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2017年12月英语四级听力短文精选汇总
Difference Between Cultures
i have always found the chinese to be a very gracious people. in
particular, chinese frequently compliment foreign friends on their language
skills,knowledge of chinese culture, professional accomplishments, and personal
health.curiously, however, chinese are as loath to accept a complimentas they
are eager to give one.
as many of my chinese friends have explained,this is a manifestation of the
chinese virtue of modesty. i have noticed a difference, though, in the degree to
which modesty is emphasized in the united states and china. in the us, we tend
to place more emphasis on “seeking the truth from fact;” thus, americans tend to
accept a compliment with gratitude. chinese, on the other hand, tend to reject
the compliment, even when they know they deserve the credit or recognition which
has been awarded them. i can imagine a chinese basketball fan meeting michael
jordan of the chicago bulls. he might say, “mr. jordan, i am so happy to meet
you. i just want to tell you, you are the best basketball player in the world;
you’re the greatest!” to which jordan would probably respond, “thank you very
much. i really appreciate it! i just do try to do my best every time i step on
the court.” if an american met deng yaping, china’s premier pingpong player, he
might say much the same thing: “ms. deng, you’re the best!” but as a chinese,
deng would probably say, “no, i really don’t play all that well. you’re too much
kind.” plainly, americans and chinese have different ways of responding to
praise. ironically, many americans might consider ms. deng’s hypothetical
response the less modest, because it is less truthful — and therefore less
sincere. americans generally place sincerity above etiquette; genuine gratitude
for the praise serves as a substitute for protestations of modesty. after all,
in the words of one of my closest chinese friends, modesty taken to the extreme
is arrogance.
2017年12月英语四级听力短文精选汇总 |
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发表于 2017-10-31 23:20:50