All cultures draw lines between what is an appropriate and what is an inappropriate social distance for different types of relationship. They differ, however, in where they draw these lines. Look at an international reception withrepresentatives from the US and Arabic countries conversing and you will see the Americans pirouetting(快速旋轉) backwards around the hall pursued by their Arab partners. The Americans will be trying to keep the distance between themselves and their partners which they have grown used to regarding as “normal”. They probably will not even notice themselves trying to adjust the distance between themselves and their partners, though they may have vague feeling that their Arab neighbors are being a bit “pushy”. The Arab, on the other hand, coming from a culture where much closer distance is the norm, may be feeling that the Americans are being “stand-offish”. Finding themselves happier standing close to and even touching those they are in conversation with they will persistently pursue the Americans round the room trying to close the distance between them.

　　The appropriateness of physical contact varies between different cultures too. One study of the number of times people conversing in coffee shops over a one hour period showed the following interesting variations: London, 0; Florida, 2; Paris, 10; and Puerto Rico 180. Not only dose it vary between societies, however, it also varies between different subcultures within one society. Young people in Britain, for example, are more likely to touch and hug friends than are the older generation. This may be partly a matter of growing older, but it also reflects the fact that the older generation grew up at a time when touching was less common for all age groups. Forty years ago, for example, footballers would never hug and kiss one another on the field after a goal as they do today.

　　英語六級閱讀理解練習題目：

　　1. In proxemics, ____ governs the standing space between two persons.

　　A. distance　 B. culture　　 C. conversation　　 D. relationship

　　2. The word “stand-offish”(Line 14, Para. 2) could best be replaced by ______.

　　A. cold and distant in behaviour 　 B. ungentlemanlike in behaviour C. inhuman in behaviour　　 D. polite in behaviour

　　3. In conversation with an American partner at an international reception, an Arab deems that close distant is _____.

　　A. appropriate　 B. inappropriate　　 C. rash　 D. impetuous

　　4. We can infer from the third paragragh that the appropriateness of physical contact also varies with ______.

　　A. time　　 B. city　　 C. country　　 D. people

　　5. The best title for the passage would be ______.

　　A. Proxemics

　　B. Appropriateness of Social Distance

　　C. Appropriateness Relationships Between Two Persons

　　D. Appropriateness Physical Contact Between Two Persons

　　英語六級閱讀理解練習答案：

　　DAAAA