首页
登录
职称英语
Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language i
Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language i
游客
2024-08-18
50
管理
问题
Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal but that the gestures we use are understood by everyone. We do not realize that waving good-bye is the way to summon 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 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 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 guided tour. 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 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, are conducted through interpreters.
For many years, America and Americans could get by with cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance. After all, American 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. [br] The author’s intention in writing the 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
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3725280.html
相关试题推荐
OurculturehascausedmostAmericanstoassumenotonlythatourlanguagei
Alanguageisasystemofsounds,gestures,orcharactersusedbyhumansto
Alanguageisasystemofsounds,gestures,orcharactersusedbyhumansto
Alanguageisasystemofsounds,gestures,orcharactersusedbyhumansto
Mostsorethroatsarecausedbyaninfectionwhichtreatmentwithantibiotic
Insomespeechcommunities,twolanguagesareusedsidebysidewitheachhaving
Itiswellknownthatsomeculturesprefersonstodaughters.Incontrast,s
Itiswellknownthatsomeculturesprefersonstodaughters.Incontrast,s
Itiswellknownthatsomeculturesprefersonstodaughters.Incontrast,s
Itiswellknownthatsomeculturesprefersonstodaughters.Incontrast,s
随机试题
[originaltext]Areyougoingoutforlunchnow?(A)Ineedmoretimetostudyth
MostofChina’sinternetusersgoonlinetochatorseekentertainmentrathe
真核生物蛋白质合成的特点是( )。A.先转录,后翻译 B.边转录,边翻译
认真贯彻落实”安全第一、预防为主、综合治理”的方针,实现“()一般事故、()较大
资产评估专业人员采用资产基础法对甲公司股东全部权益进行评估,评估基准日为2017
下列哪项不是霍乱腹泻的特点?A.先呕吐后腹泻 B.无里急后重 C.多数
普通股每股税后利润变动率与息税前利润变动率的比值称为( )A.联合杠杆 B.
我国航天事业中,首次实现月球表面软着陆的是()。A.嫦娥三号 B.天宫一号
某公司注册资本未500万元,该公司年终召开董事会研究公司财务问题。在该董事会的决
(2013年真题)城市地下冷库一般都多设在()。A.城市中心 B.城市郊区
最新回复
(
0
)