Except for a few times, Americans are not big
present-givers. There’s no exchange of presents among business people, and if
one American tries to give another a present, it may look like that he wants to
bribe (賄賂) him. Americans have learned that in some
other countries people like to give presents to others, but among ourselves we
don’t see the need for presents.
Even friends may never exchange presents. When I go to
foreign countries, I try to bring back little things for close friends, but
nobody would feel unhappy if I didn’t. I don’t often remember a friend’ s
birthday, and few people outside of my family remember mine. If someone gave me
presents too often, I’d get unpleasant. But a present from a foreigner — that
kind from his or her homeland — won’t go wrong, except to government employees
(政府職員) who can’t be given presents.
You usually open a present at once and in front of the
person who gives it except Christmas and birthday presents. You should only
say, ‘It’s so nice. Thanks…’when you get Christmas or birthday presents.
You may want to bring a bottle of wine (葡萄酒) or flowers to a dinner party, but you’re never asked
to. Nobody will mind if you bring wine, but your friend may not use it that
evening.
At Christmas we often give presents to our family and
sometimes our friends. We also give presents to people who have been helpful
during the year like doormen, babysitters, housecleaners , newspaper senders —
anyone who has often helped us.
1.What do the underlined words ‘close friends’ mean in
the passage?
A．The friends
who are very kind.
B．The friends
who live close to each other.
C．The friends
who were once classmates.
D．The friends
who you like most.
2.What kind of presents don’t Americans usually open
in front of the givers?
A．The small
presents
B．Christmas or
birthday presents.
C．The expensive
presents.
D．The presents
for dinner party.
3.Why do Americans also give presents to housecleaners
at Christmas?
A．To pay them.
B．To help them.
C．To thank
them.
D．To make them
work harder.
4.Which of the following do you think is right?
A．American
business people don’t want presents because they are rich
enough.
B．The writer of
this passage must be an American.
C．Everyone must
give presents to one’s family and friends at Christmas.
D．Government
employees can get little presents from a foreigner.
5.What is the main idea of the passage?
A．Present-giving
in the United States.
B．Customs (習俗) in the United States.
C．American
people and present-giving.
D．When and how
to give presents.
