______ [br] [originaltext]Passage 1: In many Western societies, including t

Passage 1:
   In many Western societies, including the United States, a person who does not maintain "good eye contact" is regarded as being slightly suspicious. Americans unconsciously associate people who avoid eye contact as unfriendly, insecure, untrustworthy, inattentive and impersonal. However, in contrast, Japanese children are taught in school to direct their gaze at the region of their teacher’s neck or tie knot, and, as adults, Japanese lower their eyes when speaking to a superior, which is a gesture of respect. Latin American cultures, as well as some African cultures, have longer looking time, but prolonged eye contact from an individual of lower status is considered disrespectful.
Passage 2
   In the United States today, many college graduates claim bankruptcy so that they can avoid repaying money they borrowed from the federal government to finance their education. In fact, more than 300,000 student borrowers now owed the government over $ 500 million. Statistics show that students are not good risks. Whereas the student default rate now stands at over 12 percent, banks report that nonstudent loan delinquency seldom exceeds 3 percent. Apparently, the lack of money is not the only reason for nonpayment. A US government department found that 300 of its employees, some currently earning up to $ 63,000, had defaulted on student loans.