“You speak very good English”
The other day I heard an American say to a Chinese student of English. “You
41 very good English.” But the student answered, “ No, my English is very poor.” The foreigner was quite
42 at the answer. Thinking he had not made himself
43 or the student had not heard him clearly, he said, “Yes, indeed, you speak it very well.” But the Chinese student still
44 saying “No”.
45 the foreigner gave up and didn’t know what to say.
What’s wrong with the student’s answer? It is because he didn’t accept a compliment as the American people
46 . He should have said “Thank you” instead of “No”. He actually understood what the American had said. But he thought he should be modest. If someone says to a woman, “ You look
47 beautiful with the new clothes
48 .” she should be very happy and answer, “Thank you.” In our country we think
49 modest is a virtue and showing off is a bad behavior. But in the West, if you are modest and say, “ No,
50 I can’t do it well,” then the others will take it for granted (理所當然)that you
51 can not do it. If you often say,“No”, you will certainly be looked down upon by
52 . When
53 for a job, if one says something like “Yes, I can certainly do it” instead of “ Let me have a try on the job”, he or she can expect to get it. So in the West, one should always be confident.
54 self-confidence, he can’t go anywhere. Confidence is of great
55 to one in a country where competition is quite keen.(激烈)
| 小題2: | | A．surprising | B．surprised | C．laughed | D．laughing |
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| 小題3: | | A．understood | B．understand | C．to understand | D．understanding |
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| 小題4: | | A．keep | B．keeping | C．keeps | D．kept |
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| 小題5: | | A．At first | B．By the way | C．In the end | D．First of all |
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| 小題9: | | A．being | B．be | C．having | D．have |
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| 小題10: | | A．I’m afraid | B．I’m not sure | C．I don’t mind | D．I don’t know |
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| 小題11: | | A．hardly | B．really | C．badly | D．luckily |
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| 小題12: | | A．another | B．other | C．the other | D．others |
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| 小題13: | | A．asking | B．ask | C．provide | D．providing |
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| 小題14: | | A．With | B．Without | C．by | D．under |
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| 小題15: | | A．importantly | B．unimportant | C．important | D．importance |
|
