四、閱讀測驗【請依照段落上下文意,選出最適當的答案】 We all know that Americans are loud and friendly, the French are romantic, and Japanese people are quiet
and polite. But hold on a minute. These common stereotypes, which many people around the world believe, are
actually untrue. Recently, a new study has shown that although national stereotypes are widespread, they are
usually incorrect.
The results of this study were published in the journal Science. In the study, 4,000 people from 49 cultures
received surveys instructing them to describe a typical person from their own culture. Then, participants were
given another survey and told to describe themselves and people they knew from their culture.
When the two surveys were compared, the results did not match. In other words, the ways in which
participants thought of a typical person from their own culture and the ways in which they thought of themselves
were quite different.
Germans, for example, are often thought to be orderly and efficient. However, as the study shows, most
Germans don’t believe that they themselves are that way at all. They might see themselves as wild, passionate, or
even lazy. Though they understand that a stereotype about Germans exists and might even believe the other
Germans act this way, they think they are the exceptions to it.
So, next time you want to consider someone from any country to be a certain “typical” person, think again.
Perhaps one of the researchers from the study said it best: “National stereotypes can provide some information
about a culture, but they do not describe people.”
【題組】22. Which of the following is one of the stereotypes about Germans?
(A) Efficient.
(B) Stubborn.
(C) Sensitive.
(D) Passionate.