Question

One day, I heard an American boy said to a Chinese girl student, "You speak very good English. " But the girl answered, " No, no. My English is very poor. " The foreigner was quite surprised at the answer. Thinking he had not made himself understood or the girl had not heard him clearly, he said, " Yes, indeed, you speak very well. " But the girl still kept saying, "No. " In the end, the American boy could not understand and didn't know what to say.

What's wrong with the girl's answer? She didn't accept a compliment(夸獎) in the same way as the American people do. She should answer, "Thank you" instead of “No". She really understood what the American boy had said, but she thought she should be modest. In the west, people will feel proud and confident when they are praised. So if someone says the dishes you have cooked are very delicious, you should say, "Thank you.”

In our country, we think being modest is a virtue（美德）and being proud is a bad thing, but in my opinion, being confident does not mean being proud, so sometimes you should be confident instead of being modest.

If you are modest and say, "No, I'm afraid I can't do it well", while working in a western country, the others may think that you really cannot do it. If you often say, “No”, you will certainly be looked down upon by others. When asking for a job, if one says something like‘'Yes,I can certainly do it”instead of “l(fā)et me have a try”，he or she will expect to get it. So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence。

1.Why did the Chinese girl say“No”when she was praised?

A. Because she thought she should be proud.

B. Because she thought she should be confident.

C. Because she thought she should be modest.

D. Because she thought she is a student.

2.If you say,“I can do it well.“when asking for a job in the west，the others may think that __________.

A. You can do it well. B. You can't do it well.

C. You like doing it. D. You don’t like doing it.

3.What does the underlined part“l(fā)ooked down upon”mean in Chinese?

A．瞧不起 B．瞧得起 C．表揚 D．批評

4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. The girl didn’t hear the boy clearly.

B. The American boy understood the girl’s answer.

C. In China, people think being modest is a virtue.

D. The writer thinks being modest means being proud.

5.What does the writer want to tell us?

A. We should be proud and selfish in the west.

B. We should be modest and confident in the West.

C. We should be modest and brave in the West.

D. We should be brave and confident in the West.

Answer 1