王强口语 第二册 Read Text 020
时间：2018-12-03 作者：英语课 分类：王强口语 第二册
口语部分
文化篇
Read the text carefully and be prepared to answer the question:
Directness
People from more discreet 1 cultures may be uneasy 2 with American directness. In the USA, your neighbor will tell you straight away if he thinks that your peach tree is growing into his garden. He will not talk around the subject and hope that you understand. A manager who thinks that you are doing something wrong will tell you about it. If you declare that Los Angeles is the capital of the United States, someone will be quick to set you right: it's Washington D.C..
But this directness can be softened 3 by language. You can always say what you want politely, without overdoing 4 it by repeatedly saying please and thank you. For example, saying, "Would you mind lending me your pen?" instead of "I want to borrow your pen." "Maybe you should give the others a chance," says a teacher to an outspoken 5 student and "I think you should try that again," to someone who added four and three and got eight. Choosing your words carefully shows consideration for the other person's feelings, but still gets your point across. "I'm not so sure about that," is a lot easier to accept than "No, you're wrong."
- He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
- It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。
- He feels uneasy today.他今天心里感到不安。
- She had an uneasy feeling that they were still following her.她有一种他们仍在跟踪她的不安感觉。
- His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
- The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。
