The way we do things round here
Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us. That quite saddened me. I thought he was saying we're kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else. Then I discovered that in American English quite sometimes means very, while in British English it means fairly.
So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don't just mean the words people speak. It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures（文化）．
Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate（气候），while getting on with business.
Some of the differences may be an improvement. People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again. However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality（准时）．If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece. I prefer not to use the word late because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive. It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.
【小题1】The author was unhappy as mentioned in Paragraph 1 because he thought ．A．the American bank didn't think much of himB．the American bank might hire another personC．it's difficult to get used to American cultureD．it's easy to misunderstand Americans【小题2】The word highlights in Paragraph 2 probably means .A．encourages B．helps to narrowC．increases D．draws attention to【小题3】According to the author, what should we do with most cultural differences?A．Ask the native people for help.B．Understand and accept them.C．Do things in our own way.D．Do in-depth research.【小题4】When invited to a party the people who are usually punctual are .A．Italians B．Germans C．Greeks D．the BritishA
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(答案→)A
解析：文章大意：本文是一篇说明文。文章通过对比英美文化的不同，介绍了我们做事方式的差异。
【小题1】事实细节题。从文章第一段分析，作者对于“quite”一词的理解偏差导致了作者心情不愉快。因为作者认为这家美国银行并没有器重他。故选 A。
【小题2】猜测词义题。由文章第二段可知，无论我们说话还是做事，必须要注意我们文化之间的差异性。many of the differences we see between cultures 就是我们要注意的内容。highlight 本意“强调”，此处表示“注意”。故选 D。
【小题3】推理判断题。由文章第三段信息句 Mostly， is just a question of getting used to the differences and itaccepting them，like the climate，while getting on with business.可知，适应文化差异就像在外出差适应当地的气候一样，学会适应和接受。故本题选 B。
【小题4】事实细节题。由第四段信息句 If you invite people to a party at 7 oclock your guests will consider itpolite to turn up exactly on time in Germany 可知，德国人是最准时的人。故选 B。