. Far from
providing us with any insight into the national characteristics of the peoples
just mentioned, these adjectives actually act as barriers. So when you set
out on your travels, the only characteristics you notice are those which confirm
your preconceptions. You come away with the highly unoriginal and inaccurate
impression that, say, "Anglo-Saxons are hypocrites" or that "Latin peoples shout
a lot". You only have to make a few foreign friends to understand how absurd and
harmful national stereotypes are. But how can you make foreign friends when the
tourist trade does its best to prevent you? Carried to an
extreme, stereotypes can be positively dangerous. Wild generalizations stir up
racial hatred and blind us to the basic fact--how trite it sounds! That all
people are human. We are all similar to each other and at the same time all
unique.
单选题
The best title for this passage is ______.
A. tourism contributes nothing to increasing understanding between
nations
B. tourism is tiresome
C. conducted tour is dull
D. tourism really does something to one's country
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】
单选题
What is the author's attitude toward tourism? ______
A. Apprehensive.
B. Negative.
C. Critical.
D. Appreciative.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】
单选题
Which word in the following is the best to summarize the sentence,
"Latin people shout a lot. "? ______
A. Silent.
B. Noisy.
C. Lively.
D. Active.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】
单选题
The purpose of the author's criticism is to point out ______.
A. conducted tour is disappointing
B. the way of touring should be changed
C. when traveling, you notice characteristics which confirm
preconception
D. national stereotypes should be changed
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】
单选题
What is "grand tour" now? ______
A. Moderate cost.
B. Local sight-seeing is investigated by the tourist organization.