1997年Passage 2

　　A report consistently brought back by visitors to the US is how friendly, courteous, and helpful most Americans were to them. To be fair, this observation is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians, and should best be considered North American. There are, of course, exceptions. Small minded officials, rude waiters, and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US. Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment.

　　For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world.

　　The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didn't take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation.

　　Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping the weary traveler. Yet, the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US, especially in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist trails. "I was just traveling through, got talking with this American, and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner - amazing." Such observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon, but are not always understood properly. The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.

　　As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships. And, of course, speaking a language does not necessarily mean that someone understands social and cultural patterns. Visitors who fail to "translate" cultural meanings properly often draw wrong conclusions. For example, when an American uses the word "friend", the cultural implications of the word may be quite different from those it has in the visitor's language and culture. It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to distinguish between courteous convention and individual interest. Yet, being friendly is a virtue that many American value highly and expect from both neighbors and strangers.

　　56. It could be inferred from the last paragraph that _____.

　　[A] culture exercises an influence over social interrelationship

　　[B] courteous convention and individual interest are interrelated

　　[C] various virtues manifest themselves exclusively among friends

　　[D] social interrelationships equal the complex set of cultural conventions

　　[答案] A

　　[解題思路]

　　最后一段第一句話指出"As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships"(同任何發達國家一樣，美國人所有的社會交往的基礎是一整套復雜的文化特征，信念和習俗)，因此A符合題意，為正確答案。B選項的錯誤在于，雖然倒數第二句話提到了"It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to distinguish between courteous convention and individual interest"(要想分清稱呼"朋友"是出于好客的文化習俗還是出于個人興趣，只靠在公共汽車上的萍水相逢是不夠的)，但是卻沒有提及courteous convention和individual interest之間的關系。C選項"exclusively"顯然與文中描述的美國人對陌生人的熱情這一事實不符，文章最后一句也提到"Yet, being friendly is a virtue that many American value highly and expect from both neighbors and strangers"(然而，友好是很多美國人推崇備至的美德，同時他們也希望自己的鄰居和陌生人也能夠如此)。D選項與該段第一句話的意思有出入，social interrelationships 與the complex set of cultural conventions之間并不是平等(equal)的關系。

　　[題目譯文]

　　從最后一段可以推斷 。

　　[A] 文化對于社會相互關系有一定的影響力

　　[B] 表示客氣的傳統和個人興趣是相關的

　　[C] 各種美德只是在朋友之間才表現出來

　　[D] 社會間的相互關系等同于復雜的文化傳統