阅读理解

There is so much more meaning to a message than what exists in the spoken or written words.For example, if a person says,"you know, Barbara, I really like you", it has different meaningsdepending on whether it is said by a man or woman, in an office or a bar. Context, the tone ofvoice, the stress put on certain words, as well as the eye contact, physical distance, and therelationship between the speaker and the listener are all factors that give meaning to what's being said.Sometimes, these factors can generate much more meaning than the words themselves. Ifa friend says to me,"Gee, I can't wait to see the result of the upcoming election",myinterpretation of that message will be based upon my knowledge of my friend's political views, thesituation with the current campaign, and my ability to understand the meaning behind the tone ofvoice.

Our ability to understand such a cue is developed without us being aware of it through ourprocess of socialization. Our interpretation of these cues just comes naturally. Every culture has itsown set of culture cues that each member of that culture understands. It's common how a personfrom culture A and a person from culture B interpret the very same words in totally different ways.Here are some examples:

When"Sarcasm"Means"Sincerity"

Marsha thought things were doing well with her new French friends, particularly Bertrand. Heoften invited her to interesting and fun events, but he was often making fun of her. One day at an artexhibition, while looking at a particularly abstract piece, Marsha said that she couldn't understandwhat the artist was trying to express. Bertrand smiled and responded,"Yes, I'm afraid French artis far too advanced for Americans to understand.” Marsha was upset. She really liked him andcouldn't figure out what caused him to frequently make fun of her. So, she asked her host motherabout it."My dear," the host mother told her,"this means that he really likes you. In France,when someone feels comfortable enough to make fun of you, that means that you have beenwelcomed as a very close friend."

When"Now"Doesn't Mean"Now"

Joshua, an American student in Heredia, called his Costa Rican partner to meet for coffee.When he asked what time they should meet, the response was "Nos encontramos ahora enelparquet"."Ahora"literally means now. So, he grabbed his jacket and headed straight to the parkwhere they agreed to meet. Half an hour later, his friend arrived without the least sign of regret forbeing late. After discussing the matter with his Spanish teacher, Joshua learned that in Costa Rica,"Ahora"means sometime within the hour. And, if people decide to meet someplace like a park, itis no problem for one or the other to wait for a while because they will spend some nice time in thepark, probably running into some other friends, or meeting someone friendly.

When"Yes"Doesn't Mean"Yes”

Many business people might have experienced this frustrating situation in Japan. Sarah,ayoung businesswoman from New York, was sent to Japan to a big deal for her company. While givingher presentation, she became more and more certain of the sale because her Japanese businesspartners continually nodded their heads as she spoke. When she finished, she thought the deal wasmade and asked when they would like to sign the agreement. She was shocked when she was toldthat they were not yet sure whether they wanted to make the deal or not. What Sarah did not know isthat in Japan, nodding the head does not necessarily mean "yes" as it does in the U.S. It can alsomean "yes, I am listening and understanding what you are saying."

These stories provide just a few examples of how language skills are simply not enough toachieve effective communication in another culture. To get the most of your international learningexperience, focusing on gaining cross-cultural skills will enable you to do the following:

· understand how culture affects communication;

· deal with behavior that seems to you strange or offensive;

· learn from your cultural adaptation process;

· communicate more effectively.

These skills will also help you when you learn a new language.After all, language is areflection of the culture from which it developed.


单选题 This passage tells us that_______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】根据第一段第一句"There is so much more meaning to a message thanwhat exists in the spoken or written words."和第六段第一句“...of how language skillsare simply not enough to achieve effective communication in another culture.”可知，信息的意义远比口头或书面的文字要多得多；这些故事举例说明了在另一种文化中，语言技能不足以实现有效交流，即对于跨文化交流，仅有语言技能是不够的。故选C。
单选题 According to the passage, all the following statements are NOT true except _______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】根据第二段第一句"Our ability to understand such a cue is developedwithout us being aware of it through our process of socialization.”可知，我们理解文化暗示的能力是通过社会化的过程获得的，所以A项不正确；根据第三段中的“..thismeans that he really likes you…"可知，Marsha的朋友Bertrand很喜欢她，所以B项不正确；根据第四段内容可知，文中并没有说在哥斯达黎加人们经常赴约迟到而且丝毫不感到抱歉，所以C项不正确；根据第五段倒数第二句“…in Japan,nodding the headdoes not necessarily mean 'yes' as it does in the U.S.”可知，在日本，点头所表示的意思与在美国表示的意思大相径庭，所以D项正确。故选D。
单选题 The stories told in the passage show that language skills are not enough for people to communicate effectively in_______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】根据第六段第一句"These stories provide just a few examples of howlanguage skills are simply not enough to achieve effective communication in anotherculture.”可知，在另一种文化中进行有效地交流，仅拥有语言技能是不够的。故选B。
单选题 _________will also be helpful when we learn a new language.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】根据第六段第二句“...focusing on gaining cross-cultural skills will enableyou to do the following…”和最后一段第一句"These skills will also help you when youlearn a new language."可知，These skills指代上文中的cross-cultural skills(跨文化交际技能),即在学习一种新语言时，跨文化交际技能是很有用的。故选A。