A
(2019·全国名校大联考)In a foreign country, a man visited a local restaurant. He didn't speak their language. He ordered something indecipherable off the menu. When the waiter brought him a plate of delicious looking fried noodles, he smiled and made an OK sign at the waiter with his thumb and forefinger linked in a circle. Looking angry, the waiter then picked up the dish and thrown it to his lap. What he did wrong, he wondered. Well, nothing is quite as it seems when it comes to using hand gesture in another country.
Gestures have been used to replace words in many countries, and they are often specific to a given culture. Gesture may mean something complimentary in one culture, but is highly offensive in another.
The gesture “thumbup” is commonly misinterpreted. In English, it is popularly known as “thumbs up”， despite the fact that the action is commonly performed with only one hand. Englishspeaking Caucasians use it to signal “OK”， which is the same meaning as OK ring gesture. The two can in fact be used almost interchangeably.
Avoid using this gesture in Northern Greece unless you want to invite a fight. While American, British and Australian would use the thumbup to signal hitchhiking to the drivers, this message will not encourage a Greek driver or motorist to stop to give them a ride.
There are no right or wrong signals, only cultural differences. Lack of cultural understanding will lead to disharmony among people from different cultures. When we know what to look for, such encounters with other cultures are actually very interesting, fascinating and fun. It is certainly a great topic to discuss over a cup of coffee and cakes.
语篇导读 本文主要讲述了手势语言在不同文化背景下的不同含义。
1．What did the man in the first paragraph do wrong?
A．He misunderstood the waiter.
B．He didn't realize cultural differences.
C．He ordered something off the menu.
D．He made the signal in a rude way.
解析 B 推理判断题。根据第一段最后一句可知，在不同国家使用同样的手势所表达的意思可能不一样，这个人没有意识到文化差异，所以造成了误会，故选B项。
2．What does the underlined word in the second paragraph mean?
A．Full of admiration. B．Full of aggression.
C．Full of complexity. D．Full of certainty.
解析 A 词义猜测题。根据画线词后的but is highly offensive in another可知，画线词与offensive意思相反，offensive意为“无礼的；令人讨厌的”，由此可猜测，complimentary的意思是“赞美的”，故选A项。
3．What will happen if you make a thumbup toward a man in Northern Greece?
A．He will stop to give you a lift.
B．He will get annoyed and fight against you.
C．He will ask you to give him a lift.
D．He will make the same signal toward you.
解析 B 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段第一句可知，在希腊北部，如果你对一个人伸出大拇指，他会认为你想打架，故选B项。
4．What's the purpose of the passage?
A．To explain the meaning of different gestures.
B．To tell stories about different cultures.
C．To advise us to have an understanding of cultural differences.
D．To persuade people from different countries to live in harmony.
解析 C 写作意图题。文章开头讲述了因不了解文化差异引发不愉快的小故事，后面进一步阐述了不同国家对手势语言的不同理解，所以本文旨在建议我们要了解文化差异，故选C项。
