We use both words and gestures to express our feelings, but the problem is that these words and gestures can be understood in different ways.
It is true that a smile means the same thing in any language. So does laughter or crying. There are also a number of striking similarities in the way different animals show the same feelings. Dogs, tigers and humans, for example, often show their teeth when they are angry. This is probably because they are born with those behavior patterns.
Fear is another emotion that is shown in much the same way all over the world. In Chinese and in English literature, a phrase like “he went pale and begin to tremble” suggests that the man is either very afraid or he has just got a very big shock. However, “he opened his eyes wide” is used to suggest anger in Chinese whereas in English it means surprise. In Chinese surprise can be described in a phrase like “they stretched out their tongues”! Sticking out your tongue in English is an insulting gesture or expresses strong dislike.
Even in the same culture, people differ in ability to understand and express feelings. Experiments in America have shown that women are usually better than men at recognizing fear, anger, love and happiness on people’s faces. Other studies show that older people usually find it easier to recognize or understand body language than younger people do.
1. According to the passage, ___.
A. we can hardly understand what people’s gestures mean
B. we can not often be sure what people mean when they describe their feelings in words or gestures
C. words can be better understand by older people
D. gestures can be understand by most of the people while words can not
参考答案：D
2 People’s facial expressions may be misunderstood because ___.
A. people of different ages may have different understanding
B. people have different cultures
C. people of different sex may understand a gesture in a different way
D. people of different countries speak different languages
参考答案：B
3. In the same culture, ___.
A. people have different ability to understand and express feelings
B. people may have the same understanding of something
C. people never fail to understand each other
D. people are equally intelligent
参考答案：A
4. From this passage, we can conclude ___.
A. words are used as frequently as gestures
B. words are often found difficult to understand
C. words and gestures are both used in expressing feelings
D. gestures are more efficiently used than words
参考答案：C
5. The best title for this passage may be ___.
A. Words and Feelings
B. Words, Gestures and Feelings
C. Gestures and Feelings
D. Culture and Understanding
参考答案：C
When we talk about intelligence, we do not mean the ability to get good scores on certain kinds of tests or even the ability to do well in school. By intelligence we mean a way of living and behaving, especially in a new or upsetting situation. If we want to test intelligence, we need to find out how a person acts instead of how much he knows what to do.
For instance, when in a new situation, an intelligent person thinks about the situation, not about himself or what might happen to him. He tries to find out all he can, and then he acts immediately and tries to do something about it. He probably isn’t sure how it will all work out, but at least he tries. And, if he can't make things work out right, he doesn’t feel ashamed that he failed; he just tries to learn from his mistakes. An intelligent person, even if he is very young, has a special outlook on life, a special feeling about life, and knows how he fits into it.
If you look at children, you’ll see great difference between what we call “bright” children and “not-bright” children. They are actually two different kinds of people, not just the same kind with different amount of intelligence. For example, the bright child really wants to find out about life -- he tries to get in touch with everything around him. But, the unintelligent child keeps more to himself and his own dream-world; he seems to have a wall between him and life in general.
1. According to this passage, intelligence is ____.
A. the ability to know what to do
B. the ability to do well in school
C. the ability to deal with life
D. the ability to get high scores on some tests
参考答案:B
2. In a new situation, an intelligent person ____.
A. knows more about what might happen to him
B. is sure of the result he will get
C. concentrates on what to do about the situation
D. cares more about himself
参考答案:C
3. If an intelligent person failed, he would ____.
A. try not to feel ashamed
B. learn from his experiences
C. try to find all he could
D. make sure what result he would get
参考答案:B
4. Bright children and not-bright children ____.
A. are two different types of children
B. are different mainly in their degree of cleverness
C. have difference only in their way of thinking
D. have different knowledge about the world
参考答案:A
5. The author of this passage will probably continue to talk about ____.
A. how to determine what intelligence is
B. how education should be conducted
C. how to solve practical problems
D. how an unintelligent person should be taught
参考答案:B
