Passage two
American visitors to Eastern Asia are often surprised and puzzled by how Asian cultures and customs differ from those in the United States. What’s considered typical or proper social conduct in one country may be regard as odd, improper or even rude in the other. For example, people from some Eastern Asian countries may begin a conversation with a stranger by asking personal questions about family, home or work. Such questions are thought to be friendly, whereas they might be considered offensive in the United States. On the other hand, people in most Asian cultures are far more guarded about expressing their feelings publicly than most Americans are. Openly displaying annoyance or anger, yelling, arguing loudly and so forth is considered ill-mannered in countries such as Japan. Many Eastern Asians prefer to hold their emotions in check and instead express themselves with great politeness. They try not to be blunt and avoid making direct criticisms. In fact, they often keep their differences of opinion to themselves and merely smile and remain silent rather than engage in a confrontation. By comparison, Americans are often frank about displaying both positive and negative emotions on the street and in other public places. Americans visiting Asia should keep in mind that such behavior may cause offense. A major difference between Americans culture and most Asian cultures is that in Asia, the community is more important than the individual. Most Americans are considered a success when they make a name for themselves.
Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Q29. How would some Asians start their conversation when they meet for the first time?
Q30. What would a Japanese do when he feels annoyed?
Q31. What is encouraged in American culture according to the passage?
Passage three
Both John and Sue joined the staff of a successful public relations firm in New York during the same year. They had just completed their PR degrees at a nearby university and were thrilled to be hired by one of the finest PR firms in the city. John’s first assignment was to create a promotion campaign for a client who was putting a new game on the market. Initially Sue was assigned to work with a sportswear company on a marketing concept for its newest line of clothing. As time passed and work with their respective first clients became more and more difficult, John and Sue realized that they had been assigned two of the toughest clients in town. Although John completed his assignments quickly and successfully, he was furious when he learned that the boss had deliberately assigned him a difficult client. In response he not only complained to his colleagues but also to the boss’s secretary. Sue, on the other hand, had a more difficult time satisfying her first client and she took several additional months to actually complete the assignment. However, she just laughed when she heard that the boss had made the assignment purposely. Over the next two years, John worked reluctantly with each assignment and problem that he encountered. Sue accepted each assignment cheerfully. And when problems arose, she responded with her characteristic “No problem, I can handle it.” Although Sue took longer to complete her projects than John and both were equally successful on the assignments they completed, Sue was given the first promotion when there came a vacancy.
Q32. What’s the relationship between John and Sue now?
Q33. Why was John furious after he finished his first assignment?
Q34. What’s Sue’s attitude to difficult tasks?
Q35. How does the story end?
Compound dictation
In many countries, authority is seldom questioned, either because it is highly respected, or because it is (36) feared. Sometimes, too, because (37) rank has been important in certain societies for a long time, people have been trained never to question those in authority.
In other countries, (38) including America, children are trained to question and search for answers. When a child asks a question, he will be often told to go to the library and find the answer for himself. By the time students reach the age of 14 or 15, they may be (39) developing exciting new ideas in all fields of science and the arts. To encourage such creativity, there are many national (40) prizes offered to students every year for their scientific discoveries and artistic (41) accomplishments. His interest in questioning and searching may be (42) considered by some people as bad for young people’s (43) manners, that young people lack respect for authority. (44) This impression may be created when visitors notice young Americans asking questions and arguing with older people.
However, this is because many Americans have different attitudes toward authority that may exist in other areas of the world. In a work or business situation, ideas are freely and openly discussed and argued. (45) It is vital to remember that it is the person’s ideas that are being questioned, not the individual himself. The two are quite separate. The purpose of the searching, questioning, and arguing is to find the facts in a particular situation, and therefore a solution,
(46) so that the work of the business can progress in the most effective manner possible.
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