题文
The way we do things round hereSome 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.
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．encouragesB．helps to narrowC．increasesD．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（准时的）are ______.A．ItaliansB．GermansC．GreeksD．the British 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:A
小题2:D
小题3:B
小题4:B
解析
试题解析：本文讲述了作者通过自己的亲身经历体会到的各国在文化、语言方面的差异，告诉我们一个道理：了解文化差异并且适应和接受文化的差异。
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。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“The way we do things.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
