英语四级听力练习集锦37

The English Character

To other Europeans, the best known quality of the British,and in particular of the English, is “reserved”.A reserved person is one who does not talk very much to strangers,does not show much emotion, and seldom gets excited.It is difficult to get to know a reserved person:he never tells you anything about himself,and you may work with him for years without ever knowing where he lives,how many children he has, and what his interests are.English people tend to be like that.Closely¹ related² to English reserve is English modesty³.Within their hearts, the English are perhaps no less conceited⁴ than anybody else,but in their relations with others they value at least a show of modesty.Self－praise is felt to be impolite.If a person is, let us say,very good at tennis and someone asks him if he is a good player,he will seldom reply “Yes,”because people will think him conceited.He will probably give an answer like,“I’m not bad,” or “I think I’m very good,” or “Well, I’m very keen⁵ on tennis.”Even if he had managed to reach the finals in last year’s local championships,he would say it in such a way as to suggest that it was only due to a piece of good luck.Since reserve and modesty are part of his own nature,the typical English tends to expect them in others.He secretly looks down on more excitable nations,and likes to think of himself as more reliable than they are.He doesn’t trust big promises and open shows of feelings,especially if they are expressed in flowery language.He doesn’t trust self－praise of any kind.This applies not only to what other people may tell him about themselves orally,but to the letters they may write to him.To those who are fond of flowery expressions,the Englishman⁶ may appear uncomfortably cold.

1 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

2 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

3 modesty   

n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素

参考例句：

• Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。

4 conceited   

adj.自负的，骄傲自满的

参考例句：

• He could not bear that they should be so conceited.他们这样自高自大他受不了。
• I'm not as conceited as so many people seem to think.我不像很多人认为的那么自负。

5 keen   

adj.热心的；敏锐的；激烈的；锋利的

参考例句：

• There is keen competition between the two motorcar firms.两家汽车公司之间存在着激烈的竞争。
• The children are mad keen to go to the zoo.孩子们非常想去动物园。

6 Englishman   

n.(pl.Englishmen)英国人；英国男人

参考例句：

• I was astonished that he was not an Englishman.我很惊讶,他竟不是英国人。
• She stared thoughtfully at the Englishman across the table.她若有所思地盯着桌子对面的那个英国人。