翻译考试历年中级口译真题(5)_第8页

Questions 16-20

      The danger of misinterpretation is greatest, of course, among speakers who actually speak different  native   tongues,   or  come    from    different  cultural  backgrounds,     because    cultural difference necessarily implies different assumptions about natural and obvious ways to be polite. 

      Anthropologist Thomas Kochman gives the example of a white office worker who appeared with a bandaged arm and felt rejected because her black fellow worker  didn't  mention it. The doubly wounded worker  assumed that her  silent  colleague didn't  notice or  didn't  care. But the co-worker was purposely not calling attention to something her colleague might not want to talk about.  She  let  her  decide  whether  or  not  to  mention  it,  being  considerate  by  not  imposing. Kochman says, based on his research, that these differences reflect recognizable black and white styles. 

      An  American  woman  visiting  England  was  repeatedly  offended  —  even,  on  bad  days, enraged  —  when  the  British     ignored  her   in  setting  in  which  she  thought  they   should  pay
attention. For example, she was sitting at a booth in a railway-station cafeteria. A couple began to settle into the opposite seat in the same booth. They unloaded their  luggage; they laid their coats on the seat; he asked what she would like to eat and went  off to get it; she slid into the booth facing the American. And throughout all this, they showed no sign of having noticed that someone was already sitting in the booth. 

      When the British woman lit up a cigarette, the American had a concrete obj ect for her anger. She began ostentatiously looking around for another table to move to. Of course there was none;
that's why the British  couple had  sat  in  her  booth  in the  first place. The  smoker  immediately crushed out her  cigarette and apologized. This showed that  she had noticed that  someone else was sitting in the booth, and that she was not inclined to disturb her. But then she went back to pretending  the  American  wasn't      there,  a ruse  in  which  her   husband    collaborated  when    he returned with their food and they ate it. 

      To the American, politeness requires talk between  strangers forced to  share a booth  in  a cafeteria, if only a fleeting "Do you mind if I sit  down?" or  a conventional, "Is anyone sitting here?"  even  if  it's  obvious  no  one  is. The  omission  of  such  talk  seemed  to her  like  dreadful rudeness.  The  American  couldn't  see  that  another  system  of  politeness  was  at  work.  By  not acknowledging here presence, the British couple freed her  from the obligation to acknowledge theirs. The American expected a show of involvement; they were being polite by not imposing. 

      An American man who had lived for years in Japan explained a similar politeness ethic. He lived,  as  many   Japanese    do,  in  extremely   close   quarters  —  a   tiny  room    separated   from
neighbouring rooms by paper-thin walls. In this case the walls were literally made of paper. In order to preserve privacy in this most unprivate situation, his Japanese neighbour with the door open,they  steadfastly  glued their  gaze ahead as if they were alone in a desert. The American confessed to feeling what I believe most American would feel if a next-door neighbour passed within  a  few  feet  without  acknowledging their  presence — snubbed. But  he realized that  the intention was not rudeness by omitting to show involvement, but politeness by not imposing. 

      The   fate of  the  earth  depends    on  cross-cultural   communication.  Nations       must   reach agreements, and agreements are made by individual representatives of nations sitting down and
talking to each other — public analogues of private conversation. The processes are the same, and so are the pitfalls. Only the possible consequences are more extreme.

16. In  Thomas Kochman's example, when the white  office worker  appeared with  a bandaged arm, why did her colleague keep silent?
     (A) Because she didn't care about her white colleague at all.
     (B) Because she was considerate by imposing on her.
     (C) Because she didn't want to embarrass her white colleague.
     (D) Because she was aware of their different cultural backgrounds.
17. What is the best definition for the word "imposing" in paragraph 2?
     (A) Unreasonably expecting someone to do something.
     (B) Using your authority to make sure a rule is kept.
     (C) Acting in a grand, impressive way.
     (D) Causing troubles to oneself.
18. Which of the following can he concluded from the passage?
     (A) The British would like to avoid talking to strangers in public.
     (B) The American would like to be imposed in different settings.
     (C) The British expect a small talk between strangers who are forced to share a booth in a cafeteria.
     (D) The American enjoy being ignored in unfamiliar settings.
19. What seems to be 'Japanese' behaviour in order to preserve privacy in close quarters?
     (A) They would separate their rooms by paper-thin walls.
     (B) They act as if they have never known someone living next to them.
     (C) They are very friendly and considerate to their neighbours.
     (D) They pull their face long and glue steadfastly their gaze ahead.
20.  Which of the following can serve as the best title for the passage? 
     (A) An American Woman's Overseas Experience
     (B) The Cultural Wave
     (C) Mixed Metamesssage across Cultures
     (D) Pitfalls and Possible Consequences