One day, I heard an American boy say to a Chinese girl student, “You speak very good English.” But the girl answered, “No, no. My English is very poor.” The foreigner was quite 1 at the answer. Thinking he had not made 2 understood or the girl had not 3 him clearly, he said, “Yes, indeed, you speak very well.” 4 the girl still kept saying, “No.” In the end the American boy could not understand and didn’t know 5 to say.
What’s wrong with the girl’s answer? She didn’t 6 a pliment (恭维) in the same way as the American people do. She should answer, “Thank you” instead of “No”. She 7 understood what the American boy had said, but she thought she should be modest. In the 8 , people will feel proud and 9 when they are praised . So if someone says the 10 you have cooked are very delicious, you should say, “Thank you.”
In our country we think being modest is a virtue (美德) and being proud is a bad thing , but in my opinion, being confident does not 11 being proud, so sometimes you should be confident 12 being modest.
13 you are modest and say, “No, I’m afraid I can’t do it well”, while working in a western country, the others may think that you really cannot do it. If you often say “No”, you will certainly be looked down upon by 14 . When asking for a job, if one says something like “Yes, I can certainly do it” instead of “Let me have a try”, he or she will 15 get it. So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence.
【小题1】A．excitedB．surprisedC．relaxedD．frightened【小题2】A．itselfB．herselfC．himselfD．themselves【小题3】A．heardB．watchedC．listened to D．looked at【小题4】A．ThoughB．AlthoughC．OrD．But【小题5】A．whenB．whichC．whatD．how【小题6】A．receiveB．acceptC．refuseD．disagree【小题7】A．hardlyB．reallyC．rarelyD．badly【小题8】A．eastB．southC．westD．north【小题9】A．dutifulB．modestC．shamefulD．confident【小题10】A．dishesB．cupsC．glassesD．bowls【小题11】A．thinkB．sayC．askD．mean【小题12】A．as soon as B．as well as C．instead ofD．in spite of【小题13】A．Unless B．UntilC．WhetherD．If【小题14】A．anotherB．the otherC．the othersD．others【小题15】A．fail to B．expect toC．succeed in D．believe inB
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(答案→)B
解析：短文属于议论文。作者通过对中西方文化的差异的描述，阐明自己的观点：有时候我们应该用自信代替谦虚。
【小题1】由于文化背景不同，外国人对中国人的回答感到惊讶。
【小题2】made oneself understood （使他人）明白，此处需要用he的反身代词。
【小题3】这里是“没听清”的意思，强调听的结果，用hear；前面用了had，动词用过去分词，构成过去完成时。
【小题4】男孩原以为女孩不明白，重复一篇后，仍旧未听到女孩符合常理的回答，这是出乎男孩意料的。前后意思有所转折，因此用but。
【小题5】what to say“不知说什么”，其中what是say逻辑宾语；且say是及物动物，必须跟宾语，排除A、D选项；这里的说话内容没有选项，也排除which。
【小题6】根据句意，“像美国人那样…”指的是“接受恭维”，排除C、D；accept“接受”，receive“接收”。
【小题7】根据情节，她不是不明白男孩所说的话，因此使用肯定结构。
【小题8】这里面的内容，属于西方文化。
【小题9】通过第三段和最后一段可知，西方人想表现“自信”。
【小题10】这里指饭菜。
【小题11】这里是“意思是，意谓”。
【小题12】这是作者的观点：用自信代替谦虚。
【小题13】本段做了几个并排的假设，此处要跟下文一致，用If。
【小题14】表示复数，泛指他人。
【小题15】expect to do 期待去做；期望做某事。