阅读理解。
The English, as a race, are very different in many ways from all other nationalities, including their closest
neighbors, the French and the Belgians. It is claimed that living on an island separated from the rest of the
Europe has much to do with it. Whatever the reasons are, it may be fairly stated that the Englishman has
developed many attitudes and habits which distinguish him from other nationalities.
Broadly speaking, an Englishman is a quiet, shy, reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people
he knows well. In the presence of strangers or foreigners he often seems restrained, even embarrassed. You
have only to witness a city train any morning or evening to see the truth of this. Serious looking men and
women sit reading their newspapers of having a light sleep in a corner, no one speaks. In fact, to do so would
seem most unusual. An Englishman, pretending to be giving advice to overseas visitors, once suggested, "On
entering a railway carriage, shake hands with all the passengers." Needless to say, he was not being serious.
There is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, if broken, makes the person immediately
suspected.
In many parts of the world it is quite normal to show openly extremes of enthusiasm, emotion, excitement,
etc., often accompanied by appropriate gestures. The Englishman is somewhat different. Of course, an
Englishman feels no less deeply than any one of a different nationality, but he tends to display his feelings far
less. This is reflected in his use of language. Imagine a man commenting on the great beauty of a young girl.
Whereas a more emotional man might describe her as "an excellent jewel", "extremely beautiful", and "precious",
the Englishman will flatly state "Oh, she's all right." An Englishman who has seen a highly successful and
enjoyable film recommends it to a friend by commenting, "It's not bad you know." or on seeing very unusual
scenery he might convey his pleasure by saying. "Nice, yes, very nice." The overseas visitor must not be
disappointed by this apparent lack of interest and involvement. Instead, he must realize that "all right", "not bad",
and"nice", very often have the sense of "first-class", "excellent", and "beautiful". This use of language of a
unique style, particularly common in England is known as restrained statement.
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1. From the passage people can infer that the English are different from other nationalities mainly in _____. [ ]
A. attitudes
B. characters
C. habits
D. all the above
2. If one doesn't want to be suspected in pubic, he had better _____. [ ]
A. follow the English code of behavior
B. shake hands with all the people he meets
C. talk with others
D. keep quiet
3. The underlined word "restrained" in paragraph 2 most probably means _____.[ ]
A. friendly and kind
B. polite and graceful
C. afraid and frightened
D. calm and controlled
4. According to the passage, the Englishman _____. [ ]
A. has less feelings than other nationalities
B. has emotions as deep as any other nationalities
C. is liable to express emotion by means of language
D. likes to have a joke with foreign visitors
5. An Englishman's saying "all right" usually expresses the meaning of "_____". [ ]
A. not bad
B. quite right
C. not good
D. very good
