2. 外语
  3. Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal but that the gesture we use is understoo

Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal but that the gesture we use is understoo

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问题     Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal but that the gesture we use is 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 German after World War II and marked the 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 and cultural blindness and the casualness with which we take no notice of the tastes, gestures, customs and languages of other countries, are losing us friends, business and respect in the world.
    Even here in the 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. The 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, America and Americans could get by with cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance. After all, America was the most powerful country of the free world, the distributor of needed funds and goods.
    But all that is past. 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 may not always be the upper land.
The author’s intention in writing this article is to make Americans realize that
选项 A、it is dangerous to ignore their foreign friends
B、it is important to maintain their leading role in world affairs
C、it is necessary to use several languages in public places
D、it is time to get acquainted with other cultures
答案D
解析 主旨题。纵观全文，作者指出美国人如何无视别国文化，而现在行不通了，所以为了继续保持在世界事务中的重要位置，该是美国人了解别国文化的时候了。A忽视外国朋友是危险的；B保持在世界事务中的重要位置是重要的；C在公众场合使用多种外语是必要的，都不能概括本文的中心意思。答案是D。
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