14．Things which were considered impolite many years ago are now acceptable．Just a few years ago，it was considered impolite for a man to smoke in the street．No man who thought of himself as being a gentleman would make a fool of himself by smoking when a lady was in the room．
Customs are also different from country to country．Does a man walk on the left or on the right of a woman in your country？Or doesn't it matter？What about table manners？Should you leave your hands on your laps or on the table？
The American and the British not only speak the same language but also share a large number of social customs．For example，in both America and England people shake hands when they meet each other for the first time．Also，most Englishmen will open a door for a woman or offer their seats to a woman，and so will most Americans．Promptness is important both in England and in America．That is if a dinner invitation is for seven o'clock，the dinner guest either arrives close to that time or calls up to explain his delay．
The important thing to remember about social customs is not to do anything that might make other people feel uncomfortable-especially if they are your guests．There is an old story about a man who gave a very formal dinner party．When the food was served，one of the guests started to eat his peas with a knife．The other guests were amused or shocked，but the host calmly picked up his knife and began eating in the same way．It would have been bad manners to make his guest feel foolish or uncomfortable．
44．A few years ago，if a man smoked on the street，he would be consideredD．
A．rich
B．funny
C．polite
D．impolite
45．The American and the BritishB．
A．don't speak the same language
B．share a lot of the customs
C．don't have social customs in common
D．have the same social customs
46．Most Englishmen will open a door for a woman or offer their seats to a woman，C．
A．so will a few Americans
B．but most Americans won't
C．so will most Americans
D．but none of Americans will
47．If a dinner invitation is for seven o'clock the guest is supposed to arriveD．
A．a(chǎn)t seven sharp
B．a(chǎn) bit later
C．much earlier
D．close to the time．
分析 該篇短文主要介紹了英美兩國在社會風(fēng)俗和習(xí)俗方面需要注意的一些問題．美國人和英國人不僅說同一種語言，但也有著大量相同的社會習(xí)俗．例如，在美國和英國他們第一次見面握手時，英國和美國的大多數(shù)人都為女士開門或給女士讓座；他們都排隊等候；接受了吃飯的邀請；他們不會遲到等等．
解答 DBCD
44．D 細(xì)節(jié)理解題 根據(jù)第一段Just a few years ago，it was considered impolite for a man to smoke in the street．可知，在過去在街上吸煙被認(rèn)為是不禮貌的，故答案為D．
45．B 推理判斷題 根據(jù)第三段The Americans and British not only speak the same language but also share a large number of social customs．及本段描述，可知英美在社會習(xí)慣方面有很多相同之處，并非完全一樣，排除D，故答案為B．
46．C 細(xì)節(jié)理解題 根據(jù)第三段Also，most Englishmen will open a door for a woman or offer their seats to a woman，and so will most Americans可知，英國人和美國人都會給女生開門，故答案為C．
47．D 細(xì)節(jié)理解題 根據(jù)第三段That is，if a dinner invitation is for 6 o'clock，the dinner guest either arrives close to that time or calls up to explain his delay．描述，可知應(yīng)該是接近約定時間到達(dá)，否則會提前打電話告知，故答案為D．
點評 閱讀理解題測試考生在閱讀基礎(chǔ)上的邏輯推理能力，要求考生根據(jù)文章所述事件的邏輯關(guān)系，對未說明的趨勢或結(jié)局作出合理的推斷；或根據(jù)作者所闡述的觀點理論，對文章未涉及的現(xiàn)象、事例給以解釋．考生首先要仔細(xì)閱讀短文，完整了解信息，準(zhǔn)確把握作者觀點．
