Michael has been in Frankfurt (法兰克福)for about a week and is really missing his home office in Chicago. Everyone in Germany seems to be so serious at work. No small talk, no conversation about the weekend, no interest in his American background – in fact, no interest really in him at all, it seems. At first, Michael blamed the “uncaring” Germans. But he then started to wonder whether he was, in fact, the problem. Perhaps if he were friendlier or tried even harder, he could make some quick friends to ease his transition. Determined to make this happen, Michael started to make small talk anywhere and everywhere he could. But these efforts seemed to fall on deaf ears, and worse, alienate his colleagues, who appeared more distant than ever before. As he considered next steps, Michael wondered: What could have gone wrong? As it turns out, Michael was the problem, but not in the way he thought. What he didn’t realize is that small talk simply isn’t as common in Germany where personal relationships at work take much longer to develop than in the US. As a result, Michael’s aggressive attempts at forcing chit-chat with colleagues didn’t go over too well. But what then can you do if, like Michael, you come from a small-talk culture and want to forge relationships with your colleagues, clients, and customers? One essential piece of advice is to take a longer-term perspective on developing relationships. In many cultures it can take quite a long time to establish a relationship, and if you haven’t readjusted your own expectations, you’ll likely misinterpret a lack of closeness as indications someone doesn’t like you. In Germany, for example, it can take months or even years to develop a relationship with your colleagues – but once that friendship has been developed, it is often a deep, personal, and long-lasting one. What can we infer about Germans’ understanding of friendship? A. It is not proper to develop a friendship with your colleague.B. Once developed, friendship should be deep and long-lasting.C. Friendship should be limited to a small number of people.D. Closeness and respect are very important in friendship.
Michael has been in Frankfurt (法兰克福)for about a week and is really missing his home office in Chicago. Everyone in Germany seems to be so serious at work. No small talk, no conversation about the weekend, no interest in his American background – in fact, no interest really in him at all, it seems.
At first, Michael blamed the “uncaring” Germans. But he then started to wonder whether he was, in fact, the problem. Perhaps if he were friendlier or tried even harder, he could make some quick friends to ease his transition. Determined to make this happen, Michael started to make small talk anywhere and everywhere he could. But these efforts seemed to fall on deaf ears, and worse, alienate his colleagues, who appeared more distant than ever before. As he considered next steps, Michael wondered: What could have gone wrong?
As it turns out, Michael was the problem, but not in the way he thought. What he didn’t realize is that small talk simply isn’t as common in Germany where personal relationships at work take much longer to develop than in the US. As a result, Michael’s aggressive attempts at forcing chit-chat with colleagues didn’t go over too well.
But what then can you do if, like Michael, you come from a small-talk culture and want to forge relationships with your colleagues, clients, and customers? One essential piece of advice is to take a longer-term perspective on developing relationships.
In many cultures it can take quite a long time to establish a relationship, and if you haven’t readjusted your own expectations, you’ll likely misinterpret a lack of closeness as indications someone doesn’t like you. In Germany, for example, it can take months or even years to develop a relationship with your colleagues – but once that friendship has been developed, it is often a deep, personal, and long-lasting one.
What can we infer about Germans’ understanding of friendship?
- A. It is not proper to develop a friendship with your colleague.
- B. Once developed, friendship should be deep and long-lasting.
- C. Friendship should be limited to a small number of people.
- D. Closeness and respect are very important in friendship.
题目解答
答案
解析
本题考查对文章内容的推理理解能力。解题的关键在于准确把握文章中关于德国人对友谊看法的相关描述，并据此对各个选项进行分析判断。
- 首先明确文章中关于德国人友谊观的关键信息：在德国，与同事建立友谊可能需要数月甚至数年，但一旦建立，这种友谊往往是深刻、个人化且持久的。
- 接着分析各个选项：
- A选项：文章中没有任何地方提及德国人认为和同事发展友谊不合适，所以A选项不符合文章内容，予以排除。
- B选项：文章明确指出“once that friendship has been developed, it is often a deep, personal, and long - lasting one”，这与B选项“一旦发展起来，友谊应该是深刻且持久的”表述一致，所以B选项正确。
- C选项：文中未涉及友谊应局限于少数人的相关内容，C选项缺乏依据，排除。
- D选项：虽然尊重在友谊中很重要，但文章重点强调的是友谊的深度和持久性，并非“亲密和尊重”，D选项不准确，排除。