2. 外语
  3. Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal but that the gestures we me are understo

Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal but that the gestures we me are understo

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问题     Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal but that the gestures we me are understood by everyone. We do not realize that waving good-bye is the way to summon (召唤)a person from the Philippines to one’s side, or that in Italy and some Latin-American countries, curling the finger to oneself is a sign of farewell.
    Those private citizens who sent packages to. our troops occupying Germany after World War II and marked them GIFT to escape duty payments did not bother to find out that "Gift" means poison in German.  Moreover, we like to think of ourselves as friendly, yet we prefer to be at least 3 feet or an arm’s length away from others. Latins and Middle Easterners like to come closer and touch, which makes Americans  uncomfortable. Our linguistic (语言上的) and cultural blindness and the casualness with which we take notice of the developed tastes, gestures, customs and languages of other countries, are. losing us friends, business and respect in the world.
    Even here in tile United States, we make few concessions to the needs of foreign visitors. There are no information signs in four languages on our public buildings or monuments; we do not have multilingual (多语言的) guided tours. Very few restaurant menus have translations, and multilingual waiters, bank clerks and policemen are rare. Our transportation systems have maps in English only and often we ourselves  have difficulty understanding them.
    When we go abroad, we tend to cluster(聚集)in hotels and restaurants where English is spoken. Then attitudes and information we pick up are conditioned by those natives—usually the richer—who speak English. Our business dealings, as well as the nation’s diplomacy(外交), are conducted through interpreters.
    For many years, American dollars no longer buy all good things, and we are slowly beginning to realize  that our proper role in the world is changing. A 1979 Harris poll reported that 55 percent of Americans  want this country to play a more significant role in world affairs; we want to have a hand in the important  decisions of the next century, even though it [nay not always be the upper hand.
The author gives many examples to criticize Americans for their______.
选项 A、cultural self-centeredness
B、casual manners
C、indifference towards foreign visitors
D、arrogance towards other cultures
答案A
解析 主旨题。本题问的是：作者用很多例子批评美国人的______。第2段举了二战时期的例子和美国人对待和他人之间距离的问题来说明美国人对其他国家的风俗、手势、语言等的不重视。第3段举了美国人很少考虑语言给外国游客带来不便的例子。第4段举了美国人喜欢去讲英语的酒店和饭店，对外国的了解仅从说英语的有钱人那里获取信息，以及外交也是通过翻译来完成的例子。这一切都表明美国人的文化中心主义，故选A 。
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大学英语四级

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