綜合類考試輔導：閱讀理解Americans

　　The New York Times recently reported that American teens are hugging practically everyone they see. Say goodbye to the greetings of the past， from the hands-off "Whats up！" to the handshake or high-five2. For young people across the country， hugging is the new "Hello"。

　　Girls are hugging girls. Boys are hugging boys. Girls and boys are hugging each other. And， like every major trend， there are lots of variations on the form. Theres the classic， full-body， arms-around-the-person bear hug， the casual one-armed side hug， the group hug and the hug from behind. Theres the handshake that turns into a hug and the hug that turns into a pat on the back.

　　As trends go， this one seems pretty innocent. But some parents， teachers and school administrators are worried nonetheless. Will young people who arent as comfortable with physical contact feel peer pressured into hugging？ Willkids who dont receive hugs feel left Out3？ Could an extra-long hug slide into the more ominous territory of sexual harassment？

　　In response to some of these concerns， some schools have set up new rules to limit or eliminate hugging. One school head has created a three-second limitation4 for hugs at her school. A few schools have taken even more drastic measures， placing a ban on all forms of touching between students.

　　A few important points are being left out of the discussion. While the US has traditionally been reserved about touching - saving hugs and kisses for relatives， romantic partners and very close friends - people in many other parts of the world have been greeting each other this way for ages.

　　In Latin America or Western Europe， in countries like Spain， France， and Italy， a kiss on the cheek is common among women， as well as among women and men who are not romantically involved. The cheek-kiss varies by region.

　　Sometimes it is just an air kiss blown past the face. In other places， the proper way of greeting is to deliver a kiss upon both cheeks， or sometimes even a triplet of kisses performed by kissing one cheek， then the other， then back to the first.

　　Latin American men are more likely to shake hands when greeting other men，but in some countries like Turkey， its not unusual for men who know each other well to exchange kisses on the cheek. Meanwhile， for the Maori people of New Zealand， a traditional greeting called the "hongi" involves pressing nosestogether.

　　So， from a global perspective， the new trend of teen hugging in America is not so "new" after all. People all around the world move in close to say hello，and Americans are just now joining in.

　　詞匯：

　　touchy adj. 易怒的；敏感的

　　harassment n. 騷擾

　　triplet n. 三個一組；三件一套

　　注釋：

　　1. touchy 的本意為“易怒的”、“敏感的”，這里用來指“喜歡肢體接觸的”，標題意味美國人越來越喜歡肢體接觸了。

　　2. High-five：是美國文化手勢的一種，并沒有正式的中文名稱，一般代表了“慶祝成功的擊掌”，有時也寫成“Give me five”。

　　3. feel left out：感到被排斥

　　4. three-second limitation：指學校制定的將擁抱限制在三秒鐘之內的規定。

　　5. Maori people：毛利人(新西蘭的土著)。

　　練習：

　　1. The word "practically" in the first paragraph could be best replaced by

　　A) certainly

　　B) nearly

　　C) actively

　　D) voluntarily

　　2. Which of the following is NOT among the typical ways of greetings in the past？

　　A) hands off "Whats up"

　　B) handshake

　　C) high-five

　　D) embrace

　　3. Some parents， teachers and school administrators concern the new trend of hugging for the following reasons EXCEPT：

　　A) Some young people get involved into the trend due to peer pressure.

　　B) Those who dont receive hugs feel left out.

　　C) Theres the danger that hugging slide into the more ominous territory of sexual harassment.

　　D) Diseases could be transmitted more easily through the extra-long body contact.

　　4. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage？

　　A) Teenagers across the US hug everyone they see in nearly the same way.

　　B) Although some adults worry about the trend， few measures have been taken to ban on it.

　　C) Traditionally， the US people have been reserved about hugging between anybody.

　　D) In some countries， its usual for men to kiss each other on the cheek.

　　5. We can infer that the author holds a attitude toward the new trend of hugging.

　　A) positive

　　B) negative

　　C) indifferent

　　D) conservative

　　答案與題解：

　　1.B 文章開篇第一句話意為“《紐約時報》最近報道美國的青少年現在幾乎見到每一個人都會擁抱”。“practically”常來表達“nearly”、“almost”的意思。

　　2.D 第一段中列舉了過去美國人見面打招呼的常見方式，不包括“擁抱”。

　　3.D 第三段談及成年人對青少年越來越多地以擁抱的方式打招呼這一趨勢所表達的關切，包括擔心有一些人純粹因為來自同伴的壓力而不得不接受這樣一種方式，擔心那些不接受擁抱這種打招呼方式的人有被邊緣化的感覺，甚至擔心見面擁抱會成為性騷擾的保護外衣。但沒有提及對擁抱可能更容易傳播疾病有所擔心。

　　4.D 倒數第二段中，作者談到在一些國家，比如土耳其，男人見面時互相親吻臉頰很正常。

　　5.A 從整篇文章的內容來看，作者對擁抱成為美國年輕人間打招呼的方式這一趨勢持一個比較積極的態度。他認為其他文化中這樣一種方式已經存在了很長的時間，從全球范圍來看，美國不過是加入了其他國家的行列而已。