Americans usually consider themselves a friendly people . Their friendships , however , tend to be shorter and more casual than friendships among people from other cultures . It is not uncommon for Americans to have only one close friend during their lifetime , and consider other “friends” to be just social acquaintances . This attitude probably has something to do with American mobility and the fact that Americans do not like to be dependent on other people . They tend to “compartmentalize” （劃分） friendships , having “friends at work” , “friends on the softball team” , “family friends” , etc .

Because the United States is a highly active society , full of movement and change , people always seem to be on the go . In this highly charged atmosphere , Americans can sometimes seem brusque （無禮的） or impatient . They want to get to know you as quickly as possible and then move on to something else . Sometimes , early on , they will ask you questions that you may feel are very persona1 . No insult is intended ； the questions usual1y grow out of their genuine interest or curiosity , and their impatience to get to the heart of the matter . And the same goes for you . If you do not understand certain American behavior or you want to know more about them , do not hesitate to ask them questions about themselves . Americans are usually eager to explain all about their country or anything “American” in which you may be interested . So much so in fact that you may become tired of listening . It doesn't matter because Americans tend to be uncomfortable with silence during a conversation . They would rather talk about the weather or the latest sports scores , for example , than deal with silence .

On the other hand , don't expect Americans to be knowledgeable about international geography or world affairs , unless those subjects directly involve the United States . Because the United States is not surrounded by many other nations , some Americans tend to ignore the rest of the world .

1 ． The general topic of the passage is .

A ． American culture B ． American society

C ． Americans' activities D ． Americans' personality

2 ． Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A ． Americans do not like to depend on other people .

B ． Friendships among Americans tend to be casual .

C ． Americans know a lot about international affairs .

D ． Americans always seem to be on the go .

3 ． The phrase “highly charged” (Paragraph 2) most probably means .

A ． extremely free B ． highly responsible

C ． very cheerful D ． full of mobility and change

4 ． It can be inferred from the passage that .

A ． Americans want to participate in all kinds of activities

B ． Americans' character is affected by their social and geographical environments

C ． Americans do not know how to deal with silence

D ． Curiosity is characteristic of Americans

5 ． According to the passage , Americans tend to ignore the rest of the world

because .

A ． they are not interested in other countries

B ． they are too proud of themselves

C ． their country does not have many neighboring nations

D ． they are too busy to learn about other countries

1 ． D 。

2 ． C 。

3 ． D 。

4 ． B 。

5 ． C 。

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