单选题 The English have the reputation of being very different from all other nationalities. It is claimed that living on an island separated from the rest of Europe has much to do with it. Whatever the reasons, it may be fairly stated that the Englishman has developed some attitudes and habits distinguishing him from other nationalities.
Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a quiet, shy, and reserved person among people he knows well. Before strangers he often seems inhibited, even embarrassed. You have only to witness a railway compartment any morning or evening to see the truth. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or dozing (打盹) in a corner, and no one speaks. An English wit once suggested to overseas visitors, "On entering a railway compartment shake hands with all the passengers." Needless to say, he was not being serious. There is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior, which, if broken, makes the person immediately the object of suspicion.
It is well known that the English seldom show openly extremes of enthusiasm, emotion etc. Of course, Englishman feels no less than any other nationality. Imagine a man commenting on the great beauty of a young girl. A man of more emotional temperament might describe her as "a marvelous jewel", while the Englishman will flatly state "Um, she"s all right." An Englishman may recommend a highly successful and enjoyable film to friends by commenting, "It"s not bad." The overseas visitors must not be disappointed by this apparent lack of interest. They must realize that "all right", "not bad" are very often used with the sense of "first class", "excellent". This special use of language is particularly common in English.
单选题 One explanation for the different character of English people is that ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。由文章第一段第二句可知，英国人与其他国家的人性格之所以不同，与他们居住在一个与其他欧洲国家隔绝的孤岛上有很大的关系，所以A正确。
单选题 The word "inhibited" (Line 2, Para. 2) in this passage probably means ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 词语理解题。结合上文的“the Englishman is a quiet, shy, reserved person among people he knows well”可知，在熟人面前，英国人都是安静、害羞、少言寡语的，由此推断，他们见到陌生人，更会感到拘束和紧张，所以B正确。
单选题 According to the passage, on entering a railway compartment, an overseas visitor is expected to ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 推理判断题。结合文章第二段引述的进入车厢时应该和所有乘客握手和“Needless to say, he was not being serious”可知，引述部分只是一句戏言，作者真正想要表达的意思是外国人不能违背英国人那一套行为规则，所以D正确。
单选题 The English way of commenting on something or somebody suggests that ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 推理判断题。文章第三段指出，英国人很少公开表露极端的热情和情感，尽管英国人的感受并不比其他人的少，随后列举的英国人谦虚、冷漠的表达方式都表明了英国人对情感的节制。所以C正确。
单选题 What does the passage mainly discuss?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 主旨大意题。文章主要谈了英国人缄默、情感不外露的性格特征及其形成的原因，所以B正确。