阅读理解Timetalks．Itspeaksmoreplainly(明白地)thanwords．Timecommunicates(交流)inmanyways．Considerthedifferentpartsofthedayforexample．Thedaywhensomething

Question

阅读理解

　　Time talks．It speaks more plainly(明白地)than words．Time communicates(交流)in many ways．

　　Consider the different parts of the day for example．The day when something is done can give a special meaning to the event．Factory managers in the United States fully realize the importance of an announcement made during the middle of the morning or afternoon that takes everyone away from his work．

　　In the United States it is not customary to telephone someone very early in the morning．If you telephone him early in the day while he is shaving or having breakfast the time of the call shows that the matter is very urgent and requires immediate attention．It is the same with telephone calls made after 11：00pm．If someone receives a call during sleeping hours he probably thinks it is a matter of life or death．The time chosen for the call communicates its importance．

　　The meanings of time differ in different parts of the world．Thus misunderstanding arises(出现)between people from cultures that treat time differently．In the United States people tend to think of time as something fixed in nature something from which one can not escape．As a rule Americans think of time as a road into the future along which one progresses．The road has many sections which are to be kept separate “one thing at a time”．Thus an American may feel angry when he has made an appointment(约会)with someone and then finds a lot of other things happening at the same time．

　　Americans look ahead and are concerned almost entirely with the future．The American idea of the future is limited however．It is the foreseeable future and not the future of involving(牵连)many centuries．

　　Since time has much different meanings in different cultures communication is often difficult．We will understand each other a little better if we can keep this fact in mind．

(1)

According to the passage an announcement made during the day in a factory must be very important because ________．
[　　]
A．	it interrupts the work of all employees
B．	it is made by the manager
C．	it makes everyone lose his job
D．	it communicates in many ways

(2)

In the United States a phone call made after 11：00pm．is considered ________ in the view of the writer．
[　　]
A．	as important as one made in the morning
B．	impolite since it disturbs the receiver’s sleep
C．	to be a threat to the receiver’s life
D．	even more urgent than one made early in the morning

(3)

An American may feel angry if ________．
[　　]
A．	he is to deal with many things at one appointed time
B．	people from different cultures misunderstand him
C．	he cannot escape from something fixed in nature
D．	others do not keep things separate

(4)

The expression “the foreseeable future” could be most suitably replaced by ________．
[　　]
A．	the future that will not be far away
B．	the future that one looks forward to
C．	the future toward which one makes progress
D．	the future which involves centuries

(5)

The writer concludes that people of different countries will understand each other better if．
[　　]
A．	they know how to communicate with each other
B．	they are concerned with the future
C．	they learn the way time communicates
D．	they keep in mind that different cultures treat time differently

Answer 1

答案：1．A;2．D;3．A;4．A;5．D;
解析：
(1) 本小题与第二段最后一句有关。该句说，在上、下午时间过半时宣布消息会很重要，会使每个人分神，takes everyone away from his work，由此可见A．it interrupts the work of all employees是正确的。 (2) 对于晚上11点和一大早上听到电话时人的感觉，作者说早上的电话会表明事情紧急，而半夜11点的则让人感觉这是生死攸关的事，由此可见，半夜11点的电话比大清早的电话更紧急，所以D项是正确答案。 (3) 文中说“an American may feel angry when he has made an appointment with someone and then finds a lot of other things happening at the same time．”由此可见A项是对的。 (4) 此小题是猜测词义，根据它所在的上下文，the last paragraph but one“美国人关于未来的概念是有限的，它指的是foreseeable未来，而不是指漫长的，长达几世纪的未来”由此可见，这里的foreseeable应该是指不远的、可以预见的，因此选A项。 (5) 短文最后的一段说，在不同的文化背景中时间的意义不一样，如果我们记住这一点，我们就能“understand each other better”。由此可见只有D是正确的。其他三个选项，A．他们知道如何互相交流；B．关心未来；C．掌握时间交流的方法，都不正确，因为本文主要叙说是的文化差异。