It’s really true what people say about English politeness: it’s everywhere. When squeezing past someone in a narrow aisle, people say “sorry”. When getting off a bus, English passengers say “thank you” rather than the driver. In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things. After all, squeezing past others is sometimes unavoidable, and the bus driver is only doing his job. I used to think the same way, without questioning it, until I started travelling to the British Isles and came to appreciate some more polite ways of interacting (交往) with people.
People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time. When people buy something in a shop, customer and retail assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more. In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation. British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room. English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, as opposite to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough.
Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize others. Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me, my employers emphasized (强调) several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism. It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable. This also is showed in other ways. British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men. However, I do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men! Yes, the latter (后者) are a bit tightfisted.
小题1:
. What is the author’s attitude towards English politeness?
A．He thinks it is artificial.
B．He gives no personal opinion.
C．He appreciates it.
D．He thinks it goes too far.小题2:
What can we learn about customers and retail assistants in Germany?
A．A customer never says thank you to a retail assistant.
B．It’s always a retail assistant who says thank you.
C．They may say thank you only once.
D．they always say thank you to each other.小题3:
We can learn from the last paragraph that Scottish men __________.
A．are more likely to be involved in a fighting
B．are more polite than English men
C．treat women in a polite way
D．are not so willing to spend money for women小题4:
The author of this text is most probably ___________.
A．an Englishman
B．a German
C．a Scottish man
D．a Welshman小题5:
The author develops the text through the method of ____________.
A．making comparisons
B．telling stories
C．giving comments
D．giving reasons
